THERMOELASTIC MODELING OF LASER-INDUCED STRESS WAVES IN PLATES

Abstract

Abstract A model correlating the transient thermoelastic response of an isotropic material to the input characteristics of a high-power Nd-YAG laser pulse is presented. The model is developed based on the thermoelastic formulation proposed by Green and Lindsay. Correlation is established by introducing the spatial and temporal attributes particular to the laser into the forcing function of the model. Experimental waveforms compare favorably with the finite element results described by the model Transient ultrasonic displacements obtained in plates of various thicknesses are given to demonstrate the feasibility of the model.