A review of the laser processing of aircraft components

doi:10.1016/0924-0136(90)90156-O

Journal of Materials Processing Technology

Volume 23, Issue 2, October 1990, Pages 177-194

https://doi.org/10.1016/0924-0136(90)90156-O Get rights and content

Abstract

Composite materials and some exotic alloys have been used in the fabrication of both structural and non-structural members of the air-frames and engines of aircrafts. Different machining processes, such as the use of traditional solid tools with modified cutters, ultrasonic cutting and drilling, water-jet cutting, abrasive water-jet cutting, electron beam welding, and various laser processes have been applied successfully to the processing of these materials. In this paper, the physical mechanisms, the advantages as well as the limitations, and examples of application of the laser processes that are used to machine aircraft components are reviewed.

References (34)

L.J. Yang et al.
Laser transformation hardening of tool steel specimens
J. Mat. Process. Technol.
(1990)
R.A. Foster
New materials help McDonnell aircraft take flight
Manuf. Eng.
(November 1988)
M.M. Schwartz
J. Cusumano et al.
Ultrasonic drilling of boron fibre composites
Modern Plastics
(June 1974)
Anon
Cutting advanced composite materials
Manuf. Eng.
(November 1977)
D. Belforte et al.
Laser material processing data and guidelines
S.C. Tam et al.
Materials processing with lasers
J.M. Darchuk et al.
Guidelines for laser cutting
Lasers and Applications
(1985)
T. Auty
A review of lasers for materials processing
Control Laser Corporation, Orlando, Florida, Laser Product...

H. Hügel, Hockleistungslaser in der Fertigungstechnik,...

W.M. Steen et al.

Laser cutting

J.F. Ready

Industrial Applications of Lasers

Anon., Technical note: CO2 laser cutting, Spectra-Physics Industrial Laser Division, San Jose, CA,...

M.K. Chuah

Laser cutting of Titanium

M.C.K. Chua et al.

Computer controlled optical system for Nd:YAG laser plastic integrated circuit package marking

J. Mazumder

Laser welding

Cited by (26)

A process modeling approach for micro drilling of aerospace alloys with a waterjet guided laser system
2022, Optics and Laser Technology
Citation Excerpt :
In order to endure the harsh conditions, these parts are generally made of nickel-based superalloys. These special materials maintain their mechanical strength even at high temperatures [2]. Another measure generally taken for the design and manufacturing of these parts is to apply cooling technologies.
Laser drilling is a preferred method to make cooling holes on gas turbine parts. Although it is a fast process, there are some quality issues. Waterjet guided laser (WJGL) is a hybrid process, in which a laser beam is coupled with and guided through thin cylindrical waterjet. Pressurized water in this novel process provides focusing, cooling and cleaning of the machining zone, eliminating undesired side effects of the laser. The process can be conveniently used for micro drilling operations on aerospace jet engine parts. However, more research on the process is required to understand the effects of the variables on material removal rate. The drilling time varies for each material and geometry. Optimum parameters should be adjusted for each case. In this study, the material removal mechanism of WJGL is investigated and a holistic modeling approach is developed including the necessary parameters for drilling of different aerospace materials and hole geometries.
Examination of Judd-Ofelt calculation and temperature self-reading for Tm3+ and Tm3+/Yb3+ doped LiYF<inf>4</inf> single crystals
2018, Journal of Luminescence
Citation Excerpt :
Nowadays, lasers are widely applied and play important roles in many fields such as medicine, aerospace and even our daily lives [1–3].
To validate the reliability of Judd-Ofelt results and the influence of involving absorption transition number, the Judd-Ofelt calculations, in which various transitions were adopted, were carried out for Tm³⁺ doped LiYF₄ single crystal. It was found that introducing more transitions into the calculation procedure might get more reliable results. In order to clarify the feasibility of temperature self-reading in Tm³⁺/Yb³⁺ doped LiYF₄ single crystal during laser operation, the temperature sensing properties of the single crystal were studied. It was found that the fluorescence intensity ratio of ³F₂+³F₃→³H₆ to ³H₄→³H₆ can be used for achieving better temperature detection, and the temperature sensitivity was found much better than that in other materials.
Conduction laser welding
2013, Handbook of Laser Welding Technologies
Laser welding has two different operational regimes: conduction and keyhole welding. The key difference between these two modes is the power density applied to the welding area. Conduction takes place when the intensity is not sufficient to cause boiling. In keyhole mode, the intensity used is high enough to cause vaporisation and create a keyhole in the melt pool. The current definition of conduction laser welding mode based on power density is discussed. Some studies focused on conduction laser welding are also discussed, emphasising the effect of beam diameter in this mode. Finally, an overview of some of the most relevant applications of conduction laser welding in industry is presented. This chapter not only emphasises how good and diverse the applications of this welding mode are, when compared to keyhole laser welding, but also helps in understanding the flexibility of this welding process.
The effect of microstructure and wear conditions on the wear resistance of steel metal matrix composites fabricated with PTA alloying technique
2009, Wear
The concept of hard particles in a softer metal matrix has long appealed to number of industries dealing among others with drilling and mining. For these facilities, the PTA (Plasma Transferred Arc) alloying technique is advisable and advantageous for several reasons; the equipment may be portable and moved near the working site, the treatment may be applied strictly to the area where the wear problem is situated and after the treatment little machining is required. Four different coatings are tested against three different modes of wear occurring either alone or less frequently combined in this kind of applications, i.e. adhesion, low stress abrasion and two-body abrasion. Two of the coatings examined belong to the category of tool steels with very hard carbides in their microstructure, namely TiC, M₂C and M₆C. The other two are boride coatings belonging to the Fe–B and Fe–Cr–B system respectively. A heat treated AISI D2 tool steel commonly used in this type of applications is also examined for comparison. Fe–Cr–B coating performance is at least 2 times better in low stress and two-body abrasion and four orders of magnitude better in adhesion wear than the AISI D2 tool steel. Fe–B coating can be used in pure adhesion or abrasion situations, but their brittleness forbids their use in situations involving impact loading. AISI M2 coating presents similar wear performance with AISI D2 tool steel in abrasion, whereas in adhesion wear it performs at least two orders of magnitude better. MMC–TiC coating has good performance in pure two-body abrasion situations due to the presence of the very hard TiC particles in its microstructure.
A statistical approach to determine process parameter impact in Nd:YAG laser drilling of IN718 and Ti-6Al-4V sheets
2005, Optics and Lasers in Engineering
The numerous unique advantages afforded by pulsed Nd:YAG laser systems have led to their increasing utility for producing high aspect ratio holes in a wide range of materials. Notwithstanding the growing industrial acceptance of the technique, the increasingly tighter geometrical tolerances and more stringent hole quality requirements of modern industrial components demand that “defects” such as taper, recast, spatter etc., in laser-drilled holes are minimized. Process parameters like pulse energy, pulse repetition rate, pulse duration, focal position, nozzle standoff, type of gas and gas pressure of the assist gas are known to significantly influence hole quality during laser drilling. The present study reports the use of Taguchi design of experiments technique to study the effects of the above process variables on the quality of the drilled holes and ascertain optimum processing conditions. Minimum taper in the drilled hole was considered as the desired target response. The entire study was conducted in three phases:(a) screening experiments, to identify process variables that critically influence taper in laser drilled holes, (b) Optimization experiments, to ascertain the set of parameters that would yield minimum taper and (c) validation trials, to assess the validity of the experimental procedures and results. Results indicate that laser drilling with focal position on the surface of the material being drilled and employing low level values of pulse duration and pulse energy represents the ideal conditions to achieve minimum taper in laser-drilled holes. Thorough assessment of results also reveals that the laser-drilling process, optimized considering taper in the drilled hole as the target response, leads to very significant improvements in respect of other hole quality attributes of interest such as spatter and recast as well.
Geometrical features and metallurgical characteristics of Nd:YAG laser drilled holes in thick IN718 and Ti-6Al-4V sheets
2002, Journal of Materials Processing Technology
Laser drilling is increasingly becoming the method of choice for precision drilling of a variety of components, particularly in the aircraft industry. Notwithstanding the current level of acceptance of laser drilling in the aerospace industry, a number of defects such as spatter, recast and taper are associated with laser drilled holes and elimination of these defects is the subject of intense research. The present paper deals with Nd:YAG laser drilling of 4 and 8 mm thick sections of IN718 and Ti–6Al–4V materials. The influence of type of material and its thickness, as well as parametric impact of key process variables like pulse frequency and pulse energy, have been determined. In the course of this study, relevant geometrical features of the drilled holes, like hole diameter and taper angle, have been comprehensively investigated. In addition, all metallurgical characteristics of interest, viz extent and nature of spatter, recast and heat-affected zone, have been evaluated. Effort has also been made to obtain some insights into the evolution of a through-thickness hole during laser percussion drilling of thick sections by careful experimentation involving monitoring the progression of the drilled hole with increasing number of laser pulses. Issues pertaining to variation of taper with depth of hole, change in crater depth with progressive drilling and specific energy consumption are also discussed.

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Article preview

Journal of Materials Processing Technology

Abstract

References (34)

Laser transformation hardening of tool steel specimens

J. Mat. Process. Technol.

New materials help McDonnell aircraft take flight

Manuf. Eng.

Ultrasonic drilling of boron fibre composites

Modern Plastics

Cutting advanced composite materials

Manuf. Eng.

Laser material processing data and guidelines

Materials processing with lasers

Guidelines for laser cutting

Lasers and Applications

A review of lasers for materials processing

Laser cutting

Industrial Applications of Lasers

Laser cutting of Titanium

Computer controlled optical system for Nd:YAG laser plastic integrated circuit package marking

Laser welding

Cited by (26)

A process modeling approach for micro drilling of aerospace alloys with a waterjet guided laser system

Examination of Judd-Ofelt calculation and temperature self-reading for Tm<sup>3+</sup> and Tm<sup>3+</sup>/Yb<sup>3+</sup> doped LiYF<inf>4</inf> single crystals

Conduction laser welding

The effect of microstructure and wear conditions on the wear resistance of steel metal matrix composites fabricated with PTA alloying technique

A statistical approach to determine process parameter impact in Nd:YAG laser drilling of IN718 and Ti-6Al-4V sheets

Geometrical features and metallurgical characteristics of Nd:YAG laser drilled holes in thick IN718 and Ti-6Al-4V sheets