RESEARCH

Laser processes are emerging as increasingly important technology to many of today’s industries. New developments and applications are rapidly introduced. Society of Manufacturing Engineers projects that laser processing will be one of the leading manufacturing technologies as we enter the 21st century. The reasons for the laser usage on the production floor are precision, productivity, flexibility, soft-tooling, automation, processing of difficult materials, and synthesis of new materials. The successful application and utilization of laser technology requires a thorough understanding of the processes involved for which the state-of-the-art laboratory is ideally equipped. A wide range of research spanning from laser machining of metals to laser chemical vapor deposition of diamond has been conducted over the past decade. Recent initiatives include fiberoptics processing, rapid fabrication, and thermochemical modeling.

CURRENT/RECENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

	Numerical Simulation of Reactive-Gas Assisted, Laser Cutting of Thick Metals, 1994-1997, National Science Foundation The objective of this project is to develop a finite difference model for laser cutting that addresses the details of gas jet/molten layer interaction, oxidation reaction, laser-material coupling, and heat transfer phenomena. In addition, the laser experiments are carried out to validate the model findings. The practical outcome of this project is the development of a line beam (as opposed to circular beam) technique for efficient cutting.
	Femtosecond Laser Machining of Diamond, 1995-1998, National Science Foundation A novel femtosecond (10-15 sec) pulsed laser is used to develop a high precision, contamination-free, time efficient machining technique for diamond and difficult-to-machine ceramics. A fundamental understanding of femtosecond laser-diamond interactions will be developed using molecular dynamics simulation methods.
	Laser Manufacturing Process for the Production of High Efficiency Materials for Transformer Cores, 1994-1998, Asea Brown Boveri, Inc., National Science Foundation, CATD, and EPRC This project, supported by NSF, Industry, EPRC, and CATD, involves a study of incorporating a rapid, fiberoptics laser process to the manufacturing line of transformer core materials. The laser process produces the favorable stresses that assist in refining the magnetic domains required to reduce the core loss and thereby improve the efficiency. A finite element model is being utilized to predict the stresses developed during laser processing. This environmentally conscious manufacturing is an excellent alternative to the currently considered chemical thinning methods.
	Laser Surface Coating of Titanium, 1994-1996, Martin Marietta The purpose of this work is to develop a laser surface coating process to meet the coating specifications required by Oak Ridge National Laboratory on titanium rails which normally undergo hydrogen embrittlement and are not capable of withstanding rolling/sliding contact stresses.
	Advanced Lasers for Thin Sheet Metal Welding, 1995-1996, U.S. Air Force/ Metals Tech Industries, Inc. The objective of this research is to study the suitability of advanced lasers for thin sheet metal welding. The advanced lasers include diode, iodine/oxygen, and HF which were recently made available in high powers. In addition to the study of the process, the complete system design for welding large (5’ x 5’) sheets will be made. This project has direct applications to Metal Tech in terms of gasket and other sheet metal fabrication.

	Development of Advanced Laser Cutting Techniques
	Laser Chemical Machining of Metals, Ceramics, and Composites
	Laser Cutting and Drilling of Egg Shells
	Development of a Laser Manufacturing Process for Stripping of Paint Coatings
	Laser Milling, Polishing, and Turning of Ceramics
	Laser Drilling of Holes using Nonlinear Liquid Mediums
	Combustion Assisted Laser Cutting of Difficult-to-Machine Materials
	A Thermochemical Approach to Laser Cutting of Thick Metallic Solids
	Nd:YAG Laser for Research in Manufacturing Processes
	High Power CO2 laser for Research in Wear and Manufacturing of Materials

	Laser Welding of 2090 Al-Li Alloy
	Laser Weldability of Nickel Aluminides
	Laser Welding of Oxide Dispersion Strengthened MA 754 Alloy

	Laser Chemical Vapor Deposition of Diamond and Fluorinated Diamond for Electronics and Tribology Applications
	Laser Ablation Synthesis of Cubic Boron Nitride
	Development of Metallic Glass Refractory Coatings on Composites Using Lasers
	Laser Melt Texture Growth of 123 Superconductor
	Excimer Laser for Research in Materials Processing
	Laser Cladding of Thermal Barrier Coatings
	Development of High Hardness Cutting Tools by Laser Surface Processing
	Fatigue and Wear Behavior of Laser Transformation Hardened Cast Irons
	Laser Heat Treatment of Valve and Pump Castings
	1.5 kW CO2 Laser for Research in Heat Treatment