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Modelling the laser fusion cutting process: II. Distribution of supersonic gas flow field inside

the cut kerf

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2001 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 34 2135

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INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS PUBLISHING JOURNAL OF PHYSICS D: APPLIED PHYSICS
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 34 (2001) 21352142 PII: S0022-3727(01)22587-X

Modelling the laser fusion cutting process:

II. Distribution of supersonic gas flow field
inside the cut kerf
J Duan, H C Man and T M Yue
Laser Processing group, Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Research Centre, Department of
Manufacturing Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Received 7 March 2001

Published 4 July 2001
Online at stacks.iop.org/JPhysD/34/2135

Abstract
A mathematical model is developed to calculate the distribution of the gas flow
field at the entrance, inside and exit of a laser cut kerf for inlet stagnation
pressures
5 bar for an inert assist gas jet exiting from a supersonic nozzle. A
two-dimensional analytical method is adopted to locate approximately the
position and shape of the detached shock above the cutting front surface
according to the geometrical shape of the cutting front. A method of
two-dimensional characteristics is applied to calculate the gas flow field
distribution along the cutting front. The calculated results of the flow field
distribution are simulated by the computer and can be used to estimate and
analyse the cut-edge quality under different cutting conditions.

Nomenclature k ratio of specific heat

(A/A )isen area ratio for isentropic flow at Mach number Me
Po inlet stagnation pressure P0c isentropic stagnation pressure on the centroid
Me Mach number downstream of the shock
x coordinate in the cutting direction average turning angle between s and m
z coordinate in the cutting depth direction Ps gas pressure of the centroid streamline on the
zv the distance from the vertex of the detached sonic line
shock wave to the intersection of its asymptotes s gas density of the centroid streamline on the sonic
(figure 1) line
m maximum angle of shock Ts gas temperature of the centroid streamline on the
m maximum turning angle sonic line
xsb x coordinate of the sonic point on the cut front Ss gas entropy of the centroid streamline on the
zsb the distance between the surface of the workpiece sonic line
and the sonic point on the cut front
sb total turning angle of the streamline from the
shock angle between the stream direction and the
sonic line to the cut front
tangent to the shock
1 angle of inclination of the cut front where the
xs , zs coordinates at the intersection of the detached
sonic point on the cut front is increased by an
shock with the sonic line
infinitesimal distance z
s shock angle at which the flow downstream is
exactly sonic c total anti-clockwise streamline turning angle at
s turning angle for which the flow downstream is the point c
exactly sonic M4 Mach number in the wavelet 4
L distance from the shock wave vertex to the sonic Mb Mach number in the wavelet 10
point on the cut front Pc gas pressure at point c
xc x coordinate at the intersection of the centroid x c , zc coordinates of the intersection point c
streamline with the shock wave rt ignition point at the top of the cut front
c shock angle corresponding to the centroid Dn exit diameter of the supersonic nozzle
streamline i infinitesimal turning angle

0022-3727/01/142135+08$30.00 2001 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK 2135

J Duan et al
P c , c , Tc , S c gas pressure, density, temperature and entropy
just behind the detached shock at point c,
respectively.
Mach angle
g dimensionless velocity
1. Introduction
Laser fusion cutting using an inert assist gas at high pressures
ranging from 4 to 30 bar produces a high-quality cut edge
which is oxide-free, dross-free and of low roughness [16]. In
many applications, this as-laser-cut surface may be used for
production without any secondary edge-cleaning operations
[6, 7]. Therefore, the automobile and aerospace industries have
been highly interested in this laser cutting technique.
However, compared with low-pressure, oxygen-assisted
laser cutting, the problems of unstable cut quality and higher
gas consumption in high-pressure inert gas laser cutting have
hindered the wide application of this process [7, 8]. In order to
improve this technique, some experimental investigations of
the gas behaviour in free space and inside a simulated laser cut
kerf were carried out by the authors and other researchers using
a shadowgraph technique and Schlieren photography [815].
In this way, the dynamic characteristics of the complex gas flow
were visualized and some qualitative analysis and diagnosis
performed.
A theoretical investigation of the subsonic gas flow field
along the cutting front was carried out by Vicanek and Simon
[16]. Leidinger et al [17] investigated theoretically the
distribution of the gas flow field inside a simulated cut kerf
with a vertical cut front under the condition of a high inlet
stagnation pressure with the help of a numerical calculation.
However, since the effect of the geometric shape of the cut front
on the gas flow field inside the cut kerf was not considered by
these authors, the effects of the parameters used in the laser
fusion cutting process such as laser power, cutting speed and
beam focus position, etc on the distribution of the gas flow
field inside the cut kerf could not be investigated. The state of
the gas flow exiting from the bottom of the cut kerf was not
included in these numerical calculations, although it is one of
the important factors that affects dross formation at the bottom
of the cut kerf.
A mathematical model is established in this paper to
investigate the dynamic behaviour of the gas flow at the
entrance, inside and exit of a laser cut kerf by both analytical
and numerical simulations under the condition of an inlet
stagnation pressure P0
5 bar. The effects of all
relevant parameters in the laser fusion cutting process on the
distribution of the gas flow field are considered in this model.
These parameters include beam quality, laser power, cutting
speed, beam focus position, the inlet pressure, the exit diameter
of the nozzle and the displacement of the nozzle with the cut
kerf. The establishment of the gas flow field distribution along
the cut front provides a useful means to investigate the effects
of all relevant cutting parameters on the flow field inside the
cut kerf, to estimate the cut quality for given a group of cutting
parameters and to determine the shear stress distribution on the
cut front by solving the boundary equations.
2136
2. Detached shock ahead of a laser cut kerf
When the supersonic gas jet exiting from a subsonic nozzle
(cylindrical conical nozzle) or a supersonic nozzle (Laval
nozzle) impinges on the cut workpiece, a detached shock will
form on top of the workpiece [8, 1315]. For a subsonic nozzle,
the determination of the shape and location of the detached
shock wave is complicated and laborious due to the non-
uniform distribution of the flow field of the exit jet. However,
for a supersonic nozzle, the detached shock wave is determined
by the Mach number of the incoming flow, because a uniform
flow field and parallel jet boundary can be obtained in such
nozzles as long as the inlet stagnation pressure is equal to the
designed working pressure [7, 10]. In this case, the influence
of the stand-off distance, i.e. the distance between the nozzle
tip and the workpiece surface, may be ignored because the gas
flow inside the cut kerf is independent of the nozzle stand-
off distance [1315]. An approximate method developed by
Moeckel [18] can be used to predict the location of the detached
shock wave ahead of the cut kerf surface.
2.1. Assumptions
In order to simplify the laborious calculation work and adopt a
simple analytical method to determine the shape and location
of the detached shock on top of the workpiece surface, the
following simplifying assumptions are made.
(i) The gas flow from a supersonic nozzle is limited to two
dimensions at the entrance, inside and exit of a laser cut
kerf because the gas jet can expand only in the xz plane
due to the limitation of the side wall of the cut kerf,
forming a nearly-two-dimensional slot-jet flow (Brandt
et al [14]).
(ii) The fluid is a perfect gas, i.e. the viscosity and gravity
forces are negligible.
(iii) The sonic line between the detached shock and the cutting
front is straight and inclined at an angle that depends only
on the flow Mach number.
(iv) The form of the detached shock between its foremost
point and its point of intersection with the jet boundary
is adequately represented by hyperbola asymptotic to the
incoming stream Mach lines.
With these assumptions, the shape and location of the
detached shock becomes a single-valued function of the Mach
number and a simple equation for the detached shock is
postulated by the hyperbola [18, 19]:


x = z2 zv2 (1)
where = (Me2 1)0.5 , Me is the exit Mach number of
the flow from the supersonic nozzle, x and z represents the
coordinate in the cutting direction and in the cutting depth
direction respectively and zv donates the distance from the
vertex of the detached shock wave to the intersection of its
asymptotes, as illustrated in figure 1.
 Modelling the laser fusion cutting process: II

stationary beam supersonic

Dn nozzle

Me exit gas jet

zv
0
x
rt s
detached shock
L
sb
zsb s
c
workpiece surface sonic line s

asymptote to shock
xsb
expansion wave
workpiece laser beam axis

cutting front

specimen moving direction

Figure 1. Schematic of detached shock above the cut kerf and the notation used in the analysis.

2.2. Location of sonic point on the cutting front (ii) obtain the maximum turning angle m ;
(iii) obtain the location of the sonic point on the cutting front
If the detached shock presents as a bow wave standing ahead of
by solving equations (2) and (3) with respect to xsb and
a cut kerf, as shown in figure 1, mixed flow patterns are always zsb :
encountered. The flow behind the shock near the vertex is
xsb = zsb tan(m ) (2)
subsonic and accelerates as it approaches the sonic line, then
it is transformed to supersonic after passing the sonic line. xsb = fm (zsb ) (3)
Therefore, there is always a sonic point sb near the top of the
cut front. The location of the sonic point on the cutting front where xsb is the x coordinate of the sonic point on the
is correlated not only with the incoming flow Mach number cutting front and zsb represents the distance between the
but also with the geometric shape of the cut front. In order surface of the workpiece and the sonic point on the cut
to determine the location of the sonic point, the origin of the front.
coordinates is set on the point of the intersection of the zero
streamline with the detached shock. The boundary condition 2.3. Location of the detached shock ahead of the cutting front
of the cutting front is expressed approximately by a polynomial
fm (z) which is procured from the regression analysis on the After the location of the sonic point on the cut front has been
geometric curve of the cut front achieved by numerical solution determined, another sonic point s and the distance zv between
the zero streamline at the curve of the detached shock and the
of the energy balance equation [20], i.e. x = fm (z).
intersection of its asymptotes are obtained by the derivative of
In this way, the location of the sonic point on the cut front
equation (1) with respect to z:
can be determined by the following procedure:

(i) find the maximum angle m of the shock to the incoming dx z zv2 + 2 x 2
= tan =  = (4)
flow by the oblique shock equations [19]; dz z zv
2 2 2x

2137
J Duan et al

where is the shock angle between the stream direction and

the tangent to the shock at any point. The coordinates (xs , zs )
at the intersection s of the detached shock curve with the sonic
line are found from the following and equation (4):
s 7 8 9 10
zv
xs =  3
2 tan(s ) 1 1 2 c rarefaction region

and sb g h j
zv tan(s )
zs =  (5) 45
2 tan(s ) 1 1 6
ed compression region
where s is the shock angle for which the flow downstream of f
the wave is exactly sonic and can be procured by the oblique jet stream boundary
shock equation. The turning angle s , for which the flow
downstream of the wave is exactly sonic, is then determined. cutting front k
In order to determine the position of zero streamline, i.e. l
the quantity of zv , using xsb as a reference dimension, the
dimensionless distance zv /xsb is derived from equation (5): oblique shock


zv xs
= 2 tan2 (s ) 1. (6)
xsb xsb m
The distance from the curve vertex to the sonic point on the n
cut front is expressed in the dimensionless form L/xsb :


L xs 2
= [ tan(s ) 2 tan2 (s ) 1 + tan()]
xsb xsb Figure 2. Schematic diagram of gas flow field distribution inside
tan() (7) the cut kerf.
   1
xs P 0 A
= 1 cos() (8) at the shock wave is transferred into subsonic flow and some
xsb P0c A isen from the sonic point to the intersection of the shock with the
 k/(k1)
P0c (k + 1)Me2 sin2 (c ) gas jet boundary remains supersonic. Therefore, the flow field
= becomes a mixed flow pattern. On the other hand, the subsonic
P0 2 + (k 1)Me2 sin2 (c )
  flow is accelerated as it approaches the sonic line until the Mach
2k k 1 1/(k1) number is equal to unity. When the flow passes through the
M sin (c )
2 2
(9)
k+1 e k+1 sonic line, the flow field along the cut front will be affected by
   (k+1)/2k+1 the geometric shape of the cut front and the shock wave. All
A k+1
= Me (10) these reasons make the flow patterns extremely complex and
A isen 2 + (k 1)Me2
 difficult to study analytically.
 2  2 
xs 1 xs
tan(c ) = tan (s )
2 2 1 (11)
xc xc 3.1. Approximations
= 0.5(s + m ) (12) In order to simplify the calculation of the gas flow field inside
where L is the distance from the shock wave vertex to the a cut kerf, some approximations are made as follows.
sonic point on the cut front; xc denotes the x coordinate (i) In general, the cutting front becomes steeper below the
at the intersection of the centroid streamline with the shock sonic point on the cut front. The gas flow along the cut
wave; xc = 0.5xs for the plane flow; c is the shock angle front will form a continuous PrandtlMeyer expansion
corresponding to the centroid streamline, k is the ratio of wave immediately after passing through the sonic point.
specific heat; (A/A )isen represents the area ratio for isentropic Some portion of the expansion wave of the same family
flow at the Mach number Me ; P0c is the isentropic stagnation stretch out at the sonic point and strike the detached shock
pressure on the centroid streamline downstream of the shock; sc, as shown in figure 2, and then generate reflected waves.
is the average turning angle between the turning angle (s ) However, these reflected waves are extremely weak unless
and the maximum possible turning angle (m ) at the sonic point the shock is quite strong [19], especially for the flow field
on the cut front for the given Me based on the assumption that near the cutting front so that these reflected waves can
the sonic line is normal to the mean inclination of the velocity be neglected without a larger error. Figure 2 shows the
vector. simplified wave pattern afforded by this approximation
and the parameters of the gas flow in each wavelet 1, 2
3. Gas flow field along the cut front and 3 are taken as centroid streamline values.
(ii) The influence of the side wall of a cut kerf and the friction
When the flow passes through the detached shock, on the flow field is ignored because the gas flow inside a
discontinuities of velocity, density and pressure and energy cut kerf expands only in the xz plane due to the limitation
loss occur. Some flow from the vertex to the sonic point s of the side wall of the cut kerf. Although, in fact, the kerf

2138
 Modelling the laser fusion cutting process: II

width and friction have greater effects on the distribution  


k+1 k1
of the flow field [13], the effects will be considered in the i = tan1 Mi2 1
k1 k+1
gas flow boundary layer.

(iii) An approximate finite-difference numerical procedure is tan1 ( Mi2 1) + i1 (16)
applied when calculating the distribution of the flow field
 k/(k1)  1/k
inside the cut kerf. Pi k+2 i Pi
= =
Ps 2 + (k 1)Mi2 s Ps
3.2. Initial values and boundary conditions  (k1)/k
Ti Pi
= and S i = Ss . (17)
With these approximations, the initial values of the centroid Ts Ps
streamline on the sonic line, such as gas pressure Ps , density When the gas flow near the shock wave reaches the
s , temperature Ts and entropy Ss , can be determined by the intersection point c of the detached shock wave with the jet
theory of characteristics for two-dimensional isentropic flow stream boundary, another group of expansion waves called the
[19]. There are mainly two boundary conditions of the gas Mach wave of family II will be generated due to the pressure at
flow field inside the cut kerf: one is the geometric surface of
the intersection point c being higher than the ambient pressure.
the cut front, which is called the first boundary condition and
The total anti-clockwise turning angle of the streamline and the
the other is the free boundary of the ambient pressure, which
coordinate of point c are determined by the second boundary
is called the second boundary condition.
condition:
For the steady, two-dimensional, irrotational, isentropic  

supersonic field, the first boundary condition of the perfect k+1 1 k1
c = tan Mb2 1
gas flow along the cut front is that the flow velocity must k1 k+1


be tangential to the surface of the cut front. In the
region of vorticity where the shock waves are present, the tan1 ( Mb2 1)
additional variable of the entropy can be used to determine the  

dimensionless speed on the surface of the cutting front. The k+1 1 k1
tan M42 1
second boundary condition is that the pressure of the flow must k1 k+1


be equal to the ambient pressure and the jet stream boundary
is not only equal to the pressure and velocity line but also the tan1 ( M42 1) (18)
streamline. In the region of vorticity, the given form of the  1/2
(k + 2)(Ps /Pc )(k1)/k 2
shock wave can be used to determine the dimensionless speed M4 = (19)
on the jet stream boundary. k1
 1/2
(1 + ((k 1)/2)M42 )(Pc /Pb )(k1)/k 1
Mb = (20)
3.3. Solution procedure of the flow field inside the cut kerf (k 1)/2
 
After passing through the sonic line, the gas jet expands 2k k1
Pc = Me2 sin2 (c ) Pb (21)
immediately due to the cut front becoming steep. This k+1 K +1
expansion region, which is called the Mach wave of family xc = rt + Dn /2 (22)
I, is divided into two portions; one portion consists of these

Mach waves striking on the detached shock wave (shown in zc = (xc )2 + zv2 (23)
figure 2, 13) and the other contains those (56) intersecting where c is the total anti-clockwise streamline turning angle at
with the opposite Mach waves generated from point c. The point c, M4 donates the Mach number in wavelet 4, Mb is the
total clockwise streamline turning angle in 16 is determined Mach number in wavelet 10, Pc is the pressure at point c just
by the first boundary condition: behind the detached shock wave, xc and zc are the coordinates
of the intersection point c, rt is the ignition point at the top
sb = ( 1 ) of the cut front and Dn is the exit diameter of the supersonic
nozzle tip.
and  
fm (zi+1 ) fm (zi ) The anti-clockwise turning angle c will also be divided
1 = tan1 (13) into N1 individual infinitesimal turning angles i ; for the
zi+1 zi
example of figure 2, N1 = 4. The gas density (c ), the
where sb is the total turning angle of the streamline from the temperature (Tc ) and the entropy (Sc ) just behind the detached
sonic line to the cut front and 1 denotes the angle of inclination shock at point c are determined by the oblique shock equations
of the cut front where the sonic point sb (xi , zi ) on the cut front [19]. The parameters of the flow properties in wavelets 79
is increased by an infinitesimal distance z = zi+1 zi .
can be obtained from the following equations:
The total turning angle sb will be divided into N   


individual infinitesimal turning angles i ; for the example k+1 1 k1
i = tan Mi 1
2
of figure 2, N = 6. For the regions of wavelet 13, k1 k+1
the coordinates and the infinitesimal parameters of the flow

properties can be obtained by the following equations: tan1 ( Mi2 1) + i1 (24)


   1/k
xi = zi2 zv2 (14) Pi 2 + (k 1)M42 k/(k1) i Pi
= =
xi = xsb + (zi zsb ) tan(i + ) (15) Pc 2 + (k 1)Mi2 c Pc

2139
J Duan et al
 (k1)/k these compression wavelets of the same family are found to
Ti Pi
= and Si = S. (25) converge and ultimately form the beginning of an envelope at
Tc Pc
k in the physical plane, at which point an oblique compression
When the Mach wave of family II (79) intersects with the shock begins. As additional compression wavelets start at
Mach wave of family I (46), the stepwise methods are used to l, they merge with and strengthen the compression shock.
calculate the coordinates and infinitesimal changes of the flow Finally all the compression wavelets coalesce into a single
properties by the following equations [19]: curved shock beginning at point l. All the fluid properties
such as the pressure, velocity, density and flow direction
M 2 1 dM
d = (26) etc are discontinuous across the curved shock and can be
M[1 + ((k 1)/2)M 2 ] calculated by means of the shock equations. On the other
dx hand, this curved shock wave is non-isentropic and results in
= tan( ) (27) the entropy being increased. Therefore, the flow field behind
dz
  the curve oblique shock becomes a vortex and the method for
1
= tan1 (28) two-dimensional rotational flow, which considers the entropy
M2 1 changes, is used to calculate the flow field with vorticity. In
dg this method, the physical characteristics are the Mach lines
= tan() d (29) of the flow, i.e. the intersecting coordinates of the Mach lines
g
are determined from equation (27). However, the equation for
where is the Mach angle and g donates the dimensionless the hodograph characteristics involving the change in entropy
velocity. The Mach number (Mi ) in the intersecting wavelet along the characteristics becomes [19]
region is determined by NewtonRaphson iteration from
equation (26) and then Mi is used to calculate Pi , i , Ti and Si dg sin3 () 1 ds
in each wavelet region by mean of equation (25). tan() d dx = 0 (35)
g cos( ) (k 1)cp dn
After crossing the Mach family I, the Mach lines of the
Mach family II strike on the cut front. The coordinates of the where ds is the change in entropy along the characteristics, n
Mach lines on the cut front are determined by solving the first is the distance normal to the streamline and cp is the specific
boundary condition and equation (27); for the example of the heat at constant pressure.
point f (xf , zf ), In the first boundary condition, the dimensionless velocity
gn at the point n on the cut front (shown in figure 2) can be
xf x e calculated by using equation (35), because the n and entropy
xf = fm (zf ) and = tan(e e ). (30)
zf z e Sn of the streamline along the cut front are known and the
change in the entropy is given by the following equation:
The direction angle f and dimensionless velocity gf of
the flow at the point f can be obtained by solving the slope of ds s Sn Sm cos(m m )
the cut front (dx/dz)f and equation (28): = = . (36)
dn n xn x m sin(m )
   
dx xf i xf i1 In the second boundary condition, the ambient pressure
f = tan1 = f = tan1 (31)
dz f zf i zf i1 Pb on the free boundary of the jet and the stagnation pressure
P0 of the incoming flow were known. The stagnation pressure
f ge P0b at which the incoming flow reaches the free boundary of
= tan(e )(f e ). (32)
ge the jet after crossing the shock wave can be obtained if the
The kind of reflected waves on the cut front is dependent type of shock wave is determined. The dimensionless velocity
of the inclined angle of the cut front. gb on the free boundary can be determined by the following
When the Mach lines of the Mach family I strike on the equation:
jet stream boundary after passing through the Mach family II,    (k1)/k 
the coordinate, direction angle and dimensionless velocity at k+1 Pb
2gb = 1 . (37)
the point g on the jet stream boundary are determined by the k1 P0b
second condition and equations (27) and (28):
Then, the direction angle b can be obtained from
x g xd equation (35).
= tan(d d )
zg z d When the gas flow reaches the bottom of the cut kerf, the
exit flow field is calculated by the fluid properties determined
and   at bottom of the cut kerf and the second boundary condition.
xg xc c + g
= tan (33) The solution procedure is the same as that adopted above.
zg z c 2
gg gd 4. Calculated results and simulation
gd = gc and = tan(d )(e d ).
gd
(34) Figure 3 illustrates the simulation of the entire gas flow field
The waves striking the free boundary of the jet stream distribution from the exit of the supersonic nozzle tip to the
with pointed profile such as ghj in figure 2 will be reflected exit of the kerf bottom (z = z + zsb L) under conditions of
as a kind of compression wave. For a certain flow condition, laser power WL = 2 kW, cutting speed v = 1.6 m min1 , focal

2140

2 2.5
4 1.5
6
8 z' (mm)
10
(mm) z a supersonic nozzle with P0 = 7 bar, Dn = 1.5 mm, WL = 2 kW,
Figure 3. Contour of the flow field from the supersonic nozzle with
P0 = 7 bar, Dn = 1.5 mm, WL = 2 kW, v = 1.6 m min1 and
z0 = 2.5 mm.
Figure 4. Shadowgraph of gas flow inside the kerf model for a
supersonic nozzle with P0 = 7 bar and Dn = 1.5 mm [15].
position z0 = +2.5 mm, inlet stagnation pressure P0 = 7 bar,
exit diameter of the supersonic nozzle Dn = 1.5 mm and stand-
off distance df = 1 mm. The simulation contour of the flow
field inside the cut kerf agrees with that of the shadowgraph
investigation made by Man et al [13], as shown in figure 4. The
distributions of the pressure and Mach number from the exit
Modelling the laser fusion cutting process: II
4.5
4
P (bar) and M Mn
3.5 M
P
3
2
1
0.5
0
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Figure 5. Changes of pressure and Mach number from the nozzle
exit, then along the cutting front up to the exit of the kerf bottom for
v = 1.6 m min1 and z0 = 2.5 mm.
of the supersonic nozzle tip to the top of the cut kerf entrance
then along the cut front up to the exit at the bottom of the cut
kerf are calculated and shown in figure 5.
When the exit jet from the supersonic nozzle impinges on
the top surface of the cut kerf, a curved detached shock forms
0.14 mm above the surface. The shock causes the pressure
near the vertex to jump suddenly from 1.01 to 3.86 bar and the
Mach number decreases from 1.92 to 0.74, i.e. the gas velocity
decreases from 508 to 244 m s1 . This means that the gas flow
is transformed from supersonic into subsonic. The gas flow
behind the detached shock begins to accelerate quickly until it
reaches the sonic line and the pressure decreases at the entrance
at the same time due to geometrical reasons. After crossing the
sonic line, the gas flow expands because the cut front becomes
steeper. The gas velocity along the cut front still increases
and the pressure decreases until the depth of the cut kerf is
about 0.5 mm. Then, the increase of the Mach number and the
decrease of the pressure slow down due to the decrease of the
slope on the cutting front. When the gas flow reaches about
3.4 mm into the kerf, a curved shock is met and this results in
the Mach number jumping suddenly down from 2.07 to 1.82
and the pressure also increasing suddenly from P1 = 0.71 to
P2 = 1.03 bar, i.e. the ratio P2 /P1 = 1.46. After the gas
flow passes through the shock wave, both the Mach number
and the pressure still respectively decrease and increase slowly
due to the gradual increase of the inclined angle, until the
exit at the bottom of the cut kerf is reached. When the gas
flow arrives at the bottom of the cut kerf, the pressure along
the cut front increases gradually to 1.13 bar, which is slightly
greater than the ambient pressure Pb = 1.01 bar. Therefore,
the exit gas flow will expand slightly and then both the exit
Mach number and the exit pressure will increase and decrease
slightly again, respectively. The implication of this will be
discussed in Part III of this paper.
Although the calculation of the shear stress in the gas
boundary layer was not carried out in this model, qualitative
analysis of the distribution of the shear stress in the gas
boundary layer can still be made by adopting the calculated
results of the ideal gas velocity (i.e. Mach number) and the
2141
J Duan et al
pressure distributions along the cut front. From the calculated
results, the ideal gas velocity and pressure distributions along
the cut front are nonlinear and they are taken as the boundary
conditions outside the gas boundary layer for the determination
of the distribution of the shear stress along the cut front
according to boundary layer theory [19, 21]. The nonlinear
distributions of the ideal gas velocity and pressure could result
in a nonlinear distribution of shear stress in the gas boundary
layer, especially where the curved shock is met. The sudden
decrease of the ideal gas velocity and the sudden increase of
the pressure must cause the gas flow to be transformed from
laminar to turbulent flow in the gas boundary layer. This
results in the shear stress suddenly being reduced, energy
loss occurring, an increased thickness of the gas boundary
layer and even flow separation in the gas boundary layer.
All these factors can be used to judge that the distribution
of the shear stress in the gas boundary layer is a nonlinear
distribution.
5. Conclusions
The computer simulation and calculation show that the
distributions of the gas velocity and pressure are nonlinear
and strongly dependent on the boundary conditions of the
cut front geometry and the gas jet boundary. The results
also imply a nonlinear distribution of shear stress in the gas
boundary layer along the cut front because it is determined by
the gas velocity distribution outside the boundary layer. The
curved shock formation in the flow field is the main factor to
cause flow separation and turbulence along the cutting front,
which deteriorates the cut edge quality. On the other hand,
this model can be used to investigate the effects of other
relevant cutting parameters on the flow field distribution and
the curved shock location, to estimate the cut edge quality and
to form the basis for the theoretical optimization of the cutting
parameters.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the Research
Committee of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for the
provision of a research grant (No G-V 768).
2142
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