Study of the Effect of Laser Cutting Technologies in Manufacturing of Structural Steel Components

The advantages of laser cutting technology are undeniable, particularly due to its high-speed, precision, and capability to cut complex 3D geometries. However, the thermal process associated with laser cutting involves complex physical phenomena that can alter material properties. The improvements achieved in recent years in laser cutting technology offer the possibility of using different laser cutting setups for various applications. The assist gas plays an important role in both the chemical and physical aspect of the process, as well as in the temperature distribution near the cut surface. This study focuses on mild steel S235, commonly used in structural applications. To investigate the influence of the aforementioned parameters, an experimental campaign was carried out considering two cutting techniques and different cutting geometries. Temperature profiles were obtained using an infrared camera from specimens processed. Experimental data were used to calibrate and validate the 3D numerical model developed based on the finite element (FE) method to conduct thermomechanical analyses of the process. The proposed FE model effectively simulated the laser cutting process, entailing a good agreement with experimental results regarding temperature distribution and temperature history. These findings represent a fundamental step to investigate the residual stress distribution near the cut surface considering both straight and circular cuts.