Mechanical erosion effect of continuous-wave laser ablation of GFRP under subsonic airflow

In this paper, the mechanical erosion effect during continuous-wave (CW) laser ablation of GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer) was studied. It happened under the condition of subsonic tangential airflow. In order to know the effect of mechanical erosion in the ablation process. An experimental device was designed to collect mechanical erosion products. The total mass loss of GFRP in the process of laser ablation and mass loss caused by mechanical erosion were measured by experiments. Then the percentage of mechanical erosion was calculated. The experiments were made at different airflow velocities and different laser power densities. Spot center temperature was measured during the experiment. The results show that the percentage of mass loss caused by mechanical erosion will increase and tend to be constant with the increase of airflow velocity. The percentage of mass loss caused by mechanical erosion will increase with the increase of laser power density. The percentage of mass loss caused by mechanical erosion will increase and tend to be constant with the increase of laser irradiation time. The mechanical erosion effect of GFRP is related to its laminated structure. The laminated structure can affect the mechanical erosion mechanism of the material surface. It will cause the regular change of the surface temperature of the material.