Laser melt through time reduction due to aerodynamic melt removal

We have previously shown that the time required to melt through a sheet of materials is significantly reduced by the presence of a tangential airstream. This paper examines in more detail the coupling of the melt removal mechanism to the thermal conduction process. Exact steady-state solutions were obtained for the response of a semi-infinite solid which is either melting or melting and vaporizing where the melt is removed by a tangential airflow. In addition, approximate solutions are given for the unsteady problem of the burnthrough time of a finite sheet. The implications of the analysis and examples are presented in the text.