Laser Machining of Advanced Materials

Advanced materials are becoming increasingly important as substitutes for traditional materials and as facilitators for new and unique products. They have had a considerable impact on the development of a wide range of strategic technologies. Structural ceramics, biomaterials, composites and intermetallics fall under this category of advanced materials. There may be several additional materials in this category, but this book will only focus on these four types of materials. Even though some of these materials can be machined by conventional methods, material processing with lasers is an expanding field which is drawing attention of everyone in the industry as well as academics. As laser machining offers several advantages such as capabilities for machining the materials that are difficult to machine otherwise and flexibility and automation, the scope for applications of these advanced materials is further extended. Laser Machining of Advanced Materials focuses on the fundamental principles and physical phenomena involved in the laser machining of the above mentioned advanced materials. The book begins with an overview of the various conventional and non-conventional techniques employed in machining followed by a fundamental understanding of the material removal mechanisms involved in laser machining. It then covers the specific topic of laser machining of advanced materials. Understanding of the physics behind laser machining of advanced materials and associated thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer and microstructure evolution is provided. This book also covers the modeling efforts made in this field which enables a better and efficient control of the process for a desired application. The principal audience for this book is undergraduate and graduate students with majors in a variety of disciplines, computational modelers, experimentalists, microscopists and research scientists/associates in national and private research labs and universities worldwide conducting research on laser material interaction and people directly working in laser related industries.