Theoretical analysis of deformation behavior of aluminum matrix composites in laser forming

In this paper, the deformation behavior of the SiC reinforced aluminum matrix composite in laser forming was investigated. A 2KW Nd:YAG laser was used to deform the composite at different laser powers, scanning speeds, numbers of irradiation passes and beam diameters. It was found that the bending angle increases with an increase in laser power, and a decrease in scanning speed and beam diameter. A relatively linear relationship between bending angle and number of irradiation passes was observed, and the effect of microstructural changes on the deformation behavior was discussed. An analytical model based on the Vollertsen's two-layer model was developed to predict the bending angle of the composite. The trends of the predictions are in good agreement with the experimental results. The effect of reinforcements on deformation behavior of the composite was further theoretically investigated. By modeling the changes of physical, thermal and mechanical properties including yield stress, elastic modulus, surface absorption coefficient and thermal conductivity of the material incorporated with SiC particles, the effect of reinforcement on laser bending angle was analyzed, and it was found that it would result in a larger bending angle. The significance of the findings will be discussed in the paper.