Numerical Simulation and Experimental Study of Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Aluminum Alloy Surface Paint Layer

In this paper, we present a finite element model that utilizes simulation software to simulate the process of moving nanosecond pulsed laser cleaning on the surface paint layer of 2A12 Aluminum alloy. The objective is to analyze the impact of different laser parameters on the distribution of temperature field within both the paint layer and the substrate surface. Furthermore, we perform experimental validation to verify the findings. The results assume that both laser power and scanning speed influence the outcomes of the cleaning process. At a constant scanning speed, the maximum temperature of both the paint surface and the substrate surface linearly increases with rising laser power. In contrast, at a fixed laser power, the scanning speed influences cleaning outcomes through spot overlap, and the surface temperature of the paint layer rises as the scanning speed decreases. The optimum cleaning effect, with a surface roughness (Ra) of 1.0139 μm, is achieved at a scanning speed of 2500 mm/s and a laser power of 30 W. The surface roughness exhibits first a decrease and then increase pattern with rising laser power. These findings offer valuable insights into process parameters for nanosecond pulsed laser cleaning of surface paint layers on Aluminum alloy.