Numerical algorithm for laser treatment of powder layer with variable thickness

Two-dimensional model of laser treatment of powder layer on the substrate is proposed in this paper. The model takes into account the shrinkage of powder layer due to the laser treatment. Three simplified variants of the model were studied. Firstly, the influence of optical properties of powder layer on the maximal temperature was researched. Secondly, two-dimensional model for given thickness of powder layer was studied where practically uniform temperature distribution across thin powder layer was demonstrated. Then, the numerical algorithm was developed to calculate the temperature field for the area of variable size. The impact of the optical properties of powder material on the character of the temperature distribution was researched numerically.