Numerical Simulation of Drilling with Pulsed Beams

Abstract Electron beam drilling is an efficient method for microperforation. The technique using an electron beam for melting up and blowing out the material works in vacuum. Ablation is mainly based on the expulsion of the molten material by two competing mechanisms: evaporation of the workpiece as well as of the backing material. In this contribution a numerical finite volume OpenFOAM simulation model for beam-matter interaction in electron beam drilling is presented showing the transient dynamics of the process as well as the influence of various processing parameters.