Model for the coupled predictive assessment of plasma expansion and material compression in laser shock processing applications

In the present paper, a model is presented aiming to provide a physical basis for the theoretical estimation of both the plasma expansion dynamics following laser irradiation and the shock wave propagation into the treated material with a specific consideration of its constitutional properties (i.e. taking into account its real mechanical and E.O.S. parameters). Although initially limited to a 1D description, the proposed model aims to overcome the difficulties existing for an accurate theoretical estimation of the process due to the treated material behavior not directly amenable to analytical solutions and sometimes modeled through empirical approaches, and to provide a detailed treatment of the plasma behavior (i.e. ionization, breakdown, etc.). Additionally, and as a direct consequence of its analytical-numerical character, the model can provide a fully time dependent representation of the processes, including the laser pulse temporal profile, what is a real advance over previous theoretical studies.