Comparison of Different Unconventional Thermal Energies for Steel Cutting Process

Abstract

different unconventional heat sources for material processing were discussed . The heat sources such as plasma arc, electron beam and Co2 laser were employed previously by other researchers, while " Co2laser– gas mixture" system was studied during the present research . Comparison between the results of present work with the others mentioned above was made . The parameter which was adopted for comparison is the "energy consumed per unit length" for particular thickness .The parameter is based on the equation which was suggested by the author of this research . Linear relationship between energy per unit length with thickness forCo2 laser alone and "Co2laser – gasmixture " was found, while for other heat sources it was found out of the proportionality. This comparison showed the superiority of the "Co2laser –gas mixture" system over the other heat sources during cutting mild steel.