The performance of a high-power fast-axial-flow CO2 laser is directly determined by the characteristics of the turbulent flow of the active medium in the discharge region. To research the influence of the discharge tube structure on the internal gas flow field and determine the optimum design of the discharge tube, we use the computational fluid dynamics method and a set of governing equations to predict and compare the internal gas flow field of various sizes of discharge tubes. The influence of the tube diameter and gas inflow opening size on the gas flow velocity and turbulence intensity is discussed. There is good agreement between the theoretical prediction and the experimental results. The results obtained provide a basis for the optimum design of a high-power industrial fast-axial-flow CO2 laser.
Increasing the output power of the fast axial flow CO2 laser requires a proportional growth of the mass flow with the
laser power for convective cooling of the active laser medium. The previous research on high power CO2 laser was
mostly focused on gas discharge. However, little attention was focused on the gas circulation system, which is also an
essential technology to ensure the long time stable work of the high power fast axial flow CO2 laser. Based on the
analysis of the characteristics of the 7 KW fast axial flow CO2 laser, expounded the important role of the gas circulation
system, and then analyzed the parameters, the structure and the design of the system. After that, this paper compared
various types of blowers and heat exchangers, chose magnetic levitation radial turbine blower and rectangle finned heat
exchanger, in light of the prominent performance and compact structure. Further more, this paper also supplied the
methods of the blower and heat exchanger selection and design. The results indicate that the magnetic levitation radial
turbine blower and rectangle finned heat exchanger which have been chosen are suitable to the 7 kW fast axial flow CO2 laser.
The previous research on ultra-high power laser was mostly focused on discharge tubes and resonator. However,
little attention was focused on the heat exchange performance, which is also an essential technology to ensure the long
time stable work of the CO2 laser. The purpose of this paper is to characterize the heat exchange performance of CO2 laser and to supply the method of heat exchanger design. Considering the inner heat cycle and characteristics of the 10
KW fast axial flow CO2 laser which is under development, various types of heat exchangers were compared, rectangle
finned heat exchanger was chosen as the laser radiator, in light of the prominent heat transfer capacity and compact
structure. Further more, this paper also established the heat balance equation, calculated the heat transfer capacity. The
results indicate that the rectangle finned circle tube heat exchanger which has been chosen is suitable to 10 KW fast axial
flow CO2 laser.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.