ARTICLE IN PRESS

Optics and Lasers in Engineering 42 (2004) 327340

Quantitative evaluation of the quality of the cuts

performed on mullite-alumina by Nd:YAG laser
F. Quintero, J. Pou*, F. Lusquinos, M. Boutinguiza, R. Soto,
M. Pe! rez-Amor
Departamento de F!sica Aplicada, Universidade de Vigo, E.T.S. Ingenieros Industriales,
Lagoas-Marcosende 9, Vigo 36280, Spain

Received 4 April 2003; received in revised form 30 September 2003; accepted 23 October 2003

Abstract

Mullite-alumina is an advanced ceramic with great importance in the construction of

structural elements for high temperature applications. The inherent properties of this material
such as its very high hardness and brittleness make conventional machining a very hard task,
being slow, noisy and poor productive.
In this paper we present the results of the work carried out to investigate the inuence of
different cutting parameters on the laser cut quality. Specically, a detailed study of the
characteristics of the heat affected zone (HAZ) is presented as a function of average laser
power, cutting speed, assist gas pressure and pulse frequency. Quantitative analysis of the
HAZ characteristics was performed by means of analytical image processing of dimensional
magnitudes easily identied in the optical microscopy images.
r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Mullite-alumina is an advanced ceramic developed to full the need of new

materials for high temperature and insulating applications. The use of mullite-
alumina composites in the fabrication of structural elements has acquired great
importance because of the technological interest of its properties, such as its high
thermal and chemical stability, low thermal expansion coefcient and good
mechanical strength and resilience at elevated temperatures.

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +34-986-812-216; fax: +34-986-812-201.

E-mail address: jpou@uvigo.es (J. Pou).

0143-8166/$ - see front matter r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2003.10.001
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328 F. Quintero et al. / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 42 (2004) 327340

Traditionally, the machining of advanced ceramics is done by the use of diamond

coated tools. Mullite-alumina is a very hard and brittle material. This makes conven-
tional machining processes (cutting and drilling) an arduous task, being slow, noisy and
poor productive. The laser has great advantages as an industrial machining tool com-
pared to the traditional methods: it has higher cutting speed, it doesnt exert mechanical
stresses, there is no tool wear and cuts can be made easily in any direction [1,2].
There are four main ways to cut materials using a laser: melt shearing, controlled
fracturing, vaporisation and chemical degradation. When trying to cut ceramics with
lasers one faces several problems: chemical degradation by lasers is not useful due to
their high chemical and thermal stability. With the controlled fracturing method only
very simple cuts can be produced. However, efforts are directed to the use of this
technique to accomplish more complicated cuts [3]. Therefore, as a general rule, we
can say that the most suitable methods to cut ceramics with lasers are melt shearing
and vaporisation. The selection between melt shearing and vaporisation depends
mainly on the laser peak power and the thermophysical properties of the ceramic.
One of the main problems that emerge in the laser cutting of ceramics is the
formation of cracks induced by thermal stresses generated in the workpiece due to
the local heating of the material during the laser irradiation. Experimental work has
been done to explore the inuence of some process parameters on the appearance of
cracks as a side effect during laser cutting of ceramic pieces [4,5]. A theoretical study
of the development of thermal stresses [6] and empirical investigation of the crack
formation [7] was also carried out. Furthermore, specic methods such as preheating
of the workpiece [810], dual beam arrangement [11], and multi-pass cutting [12]
were developed to reduce the crack damage.
Another important point to consider is the modication of the material properties
by the thermal load caused by the laser beam. Several investigations [1315] dealt
with the reduction of the thermal damage by means of the utilisation of a short
pulsed Nd:YAG laser with high peak power, in such a way that the material removal
is carried out mainly by sublimation and the short pulse width results in a more
limited heat diffusion. But these lasers have a very low average power resulting on a
limited machining rate.
Since different ceramic materials can have a wide range of thermophysical
properties, each one will need a set of processing parameters to accomplish the laser
cut with an optimum quality. Nevertheless, there are not many data available which
systematize the quality criteria for the laser cut of ceramics [16,17]. In this paper we
try to evaluate the cut quality by means of a quantitative analysis of the heat affected
zone (HAZ) produced in the ceramic sample during the laser cutting process. This
quantitative evaluation has been extended to study the inuence of the different
processing parameters on the characteristics of the HAZ.

2. Experimental procedure

The material used in all the experiments was a commercial mullite-alumina

composite made up of a mullite (3Al2O3
2SiO2) matrix with a dispersed phase of
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alumina (Al2O3), in a quantity which gives a weight ratio of 80% of alumina and
20% of silica. Starting from agglomerate of kaolin and grains of alumina, they are
pressed together to consolidate them and red to form mullite by reaction of the
silica and alumina present in the kaolin. Flat plates, with a thickness of 4 mm, were
prepared by this method.
A free-running pulsed Nd:YAG laser (Ron Sinar) with a maximum average
power of 500 W and a maximum peak power of 10 kW, coupled to an optical bre of
400 mm diameter and 10 m long was used to perform the experiments. The laser
power at the workpiece has been measured by means of a laser power meter (Ophir
L1500-LP) coupled to an Ophir Nova reader unit. A commercial cutting head
incorporating a conical converging coaxial nozzle with a 2 mm exit diameter was set
at a stand-off distance of 1.6 mm from the workpiece. Argon was used as inert assist
gas. The cutting head integrates a lens with a focal length of 80 mm and the diameter
of the beam spot at its focal plane is 500 mm. The laser beam has been focused
0.5 mm underneath the top surface of the workpiece in all the experiments.
Several series of experiments were carried out to explore the inuence of the
different processing parameters on the cut quality. The values of the processing
parameters used in the different series are listed in Table 1. Firstly, we investigated
the inuence of the average laser power. In the power series, a laser pulse width of
1 ms was employed in all the experiments, then the pulse frequency and the pulse
energy were modied in a narrow range to adjust the laser power; the related data
are coded as the group M on Table 1. On the other hand, the pressure series
parameters are indicated in the data coded as group P, where laser power, frequency
and pulse width are constant. Finally, to study the inuence of the pulse frequency,

Table 1
Values of the processing parameters employed in the different series

Trial code Average Pulse Pulse Pulse Gas Cutting

laser power frequency width energy (J) pressure speed
(W) (Hz) (ms) (bar) (mm/s)

M1 430 120 1 4.2 3/5/8

M2 390 120 1 3.8 3/5/8
M3 350 110 1 3.6 3/5/8
M4 300 100 1 3.5 3/5/8
M5 270 91 1 3.3 3/5/8
P1 430 120 1 4.2 3 2.5/5.0
P2 430 120 1 4.2 5 2.5/5.0
P3 430 120 1 4.2 8 2.5/5.0
P4 430 120 1 4.2 12 2.5/5.0
F1 410 10 10 50 3 2.5/5.0
F2 410 20 5 25 3 2.5/5.0
F3 420 50 2 10 3 2.5/5.0
F4 420 100 1 5 3 2.5/5.0
F5 430 120 1 4.2 3 2.5/5.0
F6 395 200 0.5 2.3 3 2.5/5.0
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the laser power and the pulse width were adjusted to obtain the required frequency
value, the corresponding processing parameters are collected in group F.
Selected samples were sectioned perpendicularly to the laser cutting direction with
a precision cut-off machine (Struers Minitom) and subsequently embedded in epoxy
resin. They were then polished with a series of grinding and polishing processes
ending with a diamond suspension of 1 mm size.
The inspection of the specimens was accomplished by means of an optical inverted
microscope (Nikon Epiphot TME) with polarised light. A digital camera coupled to
the microscope was used to acquire images of the cross-sections of the cuts that were
stored in a digital format. The eld of these images was not large enough to embrace
the whole specimen, therefore, images of different parts of each specimen were taken
and assembled by means of digital image processing using commercial software
(Corel Photo-Paint 9). All the assembled images were quantitative analysed using the
free UTHSCSA ImageTool software. Selected samples were carbon coated to be
examined using a scanning electron microscope (Philips XL30).

3. Results and discussion

The suitability of a Nd:YAG laser working in the fundamental harmonic

(1064 nm) to cut mullite-alumina plates was demonstrated in a previous work [18],
despite the fact that absorptance of mullite and alumina at room temperature of this
laser wavelength is very low [19,20]. The absorption mechanism should be explained
based on two phenomena: the heterogeneities of the ceramic composite produce
scattering of the radiation at grain boundaries and inclusions resulting in a effective
multiplication of the light path [21] and strong absorption in the localized lattice
defects in the boundaries [22]; secondly, a great increase in the absorptance of
alumina at 1064 nm from 20 up to 95% with increasing temperature over melting
point has been reported [23].
A series of experiments were performed to determine the maximum cutting speed
as a function of the average laser power and the assist gas pressure. Successive cuts of
around 30 mm long were carried out on the ceramic plates. In each cutting trial, the
cutting speed was increased in 0.1 mm/s up to the appearance of any penetration
fault in any point along the cut. The corresponding value was established as the
upper limit of the cutting speed. The relationship between the maximum cutting
speed and the laser power is plotted in Fig. 1 for three different assist gas pressures.
The laser parameters employed in these series are those shown in Table 1 coded M1
to M5. The results obtained t very well with a lineal regression as shown in the
graphic, which indicates the linear relation between the effective laser power incident
on the workpiece and the maximum cutting speed. In order to draw the correct
conclusions, we took account of an analytical expression of the energy balance as a
function of the cutting speed and compared it with the experimental results. With
this purpose we made use of an equation describing the laser fusion cutting process
making allowance of the heat conduction losses, assuming that the material is
removed by melt shearing and no evaporation is produced; radiance and convection
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Fig. 1. Maximum cutting speed as a function of the average laser power measured on the workpiece for
different assist gas pressures.

losses are neglected as well as the variation of thermophysical properties of material

with temperature. In an analytical solution developed by Schulz et al. [24] for the
laser cutting of plates, the conductive power transmitted into the workpiece is
modelled by a cylindrically closed heat source of radius r, being 2r the kerf width.
The solution of this model is presented as a non-dimensional function of the Peclet
number Pe rv=a; a function of the kerf width, the cutting speed (v) and the thermal
diffusivity (a), which is used for simplicity. Their analytical solution was adapted
expressing the energy balance equation as a function of the enthalpy changes, thus
the resulting equation is

Pabs 2radDHmr Pe 2radHm Pe

" !#
p I02 pK1 p X N 2
n In pKn1 p Kn1 p
2radDHam Pe 1 ;
2 K0 p n1
Kn p

where Pabs is the laser power absorbed by the workpiece, r is the density of the
material, d the thickness of the plate, p Pe=2; Hm is the melting enthalpy, and
DHam and DHmr are the enthalpy changes of the material from ambient to melting
temperature and from melting to removing temperature, respectively. In(p) and
Kn(p) are the modied Bessel functions of rst and second kind, respectively, with
order n and argument p. Therefore the third term in the equation is the power
transmitted by heat conduction from the cylindrical source to the bulk. This term
comprises both the heat used to raise the temperature of the material entering the
cutting front from ambient to melting temperature and the heat conduction losses.
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At a glance, the different terms of the power balance equation are shown to be
linear, except for the conduction losses term [24]. The behaviour of this model was
studied in the same cutting speed range as that used in the experimental trials. The
relationship between the absorbed power and the cutting speed in the analytical
model was found to be the same clearly linear tendency as the experimental results. A
closer examination of the inuence of the heat conduction losses term on the power
balance equation shows that this linear behaviour is due to the fact that the heat
conduction losses are almost constant along the entire range of cutting speed
employed in these experiments. In addition, they are kept at their minimum value
when processing close to the maximum cutting speed.
In the results of these series we can also see the inuence of the assist gas pressure
on the maximum cutting speed. The reduction of the maximum cutting speed when
using the lower gas pressure obeys to the fact that the gas jet has a lower capability to
remove the molten material. Therefore, the cutting speed should be decreased to
obtain a completely open kerf cut. On the contrary, there is no signicant increase of
the maximum cutting speed when the gas pressure is raised from 5 to 8 bar.
Another very important observation is the absence of fractures in all the specimens
processed. The lack of fractures can be explained as a result of a combination of two
factors. Firstly, the thermal expansion coefcient and the Youngs modulus of the
mullite, which is the matrix phase of this material, are low in comparison with other
oxide ceramics [19]. Therefore, low thermal stresses will be generated, what reduces
fracture initiation. Secondly, the porosity and heterogeneity of this composite
material avoids the propagation of fracture since grain boundaries between crystals
with different thermal expansion coefcients can cause deection or branching of
potential fractures. Thus, we can conclude that the thermal shock resistance of the
mullite-alumina plates is high enough for laser processing with power, at least, up to
500 W.
In order to evaluate the quality of the cuts performed by means of the Nd:YAG
laser, cross-sections of the samples in perpendicular direction to the cut were
prepared and examined by means of optical and electron microscopy. Fig. 2 shows
the typical appearance of the cross-section micrograph from the cut edge obtained by
means of an optical inverted microscope. The most signicant feature is the presence
of an area where a clear change in the microstructure was produced (area coded A in
Fig. 2). A closer inspection of the specimens by means of electron microscopy reveals
that this area is constituted by two different zones. The outer zone is identied as
recrystalized alumina; such a microstructure implies a total melt of the mullite-
alumina base material and a reorganisation during the solidication. Therefore we
can assume that this is part of the molten material produced during the laser cutting
process. This adhered recast layer releases a great amount of heat into the workpiece
during its cooling and resolidication, therefore a solid state transformation is
induced in the adjacent material. The inner zone is constituted by dispersed alumina
grains with the same morphology as those present in the untreated material and a
matrix phase of mullite that has suffered a rearrangement due to heating around its
melting point. Hence, we can identify this inner zone as part of the bulk affected by
the heat released by the adherent dross, the mullite matrix has suffered a kind of
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Fig. 2. Cross section sample image of the cut edge obtained by means of optical microscopy. The
magnitudes schematized represent: A, absolute area of the HAZ; B, distance from the upper face of the
plate (where the laser beam impinges) down to the beginning of the HAZ, and C, maximum transversal
penetration of the HAZ in the bulk material measured from the outer face of the edge.

densication process, but the alumina has not changed, in fact the melting
temperature of alumina is much higher than the mullite one. In short, both zones
have suffered microstructural changes and can be considered altogether as the heat
affected zone (HAZ).
In the thermal materials processing such as laser cutting by the melt shearing
method, the heat affected zone is a side effect with an essential importance, since this
portion of the material has suffered an alteration of its mechanical properties or
microstructure. For this reason, it is crucial to evaluate the characteristics of this
phenomenon and to study its behaviour as a function of the processing parameters
with the aim of selecting the best operating conditions to optimise the quality of the
cuts. To carry out a quantitative analysis of the HAZ it is necessary to choose the
features that are strongly inuencing the quality and, at the same time, can be
evaluated by means of a simple magnitude. Therefore, we selected the extension of
the HAZ, which can be directly measured as an area, and the intensity of the
transformation, which can be related to a dimensional magnitude as the transversal
deepening of the HAZ into the bulk material, since the length of the penetration is
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proportional to the quantity of heat supplied to the bulk during the process. The
magnitudes evaluated are shown in Fig. 2. Magnitude A represents the area of the
HAZ; B represents the distance from the upper face of the plate (where the laser
beam impinges) down to the beginning of the HAZ, and C represents the maximum
transversal penetration of the HAZ in the bulk material measured from the outer
face of the edge.
The following series of experiments explored the inuence of assist gas pressure,
laser pulse frequency, and cutting speed on the features of the HAZ. With this
objective, several specimens of every trial were prepared in order to inspect their
cross-sections by means of the optical inverted microscope and stored a digital image
of the cut edge. The quantitative analysis of the HAZ was carried out by means of
the analytical image processing software.
In the pressure series, the inuence of the assist gas pressure on the features of the
HAZ was explored. The processing parameters employed are those corresponding to
the trials coded P1 to P4 in Table 1, four values of the gas pressure from 3 up to
12 bar were tested and two trials with two different values of the cutting speed were
carried out in each experiment.
Fig. 3 shows a graph with the distance B plotted as a percentage of the total
thickness of the workpiece as a function of the assist gas pressure. A lineal relation
exists between the assist gas pressure and the distance from the top surface of the
plate to the beginning of the HAZ. This effect is due to the inuence of the gas
pressure on the ow inside the kerf during the laser cutting process. The upper point
of the HAZ is the point where the detachment of the laminar gas ow from the wall
of the kerf is produced, the ow below the detachment point transforms into
turbulent with eddies and slipstreams that reduce the momentum transfer and the

Fig. 3. Distance from the top surface of the plate to the beginning of the HAZ expressed as a percentage
of the total thickness of the workpiece for different assist gas pressures.
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capability of the gas jet to remove the molten material. As a result, a layer of molten
material remains attached to the edge. Several investigations have reported the
inuence of the gas pressure on the detachment point of the ow [18,25,26], their
conclusions coincide with the results of this experiment, as the gas pressure is
increased the position of the detachment point moves down to the bottom of the
kerf. On the other hand, the gas pressure does not have so much inuence on the
other features of the HAZ. Fig. 4 shows a histogram representing the area of the
HAZ as a function of the assist gas pressure. Fig. 5 presents the maximum
transversal penetration versus the assist gas pressure. Out of these results, we can
afrm beyond doubt that the extension and intensity of the HAZ is not decreased by
the increase of the gas pressure. Certainly, neither the area of the HAZ nor the
maximum transversal penetration are related with the gas pressure in an evident way.
In the last series of experiments the inuence of the laser pulse frequency on the
HAZ was studied. The processing parameters used are those coded F1 to F6 in Table
1, two different experiments were carried out for each trial, one with a cutting speed
of 5.0 mm/s and another one with 2.5 mm/s. The results of the quantitative analysis
of the HAZ are plotted in Figs 68, in an analogous way to that in the preceding
series. The relation between the area of the HAZ and the laser pulse frequency is
shown in Fig. 6. In Fig. 7 the distance between the top surface of the plate to the
beginning of the HAZ (expressed as a percentage of the total thickness of the
workpiece) is plotted as a function of the laser pulse frequency. The graph in Fig. 8
represents the penetration of the HAZ in the bulk material as a function of the laser
pulse mode.
A general trend is observed with regard to the cutting speed, the specimens
processed at lower cutting speed (2.5 mm/s) have a wider HAZ than those obtained
at higher cutting speed (5.0 mm/s). The following could be an explanation of this
behaviour: keeping all the process parameter constant (including the laser power)

Fig. 4. Area of the HAZ as a function of the assist gas pressure.

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Fig. 5. Penetration of the HAZ in the bulk material as a function of assist gas pressure.

Fig. 6. Area of the HAZ as a function of the laser pulse mode.

when the processing speed is decreased, the energy density x interaction time factor
increases. Therefore, there is a higher mass of ceramic material which reaches the
transformation temperature, leading to a wider HAZ. This effect predominates over
any other and is essential for the extension and intensity of the HAZ. Consequently,
it is crucial to select the processing rate close to the maximum cutting speed to avoid
the severe inuence of the heat losses at low rates.
As shown in Figs. 6 and 8a reduction of the extension and intensity of the HAZ is
noticed when the laser pulse frequency is around 20 to 50 Hz.This tendency is broken
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Fig. 7. Distance from the top surface of the plate to the beginning of the HAZ expressed as a percentage
of the total thickness of the workpiece for different laser pulse modes.

Fig. 8. Penetration of the HAZ in the bulk material as a function of the laser pulse mode.

at a lower frequency value of 10 Hz, in this case the morphology of the HAZ is
totally different, as shown in Fig. 9, in which an image of the HAZ corresponding to
the trial F1 with a cutting speed of 5.0 mm/s is presented. In this sample, the HAZ is
almost uniformly distributed all along the depth of the kerf and a certain quantity of
recondensed material is deposited in the top of the sample. This effect is due to the
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Fig. 9. Cross section sample image of the cut edge corresponding to the trial F1 with laser pulse mode of
10 Hz.

increase in the pulse peak power at this low frequency. Therefore, a maximum of
irradiance is obtained, and this promotes the sublimation of the ceramic material.
This fact explains the presence of recondensed ceramic material in the upper face of
the sample: the great pressure generated by the vaporised ceramic is high enough to
overcome the sweeping away action of the assist gas ow pushing up the vapour to
the top of the kerf. A similar effect may be the explanation for the results obtained at
20 and 50 Hz. Working with these laser parameter values, the irradiance is higher
than that obtained at higher frequencies. Therefore the temperature of the molten
material would be higher, its viscosity (which depends on the temperature) would be
lower and the ejecting action of the gas ow more effective, leading to a thinner
recast layer and to a lower extension and intensity of the HAZ.
From the data plotted in Fig. 7 we can afrm that there is no apparent correlation
between the frequency and the distance from the top face of the workpiece to the
beginning of the HAZ. As explained before, this distance is directly related with the
aerodynamic phenomena in the assist gas ow inside the kerf. On the other hand, the
singularity existing at 10 Hz is related to the maximum of irradiance at that laser
pulse mode.
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4. Conclusions

The maximum cutting speed was determined as a function of the laser power and
the gas pressure. The examination of the results leads to the conclusion that at high
cutting speed the conduction losses are not particularly relevant. Therefore, the cut
quality depends mainly on other side effect such as the molten material adhered to
the wall of the kerf forming a recast layer and inducing a transformation on the
adjacent ceramic material.
A quantitative analysis of the heat affected zone as a function of different
processing parameters was carried out. To perform the analysis of the heat affected
zone, several dimensional magnitudes were selected since they are representative of
the most relevant of its features. Furthermore, the dimensional magnitudes are easy
to quantify; this makes easier the comparison among the results of the cut quality for
different processing parameters. The examination of these features of the HAZ such
as its extension and intensity was an efcient method to analyse the inuence of the
assist gas pressure, the laser pulse mode and the cutting speed on the quality of the
cuts.
The inuence of the assist gas pressure was found to be of little importance on
those features. It only affects the position of the detachment of the gas ow from the
edge of the kerf. This determines the beginning of the HAZ from the upper face of
the workpiece, but has no effect on the extension and the intensity of the HAZ. On
the other hand, the laser pulse mode has a clear inuence on the extension and
intensity of the HAZ, therefore a precise selection of these parameters must be
performed to minimise the features of the HAZ and optimise the cut quality of the
ceramic plates.

Acknowledgements

Authors wish to thank Mr. Marcos Lomba from the company Refractarios y
Conceptos Cera! micos Espana, S.A. for supplying the mullite-alumina plates and Dr.
Fernando Varas (Applied Mathematics Dept.) for his fruitful discussions. SEM
observations have been carried out at the CACTI (Univ. of Vigo). This work was
partially supported by the European Union and the Spanish Government (FEDER/
CICYT, 1FD97-1557) and by Xunta de Galicia (INFRA94-68).

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