The relatively low measurement repeatability has long been considered as a major obstacle to the widespread use and commercialization of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Although many ...efforts have been made to improve the signal repeatability in the short term, how to improve the long-term signal repeatability is critical in practical applications and has rarely been studied. Moreover, the mechanisms behind the degradation of long-term repeatability are not fully revealed. This study proposes a new method to improve the long-term repeatability of LIBS measurement, which modifies the spectral intensity based on laser beam intensity distribution. It first pre-processes the beam intensity distribution profiles and spectral intensity. Then the relationship between the relative deviations of beam and spectral intensities is modelled using Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR). The proposed method was tested on copper and silicon samples, and the spectra and laser beam intensity distribution were recorded for more than thirty days. Day-to-day variations in beam intensity distribution were observed. Such variations can lead to changes in spectral intensity, resulting in degraded signal repeatability. By modifying the spectral intensity, the long-term signal repeatability was improved. Specifically, in terms of day-mean spectral intensity, the valid correction rates were above 70% for both of copper silicon sample in most cases. Long-term RSD decreased from ∼13.5% to ∼4% for copper and decreased from ∼10.7% to 6.5% for silicon sample. These results indicate that the proposed method provides a viable method for improving the long-term repeatability of LIBS measurement.
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•Inter-day and intra-day variation of laser beam intensity distribution was reported by continuous monitoring in 40 days.•Inter-day variation of laser beam intensity distribution was thought to affect long-term repeatability of LIBS.•Beam intensity distribution was used to correct spectral intensity and improve long-term repeatability of LIBS.
This paper investigates the influence of laser-beam intensity distribution (LBID) on the performance of the annular laser-beam directed energy deposition (DED) process with axial powder delivery. ...Three different LBIDs: Gaussian-like (G-LBID), top-hat-like (TH-LBID) and ring (R-LBID) at two LBID diameters were used. The process performance was characterised qualitatively in terms of the melt-pool shape and the process stability and quantitatively by powder-catchment efficiency, selected geometrical and metallurgical properties of the clad. The observed influence of LBID on process performance, as determined by the relationship between LBID and powder stream density distribution (PSDD), decreased with increasing mean surface-energy density and was more significant at larger LBID diameter. The highest powder-catchment efficiencies (90% and 87%) were achieved with the G-LBID and TH-LBID, whose high-intensity centre is aligned with the peak of the Gaussian-like PSDD. A lower powder-catchment efficiency of 77% was achieved with the R-LBID, whose high-intensity region is located at the edge of the melt pool with minimum powder density. However, this also results in the highest and most uniform dilution, the highest metallurgical bond ratio and the lowest lack of fusion porosity at the clad-substrate interface. In addition, the process was stable at the lower values of mean surface-energy density with R-LBID, while balling instability was observed with G-LBID and TH-LBID. It can be concluded that the use of R-LBID at lower values of mean surface-energy density improves the performance of the DED process with axial powder feed in terms of process stability and metallurgical properties of the clad.
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•Influence of laser-beam intensity distribution in metal-powder DED was investigated.•Gaussian-like, top hat, and ring laser-beam intensity distributions were considered.•Effect of intensity distribution was more pronounced at a low surface-energy density.•Gaussian-like distribution provided the highest powder-catchment efficiency.•Ring-intensity distribution improved process stability and clad properties.
Laser beam welding of deformable aluminium alloys is not a new process but as its integration costs sink influenced by cheaper laser delivery systems and optimized production systems, an increasing ...number of new or even existing joining applications are checked for the use of this technology. The objective of this paper is to analyse the influence of laser beam power on the geometry and main defects in heterogenous welded joints in aluminium alloys EN AW-5049 and EN AW-6082 used in the production of passenger cars air conditioning lines. The macrographic investigations of cross sections combined with computer tomography non-destructive analysis of the Yb:YAG laser welded joints show that by using a beam intensity of 5,5 × 106 W / cm2 (laser power 1700 W) at a welding speed of 2,7 m/min have been obtained the best quality seam for this application.
In laser welding, the spatial beam intensity profile of the laser beam is an important parameter as it has a considerable effect on the temperature distribution and cooling rate of the melt pool, ...which determine the weld properties. In this study, a laser beam with a spatially modulated intensity profile by a diffractive optical element (DOE) was applied to the laser beam oscillation welding of an aluminum alloy (AA5052), and the weld characteristics of modulated beam welding (MBW) were analyzed in relation to those of Gaussian beam welding (GBW). According to the result of experiment verifying full penetration condition, the MBW generally required a slower maximum beam speed for full penetration than the GBW due to laser energy spreading by the core and ring beam constitution. On the other hand, this dispersed laser energy of the modulated beam was more effective in formation of a stable melt pool, which in turn reduced weld defects (bumpy bead surface, pores, and cracks) compared with the GBW. It also played a role in improving the asymmetric morphology of the weld by generating a relatively even temperature distribution of the melt pool. From an electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis, it was found that columnar grains were mostly distributed at the edge area of the weld, and equiaxed grains were largely distributed at the center area of the weld. The asymmetric feature in the microstructure was also found because of the asymmetric beam oscillation pattern and the resultant cooling rate difference. It was found that the area solidified at the lower cooling rate exhibited relatively large columnar grains. For the MBW, the asymmetric feature in the proportion of the low and high angle grain boundaries within the weld zone was diminished, which resulted from the relatively uniform temperature distribution by the dispersed laser energy. Due to the slow cooling rate, the MBW sample could have larger grains than GBW; this, however, slightly reduced the tensile strength of the joint welded by the modulated beam. The highest tensile strength obtained from the GBW and the MBW sample was equivalent to 88 % and 83.4 % of the base material’s tensile strength, respectively. It was found that the hardness value and its distribution across the weld zone was similar for the GBW and MBW samples. It was also found that the weld zone has a lower hardness value than base material owing to the increase of grain size through recrystallization.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) stores two high-energy counter-rotating particle beams consisting of multiple bunches of a nanosecond length. Precise knowledge of the number of particles within each ...bunch, known as the bunch intensity, is crucial for physicists and accelerator operators. From the very beginning of the LHC operation, bunch intensity was measured by four commercial fast beam current transformers (FBCTs) coupling to the beam current. However, the FBCTs exhibited several shortcomings which degraded the measurement accuracy below the required level. A new sensor, the wall current transformer (WCT), has been developed to overcome the FBCT limitations. The WCT consists of eight small radio frequency (RF) current transformers distributed radially around the accelerator’s vacuum chamber. Each transformer couples to a fraction of the image current induced on the vacuum chamber by the passing particle beam. A network of RF combiners sums the outputs of all transformers to produce a single signal which, after integration, is proportional to the bunch intensity. In laboratory tests and during beam measurements, the WCT performance was demonstrated to convincingly exceed that of the FBCT. All originally installed FBCTs were replaced by four WCTs, which have been serving as the LHC reference bunch intensity sensors since 2016.
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