Study on the Influence of Surface Temperature Field of Aluminum Alloy Etched by Laser Water Jet Composite Machining

This paper studies the compound effect of liquid medium and laser on the workpiece and analyses the law of material surface temperature change during the processing. Taking 7075-T6 aluminum alloy as the research object, the surface temperature field of aluminum alloy processed using water-jet-assisted laser machining under different process parameters was simulated using finite element software. In addition, the temperature field of the material surface was detected in real-time using the self-built water-jet-assisted laser machining temperature field detection system, and the processing results were observed and verified using an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, and energy spectrum analyzer. The results show that when the water jet inflow angle is 45°, the heat-affected area of the material surface is the smallest, and the cooling effect of the temperature field of the material surface is better. Considering the liquidus melting point of 7075 aluminum alloys, it is concluded that the processing effect is better when the water jet velocity is 14 m·s(−1), the laser power is 100 W, and the laser scanning speed is 1.2 mm·s(−1). At this time, the quality of the tank is relatively good, there are no cracks in the bottom of the tank, and there is less slag accumulation. Compared with anhydrous laser etching, water-jet-assisted laser etching can reduce the problems of micro-cracks, molten slag, and the formation of a recast layer in laser etching and improve the quality of the workpiece, and the composition of the bottom slag does not change. This study provides theoretical guidance and application support for the selection and optimization of process parameters for water-jet-assisted laser etching of aluminum alloy and further enriches the heat transfer mechanism of multi-field coupling in the process of water-jet-assisted laser machining.