On Approximate Solutions of Temperature and Thermal Stresses in an Elastic Semi-Space Due to Laser Heating

ABSTRACT An approximate method for the determination of temperature and stress distributions in an elastic half-space heated by a laser impulse on its boundary is derived. The method is based on the solutions for two cases of laser time structure: sectionally constant and sectionally linear. Piecewise-constant and piecewise-linear finite functions are used for approximation of the temporal profile of analyzed laser impulses. Numerical results are presented for typical lasers found in engineering practice.