Uncertainty Analysis of Solid-Liquid-Vapor Phase Change of a Metal Particle Subject to Nanosecond Laser Heating

Effects of uncertainties of various parameters, including laser fluence, diameter of metal powder articles, laser pulse width and initial temperature of metal particles, on solid-liquid-vapor phase change processes of metal particles under nanosecond laser heating are investigated in this paper. A systematic approach of simulating phase change with uncertain parameters are presented and a sample-based stochastic model are established to investigate the influence of different uncertain parameters on maximum surface temperature of metal particles, maximum solid-liquid interface location, maximum liquid-vapor interface location, maximum saturation temperature and maximum recoil pressure, and time needed to reach maximum solid-liquid interface location. The results show that the mean value and standard deviation of laser fluence have dominant effects on all output parameters.Copyright © 2012 by ASME