Cutting and Drilling of Inorganic Materials for Civil Engineering Using a Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser.

Abstract

The inorganic material cutting capability of a chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) was estimated as a basic study for field applications such as nuclear power plant decommission, disaster relief, and civil engineering. First, laser-matter interaction characteristics were measured by a commercial 2 kW CO2 laser and a 300 W small-scale COIL, then the cutting performance at an arbitrary output power was estimated using a simplified thermal balance model describing the beam-material interaction. The validity of the model is verified using the CO2 laser. It was estimated that a 100 mm concrete slab can be cut by a 10 kW COIL at a cutting speed of 250 mm/min.

History of COIL development in Japan: 1982-2002

“…Sugimoto conducted the drilling of some nonmetallic materials (concrete, wood, rock, etc...) to assess the capability of COIL for the use of civil engineering and rescue for the disaster. 46 Tei discussed the conceptual design of a D&D COIL based on the current COIL technology. 47 …”