Multiple Reflections and Fresnel Absorption of Gaussian Laser Beam in an Actual 3D Keyhole during Deep-Penetration Laser Welding

In deep penetration laser welding, a keyhole is formed in the material. Based on an experimentally obtained bending keyhole from low- and medium-speed laser penetration welding of glass, the keyhole profiles in both the symmetric plane are determined by polynomial fitting. Then, a 3D bending keyhole is reconstructed under the assumption of circular cross-section of the keyhole at each keyhole depth. In this paper, the behavior of focused Gaussian laser beam in the keyhole is analyzed by tracing a ray of light using Gaussian optics theory, the Fresnel absorption and multiple reflections in the keyhole are systematically studied, and the laser intensities absorbed on the keyhole walls are calculated. Finally, the formation mechanism of the keyhole is deduced.