Formation of a vortex flow at the laser cutting of sheet metal with low pressure of assisting gas

Specific features of subsonic jet gas flows in narrow channels geometrically similar to the laser cut are studied experimentally and theoretically. Such flows are visualized by a technique based on prior application of a viscous liquid film onto the side walls of the channel made of transparent glass. The gas flow inside the channel induces a liquid flow on the glass wall in the form of extremely small filaments, which coincide with the streamlines of the gas flow. Filming of these filaments by a CCD camera allows one to capture the specific features of these gas-dynamic flows. Mathematical modelling of the dynamics of a viscous compressible heat-conducting gas was performed by solving full three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations. Numerical calculations and experiments reveal vortex structures in the flow at the entrance and exit of the channel, which may directly affect the surface quality in real gas-laser cutting of metals. The largest vortex, which arises at the channel exit, collects and accumulates the liquid flowing down the channel walls. Jet flows are generated by sonic nozzles with conical or cylindrical exit sections or by a double coaxial nozzle. The double nozzle includes the central conical nozzle and the side concentric nozzle, which allows additional side injection of the gas to be organized. The study with the double nozzle shows that the vortices disappear as the pressure in the external nozzle is increased, and a stable vortex-free attached gas flow is formed.