Rubber-induced uniform laser shock wave pressure for thin metal sheets microforming

Laser shock microforming of thin metal sheets is a new high velocity forming technique, which employs laser shock wave to deform the thin metal sheets. The spatial distribution of forming pressure is mainly dependent on the laser beam. A new type of laser shock loading method is introduced which gives a uniform pressure distribution. A low density rubber is inserted between the laser beam and the thin metal sheets. The mechanism of rubber-induced smoothing effect on confined laser shock wave is proposed. Plasticine is used to perform the smoothing effect experiments due to its excellent material flow ability. The influence of rubber on the uniformity of laser shock wave pressure is studied by measuring the surface micro topography of the deformed plasticine. And the four holes forming experiment is used to verify the rubber-induced uniform pressure on thin metal sheets surface. The research results show the possibility of smoothing laser shock wave pressure using rubber. And the good surface quality can be obtained under rubber dynamic loading. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.