A Comprehensive Analysis of the Fiber Laser Application in Cleaning Process of Corrosion Layers for Iron-Based Samples

This paper describes the comprehensive review of the gradual layer removal of reactive corrosion products from Iron sample to establish the methodology for less intrusive and exacting laser cleaning approach. Effects of laser radiation on substrate, factors affecting the efficiency of graffiti removal and laser parameters such as wavelength, focal length, pulse duration effect, speed, power constant, line space and laser pattern are investigated. Nano-second pulse fiber laser, operating in the near-IR at a wavelength of 1064 nm and power capacity of 30W was used in the study. The laser system was coupled via computer with EzCAD 2.9.9 UNI, a vector graphic editor, with a CAD-like capability that enables users to perform rapid, precise and complex surface scanning treatments in a repeatable way. A series of laser cleaning studies has been performed on corroded iron reference samples along with analyzing the effects of various parameter changes on the corroded surface using Alicona 3-D surface analyzer. Chemical composition, microscopic analysis and oxide content test for the various layers of sample is been determined with SEM. The results obtained from various tests are providing reliable base to understand laser cleaning mechanism and their effect on different laser characteristics.