Optical characterisation and modelling for oblique near-infrared laser heating of carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites

The optical behaviour of a carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composite material is investigated for a near infrared laser heating process applied to automated composite tape placement. A nip point heating strategy in laser tape placement results in a shadow before the nip point on both the incoming tape and substrate. The moderate laser angle relative to the surface of the composite leads to reflections in the cavity formed by the tape and the substrate, reducing the shadow. An optical ray tracing model can provide valuable insight to the interaction of the laser with the composite, as well as detailed estimation of the irradiance distributions. This paper provides the foundations for such a model, describing an optical characterisation process and formulation of appropriate models to capture the composite surface and laser source behaviour. A micro-half-cylinder surface treatment was shown to give a good approximation of the anisotropic scattering behaviour of the composite. Angular dependent reflectance was described well by Fresnel equations. An approximation of the laser beam profile and propagation is also presented.