Abstract
The hardening of steel by means of a rapidly scanning laser is investigated from a theoretical viewpoint based on the equation of heat conduction. The criteria for hardening are considered and related to parameters of the steel and the laser. With the aid of approximations a simple formula is obtained for the depth of hardening in terms of these parameters. The predictions of this model were compared with the results of a set of experiments on En8 steel, and were found to be in good agreement.
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