Laser drilling is the primary method for the production of cooling holes in gas turbine engine components. Hole quality, which is impacted by surface debris (e.g., amount and location), hole taper, size, and barreling, is a major factor in determining the effectiveness of the cooling holes and therefore impacts the overall performance of the engine. As the number of holes and their complexity (i.e., depth, incidence angle, and location to internal part features) increase, consistent quality holes are paramount. This study examined laser single and twin rod resonator designs and their beam characteristics, such as pulse to pulse stability and pulse power variations throughout the pulse format and how variation in these characteristics impact resultant hole quality. The paper also reports on how the laser fluence impacts hole geometry and the location and amount of hole drilling debris.
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