• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.32 no.11
• /
• pp.832-840
• /
• 2008

Ablation occurs at irradiance beyond $10^9\;W/cm^2$ with nanosecond and short laser pulses focused onto any materials. Phenomenologically, the surface temperature is instantaneously heated past its vaporization temperature. Before the surface layer is able to vaporize, underlying material will reach its vaporization temperature. Temperature and pressure of the underlying material are raised beyond their critical values, causing the surface to explode. The pressure over the irradiated surface from the recoil of vaporized material can be as high as $10^5\;MPa$. The interaction of high power nanosecond laser with a thin metal in air has been investigated. The nanosecond pulse laser beam in atmosphere generates intensive explosions of the materials. The explosive ejection of materials make the surrounding gas compressed, which form a shock wave that travels at several thousand meters per second. To understand the laser ablation mechanism including the heating and ionization of the metal after lasing, the temporal evolution of shock waves is captured on an ICCD camera through laser flash shadowgraphy. The expansion of shock wave in atmosphere was found to agree with the Sedov's self-similar spherical blast wave solution.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.35 no.12
• /
• pp.1301-1307
• /
• 2011

Electrosurgical knee wand (EKW) is a high-frequency thermocautery instrument and is often used for coagulation, ablation, excision, and extirpation of knee ligaments and tissues. In order to maximize the success rate, ease, and safety of knee surgery using EKW and radiofrequency ablation, it is necessary to ensure that the EKW selectively approaches the lesion with utmost accuracy and safety. The key feature of this instrument is its excellent maneuverability. Hence, the authors constructed a tensile spring model based on a shape memory alloy (SMA), which exhibits the shape memory effect. This model can be used in knee surgery as it is considered the most biocompatible femorotibial surgical actuator. The changes in external temperature with current and the thermoelectric characteristics of the SMA were investigated. The relationship between the restoring force and the typical stroke (TS) in response to the conditions in the SMA tensile spring design were evaluated. In conclusion, as the diameter of the SMA tensile spring decreased, the maximum temperature increased. The strain in the actuator caused a stable and proportional increase in the force and induced current for up to 15s, but this increase became very unstable after 30s. Moreover, the relationship between the current and the TS was more stable than that between the current and the restoring force.