Dismantling of metallic components of a concrete structure with a laser beam

Experimental tests have been performed using CO2 laser with output power 1-15 kW to evaluate the effect of varying the following parameters: material (carbon steel Fe42C, stainless steel AISI 304, concrete), laser power, beam characteristics, work piece velocity, gas type and distribution on the laser interaction zone. In the case of concrete, drilling depths of 80 mm were obtained in a few seconds using a 10 kW laser beam and pieces of 160 mm were cut at 0.01 meters per minute. Results with carbon steel indicated maximum thicknesses of 110 mm, cut at 0.01 meters per minute with 10 kW, while depths of about 20% lower were obtained with the AISI 304 stainless steel. A parallel investigation was aimed at characterising particles emission during the laser cutting process. At the end of the research, it was possible to elaborate a preliminary proposal concerning a laser based dismantling system for a typical Nuclear Power Station PWR