Deicing with Nd:YAG and CO2 lasers

A model of deicing with Nd:YAG and CO2 lasers for simulation using ANSYS software is presented. Experiments with a 300-W, 1-ms, 60-Hz Nd:YAG laser and a 500- to 2000-W cw CO2 laser are reported. The Nd:YAG laser is considered as a volume thermal source, and the CO2 laser as a plane thermal source. The model and the simulation results can describe both Nd:YAG and CO2 laser deicing well. The results of the simulation and experiments suggest that the melting rates for the two lasers are almost equal at the same laser power density. So are the melting efficiencies. The hard and transparent ice irradiated by the Nd:YAG laser becomes opaque and loose, because the thermal stress is distributed in the body of the ice, while the ice irradiated by the CO2 laser is still transparent and hard, because thermal stress hardly occurs. So the laser with characteristics of high output power and large ice absorbing length can be selected for the power line laser deicing system, and Nd:YAG laser is more appropriate for power-line deicing than CO2 laser.