The influence of shield gases on the surface condition of laser treated concrete

This work aims to elucidate the effects of using O₂, Ar and He shield gasses during the treatment of the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) surface of concrete with a high power diode laser (HPDL). The findings showed a marked difference existed in the surface condition of the concrete after HPDL treatment depending on the shield gas used. The use of O₂ as the shield gas was seen to result in glazes with far fewer microcracks and porosities than those generated with either Ar or He shield gases. Such differences were found to be due to the smaller O₂ gas molecules dissolving molecularly into the open structure of the HPDL generated glaze on the OPC surface of concrete and react with the glass network to increase the fluidity of the melt. This in turn was also seen to affect the cooling rate and therefore the tendency to generate microcracks.