Aerosol formation during laser cutting of fibre reinforced plastics

Due to their advantageous material properties as good chemical resistance, high firmness and stability with simultaneous low specific weight, fibre reinforced plastics have found a great variety of industrial application especially in the aircraft and aerospace industries. Because of its technical and economic power laser beam machining supplies and substitutes increasingly conventional manufactoring methods. Laser beam cutting generates clouds of hazardous emissions with primary particle concentrations on the order of some g/cbm. To characterize possible health risks and to elaborate schemes for dust removing concepts a joint research program between the "Fraunhofer Insitute of Toxicology and Aerosole Research" and the "Fraunhofer Institute of Production Technologies" is supported by the Federal Ministery of Research and Technology.