During the propagation of high-power lasers within internal channels,the laser beam heats the propagation medium,causing the thermal blooming effect that degrades the beam quality at the output.The intricate configura...During the propagation of high-power lasers within internal channels,the laser beam heats the propagation medium,causing the thermal blooming effect that degrades the beam quality at the output.The intricate configuration of the optical path within the internal channel necessitates complex and time-consuming efforts to assess the impact of thermal blooming effect on the optical path.To meet the engineering need for rapid evaluation of thermal blooming effect in optical paths,this study proposed a rapid simulation method for the thermal blooming effect in internal optical paths based on the finite element method.This method discretized the fluid region into infinitesimal elements and employed finite element method for flow field analysis.A simplified analytical model of the flow field region in complex internal channels was established,and regions with similar thermal blooming effect were divided within this model.Based on the calculated optical path differences within these regions,numerical simulations of phase distortion caused by thermal blooming were conducted.The calculated result were compared with those obtained using the existing methods.The findings reveal that for complex optical paths,the discrepancy between the two approaches is less than 3.6%,with similar phase distortion patterns observed.For L-type units,this method and the existing methods identify the same primary factors influencing aberrations and exhibit consistent trends in their variation.This method was used to analyze the impact of thermal blooming effect in a straight channel under different gravity directions.The results show that phase distortion varies with changes in the direction of gravity,and the magnitude of the phase difference is strongly correlated with the component of gravity perpendicular to the optical axis.Compared to the existing methods,this approach offers greater flexibility,obviates the need for complex custom analysis programming.The analytical results of this method enable a rapid assessment of the thermal blooming effect in optical paths within the internal channel.This is especially useful during the engineering design.These results also provide crucial references for developing strategies to suppress thermal blooming effect.展开更多
文摘During the propagation of high-power lasers within internal channels,the laser beam heats the propagation medium,causing the thermal blooming effect that degrades the beam quality at the output.The intricate configuration of the optical path within the internal channel necessitates complex and time-consuming efforts to assess the impact of thermal blooming effect on the optical path.To meet the engineering need for rapid evaluation of thermal blooming effect in optical paths,this study proposed a rapid simulation method for the thermal blooming effect in internal optical paths based on the finite element method.This method discretized the fluid region into infinitesimal elements and employed finite element method for flow field analysis.A simplified analytical model of the flow field region in complex internal channels was established,and regions with similar thermal blooming effect were divided within this model.Based on the calculated optical path differences within these regions,numerical simulations of phase distortion caused by thermal blooming were conducted.The calculated result were compared with those obtained using the existing methods.The findings reveal that for complex optical paths,the discrepancy between the two approaches is less than 3.6%,with similar phase distortion patterns observed.For L-type units,this method and the existing methods identify the same primary factors influencing aberrations and exhibit consistent trends in their variation.This method was used to analyze the impact of thermal blooming effect in a straight channel under different gravity directions.The results show that phase distortion varies with changes in the direction of gravity,and the magnitude of the phase difference is strongly correlated with the component of gravity perpendicular to the optical axis.Compared to the existing methods,this approach offers greater flexibility,obviates the need for complex custom analysis programming.The analytical results of this method enable a rapid assessment of the thermal blooming effect in optical paths within the internal channel.This is especially useful during the engineering design.These results also provide crucial references for developing strategies to suppress thermal blooming effect.
