Phase transition model of water flow irradiated by high-energy laser in a chamber

In the absorption chamber of a high-energy laser energy meter, water is directly used as an absorbing medium and the interaction of the high-power laser and the water flow can produce a variety of physical phenomena such as phase transitions. The unit difference method is adopted to deduce the phase transition model for water flow irradiated by a high-energy laser. In addition, the model is simulated and verified through experiments. Among them, the experimental verification uses the photographic method, shooting the distribution and the form of the air mass of water flow in different operating conditions, which are compared with the simulation results. The research shows that it is achievable to reduce the intensity of the phase transition by increasing the water flow, reducing the power intensity of the beam, shortening the distance the beam covers, reducing the initial water temperature or adopting a shorter wavelength laser. The study's results will provide the reference for the design of a water-direct-absorption-type high-energy laser energy meter as well as an analysis of the interaction processes of other similar high-power lasers and water flow.