In this work, modeling and analysis of thermal effects laser drilling under water for ceramics were presented. Laser is a unique tool for machining ceramics due to the characteristic of non-contact material removal. However, ablation by a laser often induces a thermal effect on the material and an increased heat-affected-zone or deposition of debris can be observed on the machined parts. The underwater surrounding improved a heat transfer rate to cooling down the machined part and could prevent any deposition of debris near the machined surfaces and edges. The heat modeling was applied to obtain the temperature distributions as well as temperature gradients between the material and surroundings. The cooling effect of the underwater laser drilling was improved and a more stable temperature distribution was calculated. The actual laser drilling results of ceramic laser drilling were presented to verify the effects of underwater laser drilling.
