A method is presented for the calculation of thermoelastic stress and
displacement fields in a bonded layer that absorbs thermal energy from
a repetitively pulsed laser in its surface plane. A function with thr
ee adjustable parameters is used to simulate the temporal variation of
each pulse while the radial intensity distribution (or mode structure
) of each pulse follows a Gaussian profile. The pulse duration is of t
he order of the characteristic time for heat to diffuse across the lay
er thickness, and hence axial heat conduction cannot be neglected. Str
ess and displacement components due to heat absorption from three succ
essive pulses are calculated and examined specifically at the free sur
face, at selected points within the layer, and at the bonded interface
. The stress components at the bonded interface are also examined over
a range of layer thicknesses to illustrate key differences between th
e thermoelastic responses of thin and thick layers.