The spatio-temporal evolution of shock wave pressure induced by laser: Effects of laser parameters and confinement layer

•Effect of the rigid confinement layer and laser parameters on the plume pressure field.•Multiple effective shocks on the target in nanosecond time.•Regulation of the peak, duration, and time interval of the shock wave pressure. The spatio-temporal distribution of the shock wave pressure on the surface of the target is the key to the performance of laser shock processing (LSP), which is mainly determined by the laser parameters and the confinement layer. The two-dimensional kinetic simulations of the expansion process of the shock wave induced by irradiation of an aluminum target with nanosecond laser pulses are performed. It is found that by controlling the gap between the rigid confinement layer and the aluminum target, and the interval time between the double pulse laser pulses, multiple peaks appear on the shock wave pressure-time curve of the aluminum target surface, and the value and interval time of each peak will change.