In this paper, physical, mathematical and three-dimensional numerical models of the process of laser-induced heating and melting of metals are developed. These models are implemented as an application written in the C++ programming language. Simulation of the thermal problem is performed within the framework of a two-temperature model (for an electron gas and an ion lattice) and can be used, among other things, to describe the process of melting metals under the action of ultra-short (femto- and picosecond) laser pulses with different spatial structures (Gaussian beams, optical vortices, Bessel beams). The numerical calculations also take into account the nonlinear dependence of the thermophysical parameters of the electron gas and ion lattice on temperature. The developed model also allows one to estimate the results of the thermomechanical effect of ultrashort laser pulses on metal layers. The analysis of laser-acoustic effects is based on the equations of motion of continuous media in the Lagrange form and the Mie-Grüneisen equation of state. The parameters of laser radiation leading to mechanical destruction of the metal surface are determined.
Keywords: short laser pulses, metals, numerical methods