Laser Peening,

Seminar Report 2012-13

1. INTRODUCTION
Laser peening, or laser shock peening (LSP), is the process of hardening or peening metal using a powerful laser. Laser peening can impart a layer of residual compressive stress on a surface that is four times deeper than that attainable from conventional shot peening treatments. A coating, usually black tape or paint, is applied to absorb the energy. Short energy pulses are then focused to explode the ablative coating, producing a shock wave .The beam is then repositioned and the process is repeated, creating an array of slight indents of compression and depth with about 5-7% cold work. A translucent layer, usually consisting of water, is required over the coating and acts as a temp, directing the shock wave into the treated material. This computer-controlled process is then repeated, often as many as three times, until the desired compression level is reached, producing a compressive layer as deep as 1-2mm average. Laser peening is often used to improve the fatigue resistance of highly stressed critical turbine engine components, and the laser (or component) is typically manipulated by an industrial robot.

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Laser Peening,

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2. PEENING
Peening is the process of working a metal's surface to improve its material properties, usually by mechanical means such as hammer blows or by blasting with shot (shot peening). Peening is normally a cold work process (laser peening being a notable exception[citation needed]). It tends to expand the surface of the cold metal, thereby inducing compressive stresses or relieving tensile stresses already present. Peening can al Plastic deformation from peening induces a residual compressive stress in a peened surface, along with tensile stress in the interior. This stress state resembles the one seen in toughened glass, and is useful for similar reasons. Surface compressive stresses confer resistance to metal fatigue and to some forms of corrosion, since cracks will not grow in a compressive environment. The benefit comes at the expense of higher tensile stresses deeper in the part. However, the fatigue properties of the part will be improved, since the stresses are normally significantly higher at the surface in part due to surface imperfections and damage. The first published article about peening was written in Germany in 1929 and was specifically about shot peening. The first patent for shot peening was also taken out in Germany in 1934, however it was never commercially implemented. In 1930, a few engineers at Buick, independent of the Germans, noticed that "shot blasted" (as it was originally termed) springs had a much better fatigue life than untreated springs. The process was then commercially used in the automotive industry to overcome fatigue issues. Zimmerli was the first to do research on it, publishing a report in 1940, but John Almen was the one who did the most extensive research on the topic. Almen helped expand shot peening to the aircraft industry during World War 2. 2.1 LASER A laser is a device that emits light (electromagnetic radiation) through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The emitted laser light is notable for its high degree of spatial and temporal coherence. Spatial coherence is typically expressed through the output being a narrow beam which is diffraction-limited, often a so-called "pencil beam." Laser beams can be focused Dept. of Tool & Die 2 AWH PTC

Laser Peening,

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to very tiny spots, achieving a very high irradiance, or they can be launched into beams of very low divergence in order to concentrate their power at a large distance. Temporal (or longitudinal) coherence implies a polarized wave at a single frequency whose phase is correlated over a relatively large distance (the coherence length) along the beam. A beam produced by a thermal or other incoherent light source has an instantaneous amplitude and phase which vary randomly with respect to time and position, and thus a very short coherence length. Most so-called "single wavelength" lasers actually produce radiation in several modes having slightly different frequencies (wavelengths), often not in a single polarization. And although temporal coherence implies monochromaticity, there are even lasers that emit a broad spectrum of light, or emit different wavelengths of light simultaneously. There are some lasers which are not single spatial mode and consequently their light beams diverge more than required by the diffraction limit. However all such devices are classified as "lasers" based on their method of producing that light: stimulated emission. Lasers are employed in applications where light of the required spatial or temporal coherence could not be produced using simpler technologies.

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Laser Peening,

Seminar Report 2012-13

3. LASER PEENING
Laser peening is similar to shot peening but imparts compressive stresses much deeper into components with minimal surface deformation. The process replaces the stream of tiny metal or ceramic balls with short blasts of intense laser light, which generates high-pressure plasma, resulting in consistent and deeper compressive stresses in the material near surface, significantly improving performance and fatigue life. Laser peening technology has been under development since the 1970s at research facilities such as Battelle Laboratories, but only recently has new laser technology developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory allowed the development of systems that can peen fast enough for industrial use. With the advent of higher output systems, laser peening is now being used in a wide range of industries. Laser peening is an innovative surface enhancement process used to increase the resistance of aircraft gas turbine engine compressor and fan blades to foreign object damage (FOD) and improve high cycle fatigue (HCF) life. (1,2,3,4) The process creates residual compressive stresses deep into part surfaces typically five to ten times deeper than conventional metal shot peening. These compressive surface stresses inhibit the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks. Laser peening has been particularly effective in aircraft engine titanium alloy fan and compressor blades, however the potential application of this process is much broader, encompassing automotive parts, orthopedic implants, tooling and dies, and more. Significant progress has been made to lower the cost and increase the throughput of the process, making it affordable for numerous applications from gas turbine engines to aircraft structures, land vehicles, weapon systems, as well as general industrial use. Laser peening may also be referred to as laser shock processing (LSP), and various other commercial trade names. This paper reviews the status of laser peening technology, material propertenhancements,and potential applications.

Dept. of Tool & Die

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Laser Peening,

Seminar Report 2012-13

Dept. of Tool & Die

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Laser Peening,

Seminar Report 2012-13

4. SHOT PEENING
Shot peening is a cold working process in which small spherical media called shot bombard the surface of a part. During the shot peening process, each piece of shot that strikes the material acts as a tiny peening hammer, imparting to the surface a small indentation or dimple. To create the dimple, the surface of the material must yield in tension. Below the surface, the material tries to restore its original shape, thereby producing below the dimple, a hemisphere of cold-worked material highly stressed in compression. Nearly all fatigue and stress corrosion failures originate at the surface of a part, but cracks will not initiate or propagate in a compressively stressed zone. Because the overlapping dimples from shot peening create a uniform layer of compressive stress at metal surfaces, shot peening provides considerable increases in part life. Compressive stresses are beneficial in increasing resistance to fatigue failures, corrosion fatigue, stress corrosion cracking, hydrogen assisted cracking, fretting, galling and erosion caused by cavitation. The maximum compressive residual stress produced just below the surface of a part by shot peening is at least as great as one-half the yield strength of the material being shot peened.

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Laser Peening,

Seminar Report 2012-13

4.1 Metal Improvement by Laser Peening

Metal Improvement Company's laser peening process imparts a layer of beneficial residual compressive stress underneath the surface of metal components to help them better resist the detrimental effects of fatigue and corrosion.

In our laser peening process, a unique high energy laser is fired at the surface of a metal part to generate pressure pulses of one million pounds per square inch, which send shock waves through the part. Multiple firings of the laser in a pre-defined surface pattern will impart a layer of residual compressive stress that is four times deeper than that attainable from conventional peening treatments. Deeper levels of compressive stress provide greater resistance to potential fatigue and corrosion failures.

Dept. of Tool & Die

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Laser Peening,

Seminar Report 2012-13

5. APPLICATIONS
Now that laser peening technology and processes have been refined for practical use, commercial applications range from large aircraft components to power generation system parts to knee replacementsanywhere that critical, high-cost components require greater depths of compressive stress. Mobile systems are also advancing the widespread acceptance and use of laser peening. Transportable laser peening systems, currently in routine operation, facilitate components of arbitrarily large size, such as naval vessels in a shipyard. They are completely self-contained and allow quick setup and teardown on site anywhere laser peening is needed. Industrial applications either in production or detailed development include components for: Commercial wide body aircraft engine blades and discs, drive train components on U.S. Army helicopters, engine components for automobiles and biomechanics Energy systems such as steam turbines, power reactors and others

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Laser Peening,

Seminar Report 2012-13

6. LASER PEENING BENEFITS

The primary benefit of the Metal Improvement Company laser peening process is the development of a deep layer of compressive stress with only minimal cold working. This will increase the component's resistance to failure mechanisms such as fatigue, fretting fatigue and stress corrosion. A secondary benefit is the reduced potential for thermal relaxation of the residual stresses, because of the reduced cold work that is associated with the laser peening process. 6.1 Concept of Stress Intensity Superposition Superposition of compressive residual stresses onto the tensile stresses generated during cyclic fatigue. Crack propagation is suppressed if the net stresses remain in the compressive state.

The following charts show the effects of laser peening on the residual stress layer near the surface of various metals:

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Laser Peening,

Seminar Report 2012-13

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Laser Peening,

Seminar Report 2012-13

7. DISADVANTAGES OF LASER PEENING

High capital cost of the laser peening equipment, which may include a clean room environment and million dollar plus installations. Laser shock peening requires repeated coating with tape to produce the depth and magnitude of compression achievable in a single pass with LPB. Because the explosive laser shocks remove the tape from adjacent treatment sites, two coating cycles are usually required to achieve one layer of treatment. Multiple layers are generally required to achieve the desired depth of compression.

Process quality control has slowed the application of laser shock peening due to the difficulty of controlling the processing variables involved. Variation in the thickness and even turbulence of the water layer tamp, as well as debris in the air and on the mirrors affect the compression achieved, even when the laser power is precisely controlled. The laser shock peening process cannot provide the closedloop control available with LPB. Internal cracking caused by the superposition of shock waves from opposing faces of blades, or echoing waves from the opposite wall of thicker sections has been found to limit the application. The cost of laser shock peening is the highest of any of the surface enhancement methods, typically 10 to 100 times that of LPB or shot peening.

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Laser Peening,

Seminar Report 2012-13

8. CONCLUSION
Laser peening is similar to shot peening but imparts compressive stresses much deeper into components with minimal surface deformation. The process replaces the stream of tiny metal or ceramic balls with short blasts of intense laser light, which generates high-pressure plasma, resulting in consistent and deeper compressive stresses in the material near surface, significantly improving performance and fatigue life. Laser peening technology has been under development since the 1970s at research facilities such as Battelle Laboratories, but only recently has new laser technology developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory allowed the development of systems that can peen fast enough for industrial use. With the advent of higher output systems, laser peening is now being used in a wide range of industries. Metal Improvement Company's laser peening process imparts a layer of beneficial residual compressive stress underneath the surface of metal components to help them better resist the detrimental effects of fatigue and corrosion

Dept. of Tool & Die

12

AWH PTC

Laser Peening,

Seminar Report 2012-13

REFERENCE
1. "Laser Peening". Metal Improvement Company. 2004. Retrieved 2006-10-16. 2. LSP Technologies. Laser Shock Peening of F119 Integrally Bladed Rotors.

Retrieved 29 October 2008 from

3. https://www.dodmantech.com/successes/AirForce/03-07/BladeRotor.pdf 4. ^ Peach, Matthew (2006-10-09). "Handheld laser device hardens tools". Optics.org.

IOP Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 2006-10-16.

5. www.llnl.gov 6. Gould, R. Gordon (1959). "The LASER, Light Amplification by Stimulated

Emission of Radiation". In Franken, P.A. and Sands, R.H. (Eds.). The Ann Arbor Conference on Optical Pumping, the University of Michigan, 15 June through 18 June 1959. p. 128. OCLC 02460155
7. "laser". Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2008. Conceptual physics, Paul Hewitt,

2002
8. "Schawlow and Townes invent the laser". Lucent Technologies. 1998. Retrieved

October 24, 2006.

9. Chu, Steven; Townes, Charles (2003). "Arthur Schawlow". In Edward P. Lazear

(ed.),. Biographical Memoirs. vol. 83. National Academy of Sciences. p. 202. ISBN

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Seminar Report 2012-13

VOTE OF THANKS
First of all I express my sincere gratitude to all who supported me in presenting the seminar especially my teachers and friends.

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