Laser Shock Peening Induced Back Stress Mitigation in Rolled Stainless Steel

Laser shock peening (LSP) is investigated as a potential tool for reducing tensile back stress, shown here applied to rolled and annealed 304L austenitic steel. The back stress of treated and untreated dog-bone samples is extracted from hysteresis tensile testing. Electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) and orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) analysis quantify the geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density distribution of unstrained and strained as well as unpeened and peened conditions. Finite element analysis (FEA) simulation models back stress and residual stress development through tensile testing and LSP treatment using known LSP pressure models and Ziegler's nonlinear kinematic hardening law. Nonlinear regression fitting of tensile testing stress-strain in as-received specimens extracts the kinematic hardening parameters that are used in numerical study. This research shows LSP may be used to overcome manufacturing design challenges presented by yield asymmetry due to back stress in rolled steel.