A systematic study on the effects of shot peening on a mild carbon steel: Microstructure, mechanical properties, and axial fatigue strength of smooth and notched specimens

Abstract Used with the right combination of parameters, shot peening process can be regarded as a severe plastic deformation method that can greatly enhance the strength of mechanical components by inducing surface grain refinement, increasing the hardness, and generating compressive residual stresses in the top surface layer. The present experimental study explores the effects of gradual rise of shot peening kinetic energy on microstructure, mechanical properties, and fatigue behavior of AISI 1045 carbon steel by changing the process parameters over a wide range of Almen intensity (20-32A) and surface coverages (100-3000%). Microstructural observations, X-ray diffraction, microhardness and residual stress measurements were carried out to analyze the effects of grain refinement as the kinetic energy of the peening process increased. In addition to compression-tension axial fatigue tests, fatigue crack growth measurements were also performed on specimens in both smooth and notched configurations. The results demonstrated that increasing the kinetic energy of the process is an effective technique to achieve nanostructured surface layer combined with superior mechanical properties. Severe shot peening treatment significantly improved the fatigue strength of the treated specimens, while the continuous growth of surface coverage proved to have detrimental effects on fatigue behaviour.