Effect of Warm Laser Shock Peening on the Tensile Strength and Ductility of Aluminum Alloys

In this study, aluminum alloy 7075 (AA 7075) is processed by WLSP and compared with LSP at room temperature (RT-LSP). The microstructure of AA 7075 after processing is characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Tensile test and hardness test were carried out to investigate the effect of WLSP to material strength and ductility. It has been found that highly dense nanoscale precipitate particles are generated after WLSP. These nanoscale precipitate particles effectively block dislocations and thus increase the material strength.