The laser shock induced stress wave is described and measured with a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) transducer. A principle for selecting laser parameters is proposed. A small sized laser with a high power is used for Laser Shock Processing (LSP). The fatigue life of the aluminum alloy 2024T62 is greatly improved after LSP. With 95% confidence, the mean fatigue life of LSP specimens is 4.5–9.8 times that of unshocked ones. The fatigue and fracture resistance mechanisms of LSP such as the variation of the surface hardness, the microstructure and the fracture section of specimens before and after LSP are analyzed. [S0094-4289(00)01601-7]

1.
Vaccari
,
J. A.
,
1992
, “
Laser Shocking Extends Fatigue Life
,”
American Machinist
,
7
, pp.
62
64
.
2.
Peyre
,
P.
,
Merrien
,
P.
, and
Lieurade
,
H. P.
, et al.
,
1993
, “
Renforcementd’alliages- d’aluminum moul’esparondes dechocaser
,”
Mat’ eriaux & techniques
,
6–7
, pp.
7
12
.
3.
Grevey
,
D.
,
Maiffredy
,
L.
, and
Vannes
,
A. B.
,
1992
, “
Laser shock on a TRIP alloy: mechanical and metalurgical consequences
,”
J. Mater. Sci.
,
27
, pp.
2110
2116
.
4.
Puig
,
T.
,
Decamps
,
B.
, and
Bourda
,
C.
, et al.
,
1992
, “
Deformation of a γ/γ Waspaloy After Laser Shock
,”
Mater. Sci. Eng.
,
A154
, pp.
183
191
.
5.
Zhang
,
Hong
,
Tang
,
Yaxin
, and
Yu
,
Chengye
, et al.
Effects of Laser Shock Processing on the Fatigue Life of Fastener Holes
,”
Chin. J. Lasers
,
A23
, No.
12
, pp.
1112
1116
.
6.
Zeldovich Y. B., and Raizer Y. P., 1966, Physics of Shock Wave and High Temperature Hydrodynamics of Explosive Gas, New York, Academic Press, pp. 154-167.
7.
Henrych, J., 1979, The Dynamics of Explosion and its Use. Elsevier, NY, pp. 63-72.
8.
Romain J. P., Bauer, F., and Zanouri D., 1994, “Measurement of laser induced shock pressures using PVDF gauges,” High Pressure Science and Technology, 1993, S C. Schmidf, ed., American Institute of Physics, pp. 1915-1919.
You do not currently have access to this content.