Friday, November 17, 2017

How Peening Is Defined And How It Is Performed

By Douglas Thompson


By definition, this is the process of working a metal surface to improve the material properties. This can be done in three major ways. These methods are mechanical means which involves using a hammer blows, blasting with shots, or passing the metal through a series of light beams. Peening was first done in Germany in the early nineties in order to make metal resistant to fatigue.

Later, the automotive industry adopted the method followed by the aircraft industry. In the mid-nineties, this method was refined and included in literature in engineering courses. The popularity of the method has since continued to grow, as it finds more use in more projects. The method was very useful in the invention of the super constellation aircraft. The invention of the laser version took this method to a whole new level.

Cold working or shot version of this process is applied in production of compressive residual stress layers. When applied on a metal its composite and mechanical properties get modified. Cold working entails blasting a metallic surface with shots of particles of ceramic, round metals, or glass. The blasting force gives the surface a deformation that is plastic in nature.

Aircraft, automotive, and construction industries are some of sectors where cold working is applied on large scale. It is applied because of its ability to relieve stress and strength components like crankshafts and steel automobile. A muted finish on metal is reason the construction industries need it. It is similar to sandblasting save for some differences. The main difference is that sandblasting works on mechanism of abrasion while it works on plasticity.

Like mentioned above, discovery of the laser version was a big breakthrough. It achieves desired properties through the dynamic mechanical effects of shock waves imparted on the metal. This method uses high energy pulsed laser system and transparent overlay in achieving the goal. The overlay needs to be thin and opaque in nature to the lase beam. The purpose of the opaque overlay is to offer protection to the target surface against detrimental thermal effects.

The overlay also provides a consistent surface for the laser beam to interact with the material of the target surface. It increases the magnitude of the shock entering the target this reduces the cost in general. The process utilizes computer control unlike cold working. This enables it produce practical results in matters pertaining to technologies, direct measuring among others. This also enables the process to be closely monitored in order to achieve the best results.

This process can also produce a lot of textures compared to cold working. Laser version works by generating a shockwave in the work piece which in turn creates a compressive and tensile residual stress. This compressive and residual stress maintains the equilibrium state of the material. As the they fade in to the surface they harden the surface layer.

The new invention is this field is still used to achieve the same purpose except for a few modifications. New modifications include selective shaping of a metal surface using laser beams. Compressive residual stress forces metal to be flexible in selected parts. Controlled flexibility makes it easier to shape the metal into all desired shapes.




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