SHOTPEENING

Forlongerfatiguelife Shot Peening allows metal parts to accept higher loads or to endure a longer fatigue life in service withoutfailure.Inusualapplicationsshotpeeningcan be done without changing the part design or its material. Ifyoustrikeapartsurfacewitharoundedobjectata velocity,sufficienttoleaveanimpressionandcontinue until you completely cover (cold work) the entire surfacethenyouwillhavepeenedthatpart. Inmodernusagepeeningisappliedbythrowingtinycaststeelballsorshotathighvelocity hencethetermshotpeening. Actuallytheeffectofpeeningwasdiscoveredcenturiesagobyswordsmithsandblacksmiths whofoundthepeeningthesurfaceofaswordorwagonspringwouldgreatlyincreaseits resistancetobreakingwhenbentorloadedrepeatedly.Thereasonsforthisimprovementwere not then understood. The round knob of the ball peen hammer was the smiths tool for applyingthisprocesstocold(nothot)parts. WHEREISSHOTPEENINGUSED? Mostpeopledonotknowthatinthecartheydriveallthecoil,leafandvalvespringshave been shot peened as well as the torsion rods, drive shafts, axles, and gears. IN some vehiclestheconnectingrods,andcrankshaftarepeenedaswell. Ifyoufly,shotpeeningalsocontributestotheintegrityofmanyoftheplanespartsandto yoursafetyforshotpeeningworksitswondersonaaluminumandtitaniumaswellassteel parts. The wind sins and structural members will have been shot peened to improve their fatiguepropertiesaswellastopreventstresscorrosioncracking.Thelandinggearisshot peenedandmostpartsinthejetenginesalso. Iftheplaneisawidebodytypethewingskinswillhavebeenformedtotheairfoilcontours byaprocesscalledpeenforming.Thisamazingprocessissocostaffectiveandversatilethat the wings of new aircraft designs are possible the forming of very long tapered skins includingpositiveornegativedihedralbreaksvirtuallywithouttooling,andthesideeffects( additionofcompressivestresses)arebeneficialnotdetrimental. Whenathinpartispeenedononesidethecompressivestresslayerhastheeffectoftrying toelongatethepeenedsurfaceandtherebycurvesthepart.Thecurvethenwilldevelopwith theconvexsidetowardtheincomingshot.Peenformingisbasedonthiseffect.

INDABRATOR | SurfacePreparationSystems

Peeninghaslittleornoeffectonstaticallyloadedstructuressuchasbuildingsorbridges.It worksbestforcyclicallyloadedparts(whereloadreversalsoccurfrequently). Railroadwheels,rotaryprintingpressplates,aircraftpropellers,highstrengthfasteners,rock drillingbits,anddrillrodsaretypicallypeenedparts. ShotPeeningForLongerFatigueLife Itisrarethatwegofromoneplacetoanotherbyroadandnotfindavehicle,eithera lorryoracarbrokedownontheroadduetofatiguefailureofaxleshaftorthespringandso on,thuscreatingobstaclesintheflowoftrafficandsometimesresultinginseriousaccidents. These fatigue failures can be reduced and are being almost eliminated in the Western countriesbytheadoptionofshotpeeningprocessforincreasingthefatiguelifeofvarious componentssubjectedtofatiguestress. Shotpeeningisjustoneoftheapplicationsofshotblastingforincreasingthefatiguelifeof various components subject to fatigue stress. The reduced fatigue failures result in low maintenanceandreplacementcostforpartslikesprings,gears,axlesandknucklejointsetc. Asiswellknown,thepartwhichhfailsinfatigue,failsmainlyduetoitsfailureintensile strength.Justasinprestressedconcreteattheendofshotpeening,thepartsareleftwith residualcompressivestress.Whenthecomponentissubjectedtothetensileload,aportion ofthetensilestressessetbytheloadisneutralizedbytheresidualcompressivestressesleft bytheshotpeening.Thustheeffectiveloadisgreatlyreduced,resultinginanincreased fatiguelifeeventotheextentof1,500percent,ormore. Manufacturersofswordsandbrassutensilsarewellknownfortheirdentingthesurfaceof theswordsortheutensilsforbetterlifebyroundheadedhammerscalledballpeenhammers. Todaythisisnotdonebyhammersbutbyveryfastmovingmetallicshots.Shotpeeningisa coldworkingmethodaccomplishedbypeltingthesurfaceofametalpartwithroundmetallic shotthrownatarelativelyhighvelocity,bymeansofanAirlessWheelabratorCentrifugal wheel. Eachshotactsasatinypeenhammer,makingasmalldentinthesurfaceofthemetaland stretchingthesurfaceradiallyasithits.Theimpactoftheshotcausesaplasticflowofthe surfacefibresextendingtoadepthdependinguponthedegreeofimpactoftheshotand thephysicalpropertiesofthework.Depthsvaryingfrom.005to.030arerathercommon, butvalueseitherhigherorlowerthanthisrangecanbepractical.Thereismomentaryriseof temperatureofthesurfaceduetotransformationofenergy,possiblyenoughtoaffectthe plasticflowofsurfacefibres;however,theeffectofshotpeeningisknownascoldworking todistinguishitfrommetalflowathightemperatures. The fibres underneath the top layer, however, are not stretched to their yield point and, therefore,retainelasticity,theunderfibresare,ofcourse,bondedtothestretchedsurface layerandaftertheinnerfibresforcetheouterfibrestoreturntoashorterlengththanthat

INDABRATOR | SurfacePreparationSystems

atwhichthestretchedfibreswouldtendtoremain,intheequilibriumwhichresults,the surfacefibresareinresidualcompressionwhiletheinnerfibresareintension. Thesurfacecompressionstressisseveraltimesgreaterthanthetensionstressintheinterior of the section; so that when working stresses are applied that would ordinarily impose a tensionstressonthesurface,thattensionisoffsetbytheresidualstressinthesurfacelayer, andsinceasmentionedbeforethefatiguefailuresgenerallyresultformtensilestresses,not formcompressivestress,thenetresultisconsiderablygreaterfatiguestrength. Shotpeeningisnowadaysusedwithhundredsofdifferentcomponentssomeofwhichare givenhere.Railwayleafsprings,automobileleafsprings,helicalspringsofalltypes,Gearsof alltypes,axlebearings,crankshafts,pneumaticdrills,millingcutters,connectingrods,cylinder blocksandvaluespringswashersetc.. Mostoftheshotblastingequipmentcouldbeutilizedforshotpeeningwiththeproper arrangementoftheshotseparator.Besidestherearespecialshotpeeningmachinestosuit thespecificrequirementofparticularsizesandshapesoftheproductandthequantityof theproducttobeshotpeened. HOWDOESSHOTPEENINGHELP? Whenaroundpart(steelball)strikesapartofsurfaceathighvelocitythecontactareaisa point.Thisconcentratestheimpactenergyinaverysmallarea.Partofthisenergyiswastedin deformingandbouncingtheballbutasignificantamountistransferredintothepartbeing struckcausingaradialplasticflowattheimpactpointandmayevenleaveasmallvisible crater. This plastic flow or movement of metal leaves compressive stresses in the part. Completecoverageofthewithoverhaulingballimpactsleavesathinpermanentcompressive stresslayerinthepartsurface. Metalsfailundertension(pullapart)loadsandnotundercompressive(pushtogether)loads andnotundercompressive(pushtogether)loads.Thefailurecrackwillusuallyinitiateatthe part surface where tension stresses are highest and a stress riser exists ( scratch, dent, machinemark,etc..). Whenparts whichhavebeenshot peenedareloaded,thefailure producingtensilestressesarethusreducedbytheamountofthecompressivestressespre existinginthepartsurface.Thisloweringoftheeffectivetensilestresswillthenallowthe parttoaccepthigherloadingortoextenditsservicelifesignificantly. When the depth of the induced compressive stress layer exceeds the dept of all surface discontinuities(stressrisers)theirabilitytostartacrackiseffectivelymasked.Thisisavery importantsecondarybenefit. SHOTPEENINGTODAYISAPRECISIONPROCESS Shot peening is the bombarding of a metal component by small spherical or noncutting particles,resultinginplasticdeformationandthesettingupofacompressivestressinthe peenedsurface.Itisacoldworkingprocessmostcommonlyusedtopreventfatiguefailure

INDABRATOR | SurfacePreparationSystems

andtoincreasethefatiguelifeofcomponentsundercyclicstressconditions.Thecompressive stressimpartedinthesurfacebypeeningservestoinhibitorreducetensilestressesinthe area where material failure would normally develop. The resulting increase in the componentfatiguelifeisinsomecasesknowntobeashighas1500%. Peeningcanbeachievedbypropellingtheshotcentrifugallybymeansofanimpeller,or pneumatically in high pressure airstream using a pressure fed or ejector nozzle. Modern automatic peening machines are capable of projecting millions of steel or glass beads in seconds. Therearenumerousapplicationswherethecompressivestressproducedbypeening,which canbeasmuchashalftheyieldstrengthofthematerial,isofsizeandconditionofthe peening media, the time the workpiece is exposed to the blast stream, the size and configuration of the nozzles, angles, distances and other related factors it is possible to control accurately the depth of the compressed layer, the distribution o f stress and in consequence,thegreaterlifeexpectationoftheworkpiece. Intheaerospaceindustry,forexample,wherepartssuchasaircraftundercarriagelegsare shotpeened,theshotpeeninglegsareshotpeened,theshotpeeningneedstobecarried outtoverystrictspecificationstomeetsafetyrequirementslaiddownbyairlinesandaircraft manufacturers. This is an extreme case, and there are many applications of shot peening wherethecontrolisnotsovitallyimportant,butneverthelessitisstillrequiredtoensure consistencyofpeeningintensityfromonecomponenttothenexttomeetqualitycontrol requirements. SHOTPEENINGINTENSITY: Ifoneimaginesastreamofsphericalparticlesleavingablastnozzleoracentrifugalblasting machineandstrikingametalsurface,theworkdonetothesurfacedependsonanumberof factors.Sizeandmaterialofthesphericalshotisimportant,asisitsvelocityandtherate andangleatwhichtheblastpatternsweepsacrossthesurface.Therelativeworkdonetothe surface is called the Peening intensity. Obviously it is impractical to count and weigh the particlesandmeasuretheirvelocity,soasimplercomparativemethodhasbeendevicedto measurepeeningintensity. Ifaflatstripofmetalisshotpeenedononesideonlyitwillslightlycurlawayfromthe sidewhichhasbetreatedandproduceaconvexsurface.Ifastandardstripisused,the degreeofcurvatureisameasureofthepeeningintensity,thestripecurlingmoreathigher intensities.ThestandardstripiscalledanAlmenStripafterthemanwhofirstformalizedthis method. It is made from spring steel of carefully controlled quality to a size within close tolerances.ItisusedinthreethicknesscalledC,AandN.TheCstripisthickestandNstrip thethinnest.Thecurvatureorareheight,ofthestripismeasuredwiththeaidofadial gauge Fig.1 after the strip is placed and retained magnetically against two pairs of ball contactsafixeddistanceapart.Thegaugeiszeroedwiththeunpeenedstripinposition. After peening peening the strip is replaced against the contacts with the unpeened side

INDABRATOR | SurfacePreparationSystems

towardsthedialgaugestemandtheAlmenareheightisreaddirectlyinthousandsthsofan inchormillimeters. The three different strip thicknesses are to cater for different extremes of peening intensity. For mostapplicationsanAstripwouldbeused,andifthisgaveadeflectionafterpeeningof 0.015inthiswouldbeexpressedas0.015inA,lighterpeening,givinglessthan0.006inA, anNstripwouldbeused.TheCstripisforheavypeeningofanintensity,greaterthan0.23 inA.Generally,areheightNisthreetimesareheightAandaCreadingis0.3ofthaton anAstrip.Inpractice,80%ofallpeeningrequirementsliebetween0.012inAand0.020in A. WhenpeeningintensityismeasureditisimportanttosubjectonesideoftheAlmenstripto exactly the same blast conditions as the object to be peened. To do this the strip is clampedbytheheadsoffourscrewstoaheavyflatblockofhardenedtoolsteel,calledan Almenblock,Fog..Theassemblyisthenpassedthroughtheblaststreaminthesamemanner andrelativepositionastheparttobepeened.Onirregularlyshapedcomponentsoftenmore thanonestripisused,eachonepositionedonadifferencefacerequiringtreatment. PEENINGSATURATION Althoughpeeningintensitydependsonafactorsconcernedwiththeshotblastequipment (pressure,shotsize,andsoon)thetimeofexposuretoashotblaststreamisalsovery important.Thegraph,Fig.3showshowpeeningintensity(Almenareheight)increases withexposuretime.Thepeeningintensityincreasedwithtimeuntilasaturationpointsis reachedwhereanyincreaseinexposuretimeofthesamplestotheblastonlyresultsina marginalincreaseinpeeningintensity.Ifcontinuedblastingforalongperiodoftimedoes notproducedarequiredAlmenarcheight,thansaturationpointhasbeenreachedandeither a larger shot size is required or a higher shot velocity to increase the Almen arc ( at saturation).Inpractice,specificationsofpeeningintensityshouldalwaysbeforsaturation values. PEENINGCOVERAGE: Itisessentialifthemaximumbenefitfromshotblastingistobeobtainedthatthesurface iscompletelyanduniformlycoveredbytheminuteindentationsresultingfrombombardment by the peening media. Generally, a peening specification should state the percentage coveragerequiredandthiswouldbeestimatedbyinspectingthepeeningsurfacewiththeaid ofmagnifyingglassorpreferably,amicroscope.Mostspecifications,particularlythoseused in the safety conscious aerospace industry, will call for a 100% coverage. At least 90% coveragewillprobablyberequiredforlessstringentrequirements.Asampleofstainlesssteel peenedto100%coverageisshowninFig..Thecharacteristiccrateredappearancecanbe clearlyseenintheillustration. PEENINGMEDIA

INDABRATOR | SurfacePreparationSystems

To accomplish a shot peening job efficiently, shot of the correct material and size maintainedinaconditionfreeofcuttingedges,shouldbeused.Shotofpeeningisavailable inavarietyofmaterialsdependingonthenatureofthejobinhand. Caststeelshotisgenerallyusedforpeeningferrouscomponentsleaforcoilsprings,for example or for the treatment of nonferrous articles when the possibility of ferrous contamination is acceptable. It is however possible to blast components with angular non ferrousabrasiveafterpeeningwithcaststeelshottoremoveanyferrouscontamination.This isnotgenerallydone,sinceitwouldprobablybecheapertopeenthearticlewithglass beadsinthefirstinstance. Glassbeadsarewidelyusedforpeeningnonferrouscomponentsorwhereverylowintensities may be required, for example on aluminum and its alloys, titanium and stainless steel, particularlyintheaerospaceindustrywherepeeningiswidelyusedtoincreasethefatiguelife onnonferrouscomponents.TheregularityofsizeandshapecanbeclearlyseeninFig.5. Coppedwireislesswidelyusedforpeeningandconsistsofspringsteelwire,orpianowire, shoppedintolengthsequaltoitsdiameter.Beforebeingusedforpeeningithastobeblasted againstasteelplatetobluntthesharpcutends. SHOTSIZES Apartfromconsiderationsofpeeningintensity,whicharedirectlyaffectedbyshotsizethe sizeofshotshouldbesmallenoughtofitthesmallestinsideradiusorfilletbeingpeened, preferablylessthanonethirdofthefilletradius,Fig.6.Inaddition,itsdiametershouldnot exceed one third of the fillet that of the smallest used including of course, the nozzle throughwhichtheshotispropelled. Tomaintaintherequiredstandardofpeeningintensityitisvitallyimportantthatthesize rangeofshotisthatvirtuallyallshatteredparticlesareremoved.Inbetterqualityshot blastequipmentthisisachievedbyanefficientairwashsystemwhichremovesundersize particlesbypassingacontrolledairstreamthroughafallingstreamofpeeningmediawhich ahsbeenprecipitated bycentrifugalmeansinacyclone. Forfinaleliminationofoversize unwanteddebris,thereusableparticlespassthroughavibratedsieve. PEENINGANDTHEDESIGNER Mainapplicationofshotpeeningistoincreasethefatiguelifeofcomponentsundercyclicstress. Theprocesswillprovideoptimumbenefitsatthedesignstageofacomponent.Peeningcan beusefullyemployedwithinthecontextofextendingfatiguelifeintwoways.Eitherthefatigue life of an existing component which has revealed premature failure can be reduced considerablytogivethesamefatiguelife.Itisthelatterconceptthatisofinteresttothe designer. Generallyspeakingheisnotinterestedinunnecessarilyincreasingthecomponentsfatigue life.Heis,however,veryinterestedinunnecessarilyincreasingthecomponentsfatiguelife.Heis

INDABRATOR | SurfacePreparationSystems

however,veryinterestedinreducingitssize,andhencecost,inthefirstinstancewhilestill retainingthesamelifecharacteristics.Inaddition,componentweightwillbereducedwhichis ofcoursevitalintheaerospaceindustry. SELECTIVETREATMENT: It is not always necessary to peen an article all over. This is particularly true where a componenthasanareaoffparticularlyhighstress,inwhichcaseonlythehighlystressed area need be peened. If selected areas only are being peened care must be taken when blending the peened and unpeened areas. An instance is where an article could be experiencingachangingstresswhichisnotcyclicinasmuchasthestressdoesnotreverse. Acaseinpointisamotorvehicleleadspring,whereonesideisconstantlyundertension which(isamotorvehicle)isalwaysfluctuatingduringuse.Inthiscase,fatiguefailurecould still occur, but only form the tension side and peening need only be carried out on the tensionsidetoproducealayerundercompressivestress.Ifonevisualizestheloadedspring, theothersideisalwaysundercompressivestress.Evengreaterbenefitcanbeobtainedby peeningwiththecomponentunderstress.Whenthecomponentisthenreleased,thedepth of the peened compressive layer is greater then would have been the case for normal peeningandagreaterfatigueresistanceresults. AIRBLASTCENTRIFUGAL Maindifferencebetweenairblastandcentrifugalmachinesisthatthelatterdonotpropel eachparticletoavelocityashighasthatwithairblast,buttheyproduceablastpattern containingmanymoreparticles.Thismeansthattheycanhandleamuchgreaterthroughput ofworkthananairblastmachine,buttoobtainthesamepeeningintensityalargershot sizewouldprobablyneedtobeused.Additionally,thelargerpatternofblastwithvarying shotvelocitiesfromthecentretotheedgesofthepatternproducesvariablepeeningintensities over the total which for some components would be unacceptable. For many items, however,whenpeeningtosaturation,thisisnotacriticalfactor. Centrifugal machines are widely used for heavy peening applications. Typical examples are largecoilsprings,torsionbarsandleafsprings.Formoredelicatecomponentslikevalve springs,pushrodsandrocketarms,theprecisionofairblastsystemsmaybepreferred. Itisimportanttohaveairpressureregulationonanairblastmachine.Withthisfacilityany requiredpeeningintensitycaneasilybeachievedbyaselectedcombinationofshotsizeand airpressure.Equallyimportantistherateoffeedingoftheshotthroughthenozzle.Itis importantthatanevencontrolledfeedismaintained,andthattheorificethroughwhichthe shot passes into the compressed air stream is either fully adjustable, or designed to accommodate a wide variation in shot size while still keeping the appropriate feed rate. Further considerations are the orifice and angle of the nozzle from the workpiece. To reproducepeeningintensitiesaccuratelyallthesefactorsshouldbespecified.

INDABRATOR | SurfacePreparationSystems

Generallycentrifugalmachinesareusedwithsteelshotorcutwire.Untilrecentlyithasnot beenpossibletouseglassbeadsonthemtoavoidcontaminationofnonferrousworkpieces. Mainreasonforthisisthatthelighterbeadscouldnotbereclaimedbutweredrawninto the dust collection system to be wasted. This is particularly undesirable since glass bead peeningmediaismoreexpensivethanironorsteelshot.Anadditionaldifficultyisthatthe beads,beinglighterthansteelspheres,aresloweddownbyatmosphericdragonleavingthe impeller,withconsequentreductioninpeeningintensities. Thedifficultyofreclaimingglassbeadsforfurtherusehasbeensolvedintwoways,byusing acentrifugalprecipitatorthroughwhichallairmustpassbeforereachingthedustcollector, andbyconveyingthebeadsforreuseonafluidizedbedincorporatinganefficientclassifying systemforremovinganyremainingdustandbrokenbeadparticles.Atubularimpellerhas beendevelopedforpropellingthebeadssoastooffsettheslowingdowncausedbyairdrag (seemetalworkingproduction,April1973,P.101).Theuseofimpellertubesinsteadofflat bladeshastwoadvantages.Firstly,thetrackwidthproducedparalleltotheaxisofthewheel is version, with a much greater, up to 100%, peak intensity at the centre. Secondly, distribution of the blast pattern over its length normal to the axis of the wheel, shows a greaterareaofhighintensitythanfromabladedversion.Thisisespeciallynoticeablewhen usingfinemedia. PEENINGISVERSATILE Oftenatechniquebecomesassociatedwithastrictlylimitednumberofapplications.This leadstobethecasewithshotpeening,whereeverydayproceduressuchasthetreatmentof crankshafts,gearsandspringsisthoughtbymanytobethefullextentoftheprocess.In scopeandscalethevarietyofshotpeeningapplicationsisconsiderable.Itrangesfromthe treatment of large aircraft undercarriage components to delicate miniaturized electronic, componentssubjecttostress,whichareshotpeenedwithtinyglassspheresrangingfrom45 to75micron. Nor are the applications confined to the classis fatigue situation, where a component undergoes a cyclic stress and shot peening increases fatigue life. There are other surface defectsthatcausemetaltofailwhichcanbeinhibitedbyacarefullycontrolledpeening process.Stresscorrosioncrankingisaproblemthatoccursasaresultofappliedstressona component in a corrosive environment. Failure would not occur in the corrosive environmentalonenorundertheappliedstressonly.Itisthecombinationthatcausesthe problems.Iffailurecannotbepreventedbypeening,lifetofailurewillbecertainlyincreased. Thepeeningofbearingstoimprovefatiguelifeisanobviousapplication,butsimultaneously thebombardmentresultsinacrateredsurfaceformationinwhichlubricantsareretained. Thisisofimportanceinanysituationwheretwometalsurfacesaremovinginrelationto eachother. The controlledhammeringeffectofshotpeeninghasbeenprovedtoclosetheporesof metalsurfaces.Vacuumchambersneedtohaveanonporoussurfacetoreduceoutgassing

INDABRATOR | SurfacePreparationSystems

duringpumpdownandglassbeadpeeningistheacknowledgedtreatment.Thetreatmentof castings is another obvious area where the problem of porosity can be reduced. Surface scratchesandmachiningmarksandsimilartinyimperfectionsactingasstressraisersarethe causeofprematurefailureandtreatmentwithsphericalpeeiningmediacanremovethese imperfections.Inmanyinstancesitisnecessarytorelievetensilestressinducedinthesurface bygrindingorweldingduringmanufacture.Thesestressescanbemodifiedbypeeningthe workpieceintheappropriateareas. Treatmentbyglassbeadblastingisafasteffectiveandinexpensivemethodofburrremoval which can be carried out in manually operated or fully automated plants. Where the componentsaredesignedforusesunderstress,peeninganddebarringcanbeundertakenin thesameoperation. TheeffectofpeeningwhichcausestheAlmenstripstobendcanbeusedonmetalsheets thathavetobeformedintoacurvedsurface.Bypeeningonesideonlyandatdifferent intensitiesindifferentplaces,thesheetcanbeinducedtofollowacomplexcurve.Evenif treatedononesideonly,bothsurfacelayerswillbeundercompressivestress,witharesultant improved fatigue resistance. When peen forming it is possible to machine off the microscopicallycrateredsurfacecausedbythepeeningaction,ifamachinedfinishisrequired. The principle of peen forming can, of course, be applied to straightening deformed componentsofthinsection.Comparedtomechanicalmethodsofstraightening,whichcan producetensilestresses,theresultantcompressivesurfacelayercanbeoffbenefit. Sofarnomentionhasbeenmadeofproductappearance.Thefinishthatresultfromglassbead peeningcanbeapowerfulsalesfeature.Dependingonblastintensity,varyingfinishescanbe obtained,fromasatinpearlreflectivesurfacetoapleasinghammereffect.

INDABRATOR | SurfacePreparationSystems