Excessive coverage effect (over peening) in the blasting operation of aluminum alloy “AA 7475-T7351” with steel shot

Abstract

Aluminum and its alloys are widely used in the aeronautics industry due to its high lightness and ductility, and it can add other elements, thus changing its characteristics. Fatigue is the major cause of failure of metal materials due to the dynamic and oscillating stresses of the finished materials. The objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of Shot Peening with coverage percentages 1blasting, 3 blasting and 10 blasting in fatigue life of aluminum alloy AA 7475-T351. Shot Peening is a cold surface treatment used to increase fatigue life of the alloy by inducing residual stresses of compression on the surface of the part. In the Shot Peening process, spherical steel grids of type S230 were used, in which the specimens were subjected to 1blasting, 3 blasting and 10 blasting coverage in two stress levels (42 Ksi and 50 Ksi). The results presented in the fatigue tests and electron scanning (SEM) showed the increase in the mechanical properties of all the samples, and those exposed to 1 blasting and 3 blasting presented better results.