Surface Morphology and Deformation Mechanism of Single Crystal Copper Treated by Laser Shock Peening

Abstract

Abstract.To study the relation between surface morphology and deformation mechanism of the target material under the shock, a flexible boundary loading, in laser shock peening(LSP), the macroscopic and microscopic surface morphology of a single crystal copper treated by LSP was investigated. The optical profilometer shows a 200-µm-deep pit forms on the shocked surface under LSP. The optical microscopy shows a set of parallel slip bands appear at the center of the shocked region and many vertical cross slip bands appear at the edge of shocked region. This indicates a large plastic deformation occurs by means of slip for the single crystal copper under LSP and the distributing features of slip bands correspond to the spatial distribution of the shock pressure. The results confirm that the surface morphology of materials under LSP can reflect the deformation mechanism and it can be a new method of studying the deformation mechanism of materials under LSP.