Formation Mechanism and Control Method of Residual Stress Profile by Laser Shock Peening in Thin Titanium Alloy Component

In the laser shock peening process of titanium alloy thin blades, a shock wave will be repeatedly reflected and coupled in the blades, resulting in the failure of the formation of a gradient residual compressive stress layer, which is the key to improve fatigue performance and resist foreign object impact. This paper takes TC17 titanium alloy sheet as the research object to reveal the influence mechanism on residual stress-strain profile of shock wave reflection-coupling by shock wave propagation and key position dynamic response. Based on the result of influence mechanism, two wave transmission methods are proposed to regulate shock wave in order to reduce the intensity of shock wave reflection. The analysis shows that the high strength stress be formed when the shock wave is reflected and coupled in the sheet, which causes the re-plastic deformation and the decrease of transverse plastic strain. This eventually leads to residual tensile stress up to 410 MPa being formed within a 0.5 mm radial direction and 0.3 mm deep of the spot range. The use of “soft” and “hard” wave-transmitting layers greatly reduces the shock wave reflection intensity, and under the condition of the “hard” wave-transmitting layer, a better impedance matching is achieved, resulting in a residual compressive stress of about 400 MPa.