Effects of warm laser peening at elevated temperature on the low-cycle fatigue behavior of Ti6Al4V alloy

This study focused on the effects of warm laser peening (WLP) on the fatigue behavior of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy during low-cycle fatigue (LCF) tests. The Ti6Al4V specimens were treated by laser peening at room temperature (RT-LP) and WLP at elevated temperatures from 100 °C to 400 °C. The residual stress relaxation (RSR) tests and LCF tests were conducted subsequently. In addition, the microstructure analysis of fracture surfaces was performed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Finally, the fracture mechanism of the untreated, RT-LPed and 300 °C-WLPed samples during LCF was revealed. It is found that although the compressive residual stress (CRS) induced by WLP decreases at elevated temperatures, the depth and stability of CRS increase with the increasing treatment temperature, which help to retard the early fatigue crack initiation. Moreover, for the 300 °C-WLPed specimens, the growth rate of effective cracks is decreased and the lengths of crack growth paths are increased by the induced high angle boundaries (HABs) and nano-precipitates. Therefore, specimens treated by WLP at 300 °C are found to have a significantly extended fatigue life when subjected to low-cycle loads. This extended fatigue life is attributed to the great depth and stability of introduced CRS, as well as the enhanced fracture toughness. It can be concluded that 300 °C is the optimal temperature for WLP of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy from the perspective of LCF improvement.