Simulation of shot peening: From process parameters to residual stress fields in a structure

Manufacturing industries perform mechanical surface treatments like shot peening at the end of the manufacturing chain to protect important working parts. This treatment modifies the near surface of the treated part with the introduction of compressive residual stresses due to the repeated impacts of the shot. Then, the treated part exhibits, not only a longer life, but also a better fretting behavior, an improved resistance to corrosion… The objective of the present paper is first to study the relation between the process parameters and the material state (residual stress and plastic variables…) for a complex geometry. Next, a numerical tool is proposed, able to predict this material state in a time frame that is consistent with industrial constraints. The originality of the proposed approach thus consists in the chaining of the different steps. The first step is to choose the process parameters for the shot peening process considering conventional or ultrasonic shot peening and model the shot dynamics for a complex geometry. Once the impact velocity field is known, the objective is to compute the local incompatible plastic deformation field due to the repeated impacts using analytical methods. Then, a finite element model is used to compute the residual and deformation fields in the considered mechanical part. The complete method has been performed on the model of a gear, a mechanical part that is most often shot peened and exhibits a complex geometry.