Potential fatigue strength improvement of AA 5083-H111 notched parts by wire brush hammering: Experimental analysis and numerical simulation

• Wire brush hammering increases by 20% the AA 5083-H111 notched parts fatigue limit.
• Improvement of fatigue strength is related to the fatigue cracks nucleation.
• Fatigue strength prediction accounts for wire brush hammering effects.

The effects of milling as machining process and a post-machining treatment by wire-brush hammering, on the near surface layer characteristics of AA 5083-H111 were investigated. Surface texture, work-hardening and residual stress profiles were determined by roughness measurement, scanning electron microscope (SEM) examinations, microhardness and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The effects of surface preparation on the fatigue strength were assessed by bending fatigue tests performed on notched samples for two loading stress ratios R0.1 and R0.5. It is found that the bending fatigue limit at R0.1 and 107 cycles is 20% increased, with respect to the machined surface, by wire-brush hammering. This improvement was discussed on the basis of the role of surface topography, stabilized residual stress and work-hardening on the fatigue-crack network nucleation and growth. The effects biaxial residual stress field and surface work-hardening were taken into account in the finite element model. A multi-axial fatigue criterion was proposed to predict the fatigue strength of aluminum alloy notched parts for both machined and treated states.