An experimental study of overlapping laser shock micro-adjustment using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser

The influence of nanosecond laser pulses applied by the overlapping laser shock micro-adjustment with Nd:YAG laser operating at a wavelength of λ=1064 nm on aluminum has been investigated. Systematic study was carried out in the term of effects of various factors on the surface quality and the adjusting results, including the laser energies, the overlap rates and the number of impacts. According to the results, a fine surface quality can be obtained by adjusting the process parameters. Depending on the local plastic deformation of material area beneath each laser shock, both convex and concave curvatures can be generated. Furthermore, the investigation of the overlapping laser shock micro-adjustment effect on mechanical properties was evaluated based on the residual stress distribution. From an industrial point of view, the overlapping laser shock micro-adjustment experiments without absorbent coating were also carried out.