Structural Details of Laser Treated SS 304 and SS 316L(N) Plates

Laser Shock Peening (LSP) is adopted to induce compressive residual stresses on to the surface of austenitic stainless steels (SS) 304 and 316L(N). The SS plates were subjected to LSP using different laser energies in the direct X-ray diffraction studies have been performed on the laser treated samples in order to understand the variations in precise lattice parameter and also to understand the strain induced in these materials. In this paper correlations has been made between laser energies applied, resultant microstructural features and induced residual stresses for the above mentioned structural materials for fusion reactor vessels.