Laser shock peening and warm laser shock peening: process modeling and pulse shape influenceHigh-Power Laser Materials Processing: Lasers, Beam Delivery, Diagnostics, and Applications II

Laser shock peening is a well-known technology able to enhance the fatigue life of mechanical components by means of the introduction of residual stresses on their surface. These stresses are induced by means of the recoil pressure caused by the abrupt expansion, in a confining medium, of a laser-vaporized coating layer. If high power densities are used the recoil pressure can be high enough to induce compressive residual stresses on the target surface and to modify its mechanical properties. These mechanical properties can be predicted if the recoil pressure of the ablating layer is determined. In this paper the influence of the laser pulse shape on the recoil pressure is determined by means of a proper modeling of the whole process and the difference between "cold" and "warm" laser shock peening is pointed out.