Abrasive Waterjet Peening with Elastic Prestress: Subsurface Residual Stress Distribution

Recent advances in abrasive waterjet (AWJ) technology have resulted in new processes for surface treatment that are capable of introducing compressive residual stresses with simultaneous changes in the surface texture. While the surface residual stress resulting from AWJ peening has been examined, the subsurface residual stress field resulting from this process has not been evaluated. In the present investigation, the subsurface residual stress distribution resulting from AWJ peening of Ti6Al4V and ASTM A228 steel were studied. Treatments were conducted with the targets subjected to an elastic prestress ranging from 0 to 75% of the substrate yield strength. The surface residual stress ranged from 680 to 1487 MPa for Ti6Al4V and 720 to 1554 MPa for ASTM A228 steel; the depth ranged from 265 to 370 μm for Ti6Al4V and 550 to 680 μm for ASTM A228 steel. Results showed that elastic prestress may be used to increase the surface residual stress in AWJ peened components by up to 100 %.