Effect of shot peening using ultra-fine particles on fatigue properties of 5056 aluminum alloy under rotating bending

Shot peening using particles 10 μm in diameter (ultra-fine particle peening: Ultra-FPP) was introduced to improve the fatigue properties of 5056 aluminum alloy. The surface microstructures of the Ultra-FPP treated specimens were characterized using a micro-Vickers hardness tester, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), non-contact scanning white light interferometry, and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The Ultra-FPP treated specimen had higher hardness than the conventional FPP treated specimen with a short nozzle distance due to the high velocity of the ultra-fine particles. Furthermore, the surface hardness of the Ultra-FPP treated specimen tended to increase as the peening time decreased. Fatigue tests were performed in air at room temperature using a cantilever-type rotating bending fatigue testing machine. It was found that the fatigue life of the Ultra-FPP treated specimen tended to increase with decreasing peening time. Mainly, the Ultra-FPP improved the fatigue properties of 5056 aluminum alloy in the very high cycle regime of more than 10⁷ cycles compared with the un-peened specimens. This is because the release of the compressive residual stress is small during fatigue tests at low stress amplitudes.