Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Surface Texturing 316L Stainless Steel by Laser Shock Processing

Surface texturing is considered as a promising method to reduce friction coefficient and improve wear resistance of frictional pairs. In this study, laser peen texturing (LPT) based on laser shock process is proposed to fabricate dimple array on 316L stainless steel. LTP experiments are carried out to investigate the geometrical characteristics of the micro-dimple. It is shown that LPT is capable of fabricating micro-dimples with good repeatability. Numerical simulation based on finite element method is conducted to further study the process of LPT. It is found that the dimple depth obtained from numerical simulation shows a good agreement with that measured from experiments. Moreover, by means of stress analysis, it is shown that residual compressive stress exists in the specimen, which is supposed to be helpful to improve the triboligical performance of frictional pairs. (paper)