Friday 17 November 2017

This Is How Peening Is Done

By Douglas Thompson


By definition, this is the process of working a metal surface to improve the material properties. This can be done in three major ways. These methods are mechanical means which involves using a hammer blows, blasting with shots, or passing the metal through a series of light beams. Peening was first done in Germany in the early nineties in order to make metal resistant to fatigue.

The automotive industry was the first one to adopt this technology and was quickly followed by aircraft industry. Engineering literature avoided it until in the middle of nineties when it finally adopted it. With full acceptance it was used in a lot of projects. The invention of super constellation aircraft is the biggest project where it has been used. It underwent further innovation in the late nineties with the invention of laser shock version of the process.

Cold working is also known as the version of the process that uses shot. It has found use in the production of comprehensive residual stress layer. It is useful in the modification of mechanical properties of composites and metals. Shots are used to impact metal surfaces in this process. The shots may be made from ceramic, glass, metals or other materials. The impact of the shots is usually very powerful to create plastic deformations in the metal.

Cold working is applied in many industries such as automotive, construction and aircraft industries. It is used to strengthens and relieve stress in components such as steel automobile, crankshafts among others. In the building industry it provides a muted finish to metal. Cold working can be compared to sandblasting except the difference is it operates by mechanism of plasticity as opposed to sandblasting which operates on abrasive mechanism.

Laser version was a major breakthrough in technology. Desired property on the metal is achieved through dynamic mechanical effect caused by imparted shock waves. High energy lasers and transparent overlay are the two components used to give a metal the desired properties. A better result is achieved if the overlay is both opaque to laser beams and thin. Detrimental thermal effects which could damage targeted surface are contained by the opaque overlay.

The overlay also allows interactions of the laser beam and the target surface in a consistent manner. The fact that it amplifies the magnitude of the shock helps to cut cost of the process. There is the use of computer systems to achieve consistency and precision. Computers also allow for easier and better monitoring of the whole process.

This process can also produce a lot of textures compared to cold working. Laser version works by generating a shockwave in the work piece which in turn creates a compressive and tensile residual stress. This compressive and residual stress maintains the equilibrium state of the material. As the they fade in to the surface they harden the surface layer.

The new invention is this field is still used to achieve the same purpose except for a few modifications. New modifications include selective shaping of a metal surface using laser beams. Compressive residual stress forces metal to be flexible in selected parts. Controlled flexibility makes it easier to shape the metal into all desired shapes.




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