Effects of shot peening on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of surface nanocrystal layer on titanium matrix composite

[Display omitted] •The nanocrystal layers were introduced on the surface of Ti-6Al-4V and TMC by SP.•The nanograin layers were influenced by the shape and distribution of reinforcements.•Smaller nanograins near interfaces were formed via the severe deformation of matrix.•The deformation of TiC was more severe than TiB because of the different shapes.•The improved CRS and hardness on surface were due to the nanocrystal layer by SP. Shot peening (SP) was employed to modify the surface microstructure and mechanical properties of (TiB+TiC)/Ti-6Al-4V titanium matrix composite (TMC). And the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties were characterized and analyzed in detail. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results illustrated that the surface nanograins were introduced by the effect of SP and the hindering of reinforcements to the matrix deformation. The nanograins were formed near the reinforcement/matrix interface because the matrix was squeezed by both the shots and the reinforcements. Moreover, with increasing the volume fraction of reinforcements, the smaller nanograins were introduced near the interfaces due to the severe deformation between the matrix and reinforcements, which were caused by the decrease in average distance between two reinforcements. Under the same intensity of SP, the deformation of TiC was more severe than that of TiB, and more dislocations were introduced around TiC. The results were influenced by both the different shapes and distribution of reinforcements, and the impact direction of shots. After SP, the compressive residual stress (CRS) and the hardness in the peened surface layer were improved, which was due to the surface deformation, nanograins and high dislocation density in the nanocrystal layer.