The effects of laser peening on laser additive manufactured 316L steel

Laser peening has an extensive application in traditional manufacturing industry. However, in additive manufacturing, the initial stresses on the parts often reduce the effects of laser peening and make it hard to achieve a desirable residual stress distribution. In this investigation, the interaction of initial residual stress and laser peening-induced stress was studied through numerical simulation and experimental tests. A finite element model (FEM) model was built to predict the stress distribution on laser-deposited sample, and its changed state is affected by laser peening. The microstructure and mechanical properties were also characterized experimentally. The result turned out that the thermal-induced tensile residual stress in laser-deposited sample can affect the laser peening result in both horizontal and longitudinal directions. Some mechanical properties of the LAMed sample were changed after LSP treatment. The hardness on the surface and 1-mm depth have been increased by 7% and 22%, respectively, and the yield strength was increased by 16%, while there is no significant change in the tensile strength and elongation rate.