Mechanical Engineering Department/ University of Technology- Baghdad. Confinement layer is considered as the most important parameter during the laser shock peening (LSP) treatment.  In this paper, its effect on the surface treatment effectivity of composite materials was investigated. The composite used in this research was fabricated using hand lay-up as a manufacturing process. The matrix material was built from unsaturated polyester resin and reinforced with 2.5% volume fraction of micro particles of aluminum powder. Fatigue test was conducted at room temperature with constant amplitude stress and a stress ratio of R =-1, before and after LSP treatment. LSP was applied with and without confinement layer at the same level of energy after the specimens were coated with a black paint. The results manifested that the laser peening without confinement layer increased the endurance limit by about 13.296% compared with the untreated state. Whereas using water as a confinement layer during treatment reduced the endurance strength by about 18.133% compared to the untreated state. Also, it was observed that the difference between confined and unconfined LSP effects on the endurance limit was about 31.429%.

Laser shock peening is a widely common process for materials treatment and typically used for fatigue strength enhancement especially for metals. In this paper, its effect on polymeric composite materials studied experimentally. Unsaturated polyester was used as a matrix in order to composites preparation and Aluminum powder as fillers. A Hand lay-up technique has been used for composites making. Composites with three volume fractions of Aluminum powder were prepared (2.5%, 5%, and 7.5%). Fatigue specimens as a standard and with (1mm) semi-circular notch are prepared for testing. The fatigue test was performed at room temperature and stress ratio (R=-1). Laser shock peening with two levels of energy have been applied (1Joule, and 2Joule). The results showed an increase in the endurance strength of the notch for 7.5% volume fraction especially at 1J laser energy by about 26.7056% compared with the un-treatment notched state, which in turn reduced the fatigue stress concentration by about 21.0508% compared with standard fatigue stress concentration. On the other hand, the presence of notch effect on endurance strength was increased after laser treatment of composites with 2.5% volume fraction and the reduced was by about 39.698% at 2J laser energy.

In this study, Laser Shock Peening (LSP) effect on the polymeric composite materials has been investigated experimentally. Polymeric composite materials are widely used because they are easy to fabricate and have many attractive features. Unsaturated polyester resin as a matrix was selected and Aluminum powder with micro particles as a reinforcement material was used with different volume fraction (2.5%, 5% and 7.5%). Hand lay-up process was used for preparation the composites. Fatigue test with constant amplitude with stress ratio (R =-1) was carried out before and after LSP process with two levels of energy (1Joule and 2Joule). The result showed an increase in the endurance strength of 25.448% at 7.5% volume fraction when peened is 1J laser energy. Also, the ultimate strength and Young's modulus were increased by 6.474% and 10.588% respectively after LSP with the same laser energy. On the other hand, composites with (2.5% and 5%) volume fraction manifested a reduction in the mechanical and fatigue strength especially when treated by 2J laser energy.