Mechanical properties, such as residual stress, micro-hardness and fatigue performance, of the Ti-5Al-4Mo-4Cr-2Sn-2Zr titanium alloy were improved via the laser peening without coating (LPwC) with a water-penetrable wavelength of 532 nm and pulse duration of 10 ns. In this paper, three kinds of laser energy, namely 85, 110 and 160 mJ were used to process the samples. The titanium alloy samples were also peened with different impact times (1, 3 or 5 impacts) at the energy of 85 mJ. The micro-hardness and residual stress distribution results provided that LPwC can introduce compressive residual stress (CRS) and also induce hardening of the target materials. Further, micro-hardness and CRS showed the increasing trends when the laser impact times increased. However, the CRS and micro-hardness decreased while the laser energy increased from 110 to 160 mJ, which was attributed to the dynamic equilibrium between the thermal and mechanical effects of LPwC. High cycle fatigue strength of the titanium alloy was significantly improved from 360 to 490.3 MPa after three impacts LPwC. The strengthening mechanism of fatigue strength subjected to LPwC was a combined effect between the laser-induced CRS and the high-density dislocations.
101The LPwC experiment was conducted by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with a water-penetrable 102 wavelength of 532 nm (Mianna Q series) which operates at 3 Hz and it can supply an maximum pulse 103 energy of 0.8 J. The full duration half maximum (FWHM) of the laser is 10 ns and it can generate the 104 pulsed laser with the spot size of 400 μm. Multiple pulses (1, 3, 5) and a range of laser energies (85 105 mJ, 110 mJ, 160 mJ) were used, and the effect of the variation of these parameters on the mechanical 106 properties change has been investigated. The detailed laser parameters are shown in Table 2. During 107 the laser processing, the specimens were immersed in the water tank, in which the distance between 108 the surface of the specimen and water surface is about 1-2 mm. In addition, the specimen was fixed 109 on the X-Y two axis translation platform and move in a zigzag scan type (as shown in Figure 1). It 110 can be seen from Figure 3 (Schematic diagram of LPwC experimental setup) that the operation of the 111 platform and the laser were controlled by the PC via a self-programmed software.101 The LPwC experiment was conducted by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with a water-penetrable 102 wavelength of 532 nm (Mianna Q series) which operates at 3 Hz and it can supply an maximum pulse 103 energy of 0.8 J. The full duration half maximum (FWHM) of the laser is 10 ns and it can generate the 104 pulsed laser with the spot size of 400 μm. Multiple pulses (1, 3, 5) and a range of laser energies (85 105 mJ, 110 mJ, 160 mJ) were used, and the effect of the variation of these parameters on the mechanical 106 properties change has been investigated. The detailed laser parameters are shown in Table 2. During 107 the laser processing, the specimens were immersed in the water tank, in which the distance between 108...