In order to study the strengthening mechanism of shot peening (SP) on
fatigue performance of Mg-Gd-Y alloy, microstructures of Mg-Gd-Y alloy
substrate and SP samples were characterized by SEM, TEM and XRD, surface
hardness and surface residual stresses were measured by Vickers hardness
tester and X-Ray residual stress analysis system, and rotary bending
fatigue performance was tested by electro-hydraulic fatigue testing
machine. The results showed that, severe plastic deformation occurred on
the near-surface of SP sample and produced gradient micro-nanostructure,
including nanocrystalline layer, sub-grain layer and deformation layer.
The surface hardness increased from 85 HV0.5 of substrate to 136 HV0.5
of SP sample, and the surface residual compressive stress was induced.
The high-frequency fatigue strength of SP sample rose to 125 MPa,
indicating the significant improvement of fatigue performance of Mg-Gd-Y
alloy after SP treatment.