X-ray diffraction study of the fatigue behavior of a shot-peened aluminum-lithium alloy

The effect of different shot-peening treatments on the cyclic fluctuating bending fatigue behavior of a new aluminum-lithium alloy (the 2091) has been investigated. The residual-stresses in-depth profiles have been defined just after the shot peening using mainly the X-ray diffraction method. To reach a given depth inside the material, the surface layer was removed by electro-polishing. The acquired data had to be then corrected in order to account for the redistribution of the stresses during the polishing. Furthermore, this alloy contains up to 15-percent intermetallic precipitates. Moreover, the X-rays penetrate deeply inside the material (23 m). For these reasons, a special procedure, based on a self-consistent micromechanical scheme, has been developed to correct the acquired data. The stress profiles obtained by this procedure are compared to those obtained by other mechanical experimental methods and those calculated by a theoretical shot-peening method. Shot peening improves the life of the material but the surface residual stresses are partially released during the first cycles of fatigue and are then quickly stabilized.Paper was presented at the 1994 SEM International Conference on Residual Stresses (ICRS4) held in Baltimore, MD on June 8–10.