FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF SHOT PEENING

The shot peening process is largely used for the surface treatment of metallic components with the aim of increasing surface toughness and e xtending fatigue life. A secondary consequence of the process is that the residual stress distribution developed within the material may ind uce distortion of the component. This effect may therefore be used con structively in the straightening and forming of thin flexible metallic structures. In this paper, the various techniques available for model ling the effect of peening with finite elements are discussed. In part icular, a method of simulating the effect of peening on large flexible panels is presented. Analyses are shown in which a novel loading is a pplied to finite element meshes in order to produce the desired residu al stress distribution. Results from tests are compared to finite elem ent analyses and preliminary results of large scale analyses are prese nted. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.