Effect of laser shock peening on fatigue stress concentration of polyester reinforced by Al-Micro powder composites

الملخص EN

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.