Cyclic Behavior of Material after Single Loading of Cavitation Peening

Abstract

Cavitation peening has great potential to gain popularity over shot peening in industrial applications for improving the fatigue performance of materials. Improvement in fatigue performance occurs due to the introduction of compressive residual stress. However, the roughening of the surface caused by cavitation peening remains a matter of concern. It has not been investigated adequately in the literature. The cyclic behavior of a material is well known to be adversely affected by surface roughness. An experimental investigation is quite tricky for exploring the underlying role played by the surface roughness and the residual stress. Thus, the current study aims at the numerical investigation of the cyclic behavior of material after cavitation peening load. The 304L austenitic stainless steel has been considered for the present investigation. Finite element simulations (3D) were performed in ABAQUS considering combined non-linear isotropic and kinematic hardening behavior along with ductile damage model. The cavitation peening load is represented by a Gaussian profile defined by peak pressure and radial extent. The effect of cavitation peening (single load) on the material’s elasto-plastic response and subsequent fatigue behavior is studied. The increment in the peak pressure (or the decrement in the radial size) of the peening load is found to shift the maximum stress/strain and damage initiation site from the sub-surface to the surface region. Moreover, the cyclic loading is found to unify the stress distribution along the depth near the surface.