Experimental Investigation of the Effect of High-Temperature Shot Peening on the Surface Integrity of 7010-T7452 Aluminum Alloy

The aluminum alloyAluminum alloys 7010 is widely used in the aerospace industry due to its comparatively lightweight and high strength. Shot peening is an important surface modification procedure for structural materials meant for improving the fatigue life. The surface properties can be further enhanced by changing the temperature of the surface during the process of peening. In this study, shot peening at room and high temperaturesHigh temperature shot peening ranging from 100 to 300 °C was performed at an Almen intensityAlmen intensity of 0.15 mmA, on cylindrical specimens of AA7010-T74527010-T7452 aluminum alloy. The influence of the process on surface roughnessSurface roughness, residual stresses, hardness, and microstructureMicrostructure was investigated. The results showed that the surface roughnessSurface roughness increased with the temperature of shot peening and an optimized peening temperature of 250 °C was identified from the variation of hardness profiles.