Mechanical surface treatments of lightweight materials - Effects on fatigue strength and near-surface microstructures

Mechanical surface treatments such as shot peening or deep rolling are well-known processes to improve the fatigue strength of metallic components. This is due to favorable microstructural alterations in relatively thin surface layers as a consequence of near-surface inhomogeneous plastic deformations. Typical examples demonstrate the fatigue-strength increase for mechanically surface-treated specimens. Existing possibilities to improve the fatigue strength of welded joints by mechanical surface treatments are also included. In the case of lightweight materials (e. g. magnesium- or aluminum-base alloys), process parameters must be well adapted in individual cases to achieve optimum near-surface material states, taking into account the wide range of mechanical properties attainable as a result of their specific material microstructure. The effects of process parameters and microstructures on near-surface materials properties resulting from mechanical surface treatments are demonstrated with examples. Depth distributions of macroresidual and microresidual stresses are analyzed together with microstructural observations. An important point for the effectiveness of mechanical surface treatments is the stability of the near-surface material states during loading history. This aspect is treated for the case of fatigue loading.