Thermo-mechanical relaxation of compressive residual stresses induced by shot peening

Experimental and theoretical studies have shown that the compressive residual stresses induced by shot peening, have been identified, generally, as the principal factor for fatigue strength improvement. However, it is worth noticing, that the initial induced compressive shot peening residual stresses may be redistributed and relaxed under mechanical, thermal or thermo-mechanical cyclic loading. It is important to consider the relaxation phenomenon in the prediction of the fatigue behaviour of shot-peened parts. This paper presents a numerical approach to evaluate the mechanical, thermal and thermo-mechanical relaxation of the compressive residual stresses induced by shot peening. Copyright (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.