Optimization of Shot-Peening Parameters for Steel AISI 316L via Response Surface Methodology (RSM): Introducing two novel mechanical aspects

Abstract

Abstract Shot peening (SP) is a surface modification technique employed to enhance and modify the mechanical properties of metals by inducing compressive residual stresses on the material's surface. AISI 316L stainless steel is a commonly used material in many applications due to its excellent corrosion resistance, weldability and good mechanical properties. The optimization of SP parameters can lead to improved mechanical properties and better performance of AISI 316L. Response surface methodology (RSM) is a statistical method that is used to optimize SP parameters and to study the effect of these variables on the mechanical properties of the steel. RSM involves fitting a mathematical model to the experimental data to identify the significant factors involved and their interactions, and the provided model was the applied to optimize the process attributes. The SP factors that were optimized in this particular investigation using the RSM include coverage time, shot velocity (air pressure), while shot ball size, SP distance and shot angle were maintained constant. The studied mechanical properties include cumulative compressive residual stress (CCRS) and Cumulative Full Width at Half Maximum (CFWHM) as two novel items for researchers, these pioneering and unique conditions present the possibility of acquiring surface charts depicting residual stress distributions, meanwhile Austenite transformation to Martensite due to hard working of SP, Microhardness, and amount of roughness investigated. The effects of SP on these mechanical features were investigated by performing experiments with different parameter combinations and analyzing the results using RSM.