Effects of Laser Peening on Various Aluminum Alloys

Abstract

We investigated the effects of laser peening on various aluminum alloys which are usually used for various industrial fields to estimate desirable laser parameters. Seven typical aluminum alloys were used as samples: 1050, 2017, 3003, 4032, 5052, 6061, and 7075. The laser intensity and coverage, which is the number of laser pulses irradiated per unit, were varied during our laser peening experiments. We found that the surface hardness due to the work hardening and the compressive residual stress depend mainly on the coverage in aluminum alloys. A laser intensity around 1.0 GW/cm 2 with coverage around 2000% is desirable for the efficient laser peening of aluminum alloys.