On femtosecond laser shock peening of stainless steel AISI 316

摘要

Graphical abstractDisplay OmittedHighlights•Experimental study of femtosecond laser shock peening.•Increase in the surface hardness is demonstrated.•LIPSS formation and surface oxidation reduce hardness.AbstractIn this paper we report on the competition in metal surface hardening between the femtosecond shock peening on the one hand, and formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) and surface oxidation on the other hand. Peening of the stainless steel AISI 316 due to shock loading induced by femtosecond laser ablation was successfully demonstrated. However, for some range of processing parameters, surface erosion due to LIPSS and oxidation seems to dominate over the peening effect. Strategies to increase the peening efficiency are discussed.