Surface Finishing Equipment Company: High speed particle peen technology

  • Articles
  • Jul 28,25
There are many challenges to proper shot peening of critical components. Chirag Modi highlights SURFEX's innovative High-Speed Particle Peen Technology, which significantly improves the fatigue life of small critical components.
Surface Finishing Equipment Company: High speed particle peen technology

Surface Finishing Equipment Company (SURFEX) has developed and refined peening technology for highly stressed components, significantly enhancing their fatigue life. SURFEX has industrialised a production process and methodology to manufacture small critical components (like aero components I.D / O.D, aero engine components, automobile components, small springs, etc.) with a beneficial residual compressive stress. This innovation enables small critical components to be produced more efficiently, carrying higher loads and achieving longer cycle life for demanding applications such as fuel system, aerospace, aircraft and automobile. 

Challenges to proper shot peening of critical components include: 
  • Presenting small critical components reliably to the shot stream. 
  • Obtaining complete shot peen coverage at the inside diameter as well as on the outer surface. 
  • Obtaining repeatable shot peen intensity. 
  • Obtaining significant residual compressive stress. 
  • Media selection to obtain all of the above. 
  • Do all of the above with an economical process suitable for production volumes. 

High Speed Particle Peen Technology establishes beneficial residual compressive stresses of high magnitude in addition to modifying and smoothing the surface of the component. A direct result is superior fatigue strength under high-amplitude cyclic stresses. The size and type of media needed for the High Speed Particle Peen Process narrowed the delivery method to an air propelled system. The air pressure transports the very small media to the work-piece transferring kinetic energy to the component surface and thereby imparting the beneficial residual compressive stress.

In order for the media to be more effective, it needs to be similar in hardness to the object being peened; otherwise the media will not fully transfer its kinetic energy to the component in the form of a plastic deformation indentation on the surface of the component. The resulting indentation and controlled compressive stress on the surface can only be achieved if the surface is pounded by spherical (or nearly spherical) peening media; otherwise, the impact may create detrimental surface indentations. Sharp-edged media could potentially scar the component surface and leave a damaging early fatigue stress raiser where crack propagation can initiate. 

The final step involved incorporating necessary failsafe controls for process variables and continuously monitoring and documenting these parameters for each part cycle. By adding the necessary sensors, transducers, close loop controls, shot flow calibration unit and machine code, each cycle of parts can be documented that they received the correct recipe and that all parameters are within specification. 

Controlled shot peening is regularly being specified by industries such as aerospace, defence and automobile to enhance the component service life (by better fatigue performance). The overlapping indentations develop a thin layer of metal under residual compressive stress at or near the surface. Since nearly all the fatigue and stress corrosion failures start at the surface of a component, the compressive stresses induced by shot peening can considerably increase component service life (by better fatigue performance) and move the job into a higher cycle fatigue regime. Process consistency in the shot peening process is vital, and the SURFEX machines are custom designed to control all the critical variables to suit the applications. 

Results 
Tests used to establish process parameters included saturation tests using Almen Strips, and coverage evaluation using UV light with fluorescent paint. Residual stress measurements, using XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) testing, were used to quantify the results. 

Residual stress measurements on critical components (like I.D of fuel injection system comonent and fir tree root of steam turbine blades). The smaller particle-peen media results in superior residual compressive stress. 


Figure-1: Measurement Locations (on the marked targets)   

 

Sl No

Job ID

Depth, ?m

Stress measured, Mpa

 1

Blade root

Surface

-555.7  ± 3.1

2

50

-675.3 ±6.7

3

100

-699.5  ±7.8

4

200

-676.8  ±6.7

5

400

-675.1  ±7.1



Figure-2: Measurement Locations (on the marked targets)

 

Sl No

Sample ID

Measurement location

Stress value measured in Mpa

1

Body injector

P1 - 5mm

-508.8 ±12.5

2

P2 - 35mm

-554.5  ±9.0

3

P3 - 49mm

-589.7  ±21.2 

4

P4 - 66mm

-523.7  ±7.8

5

P5

-424.3  ±19.7

6

P6

-520.9  ±10.2

 
Conclusion
With inspiration from our peening technology and innovation from our engineering group, it is now possible to economically and reliably enhance the fatigue life of critical components.

About the author:

Chirag Modi is the Director of Engineering and Technology at Surface Finishing Equipment Company.

For details, contact Surface Finishing Equipment Company (SURFEX), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), on Mob: +91 98299 21925, Email: info@surfexindia.com, or visit: www.sfecindia.net

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