Impact of Impulse Shot Peening Parameters on Properties of Stainless Steel Surface

Shot peening was applied to austenitic stainless steel 1.4541 (EN). The surface treatment was performed at various impact energies E, impact densities j and ball diameters D. This resulted in improved microhardness, which increases monotonically with the increase of E, j and 1/D. However, its changes with E and j achieve saturation at about 400 HV0.1. On the contrary, no saturation is observed in the investigated range for 1/D. In the unshot peened 1.4541 (EN) steel, the lifetime component of low intensity was found with use of positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). It corresponds to positron annihilation from delocalized state of positrons in bulk. In the shot peened samples the bulk component is no longer observed. Instead, two types of defects can be identified: vacancy-like defects coupled with edge dislocations and vacancies or their small clusters (consisting 3 divided by 5 vacancies). The results of PALS and hardness testing do not correspond very well, especially in the case of the samples shot peened with balls of varying diameters. The most probable reason for this are different depth profiles of both methods. It seems that the defects, which are responsible for the increase of static microhardness above 400 HV0.1 are located mostly below the surface layer penetrated by positrons.