Ultrasonic characterization of residual stress in shot peened Al 7075 alloy using acoustic signature

We attempted to estimate the residual stress which evolved during the shot peening of At 7075 alloy using leaky surface acoustic wave (LSAW). Shot peening was conducted to produce a variation in the compressive residual stress with the depth from the surface at a shot velocity of 30m/s. The LSAW velocity was measured using a scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM). The Vickers hardness profile obtained inwards from the surface showed significant work hardening of the near surface layer with a thickness of about 0.3mm. The variation in the LSAW velocity through the shot peened surface layer was in good agreement with the distribution of the residual stress measured by X-ray diffraction.