Changing Future of Manufacturing with Laser Peening : Nuclear Power | Topics

Changing manufacturing with laser peening.

Demands for metal parts used in mechanical systems are becoming stricter every year. Under such circumstances, to secure reliability and safety for products, a new surface enhancement method is needed.
The method is laser peening, which changes the future of manufacturing.

Expanding
design margin

Extending
fatigue life

Reducing
volume &
weight of materials

What's laser peening

Laser peening is a process to introduce compressive residual stress to the surface of materials. Laser peening allows us to enhance fatigue life of metal components.

Enhancement of
fatigue strength

Mitigation of
stress corrosion cracking

Effects of laser peening

Enhancement of fatigue strength

Fatigue is one of the issues that decreases the lifetime of metal components. Laser peening improves fatigue life by introducing compressive residual stress on the material surface which inhibits crack propagation.

Mitigation of stress corrosion cracking

Stress corrosion cracking is a phenomenon in which cracking occurs on the surface of a material when tensile stress is caused in a corrosive environment. Laser peening is one of the processes that prevents the occurrence of stress corrosion cracking by introducing compressive residual stress to the metal surface.

High flexibility

Toshiba's laser peening system can transmit a laser beam to a point to peen by using optic fibers and other techniques to do peening in water and confined spaces that could not be reached until now. We have developed laser peening originally in order to meet difficult conditions required by customers.

Peening in confined spaces

Optical fiber and small irradiation head make it possible to peen inner surface of pipe shaped components with inner diameters of about 10mm.

Excellent accessibility

Reaction-force-less process with small laser spot of about 1 mm diameter enables peening of complex metal components, such as gears and heat aﬀected zones of weldments.

Underwater application

There is no requirement for any surface preparation before or after laser irradiation. Therefore, laser peening can be performed underwater by using a combination of waterproof robotics and optical devices.