An investigation of the properties of conventional and severe shot peened low alloy steel

The effects of the conventional shot peening and severe shot peening process on the mechanical and tribological properties of shot peened AISI 4340 high strength steel were systematically investigated. Compared with the conventional shot peened sample, the ultrafine grain surface layer with a depth of about 20 μm generated by the severe shot peening process can enhance the hardness and wear resistance of the treated material. However, deeper dimples generated by the high media velocity in the severe shot peening process resulted in a higher surface roughness, which is considered as a side effect of this method reducing the fatigue life of the material. Applying a smaller shot size with an appropriate intensity can be used to peen the severe shot peened samples to not only reduce the surface roughness and friction coefficient but also improve the wear resistance for these samples.