Shot Peen Surface Repair: The Impact of Residual Stress

Shot peened components present a challenge for the structural analyst when nicks, scratches and gouges are discovered. A common repair scheme calls for blending away of the defect with an appropriate grit abrasive. Though the blending operation removes the defect, it also takes away a portion the beneficial compressive layer as well as the cold-worked material. Large repair facilities may have touch-up shot peen capability but technicians in a field repair setting typically do not. If the shot peen cannot be restored, the structural analyst must have a method to quantify the effect on fatigue life of the repaired part. The purpose of this technical paper is to substantiate analytical techniques for evaluating the fatigue life of a shot peened part after a blend operation. In addition to practical methods to estimate the magnitude of the residual stresses, a numerical method is introduced using finite element modeling of shot peen impacts with non-linear finite element code and validation by a simulated Almen strip.