Effect of laser shock processing on the fatigue crack initiation and propagation of 7050-T7451 aluminum alloy

The aim of this paper was to identify the effect of laser shock peening (LSP) on the fatigue crack initiation and propagation of 7050-T7451 aluminum alloy. The laser shocked specimen in which residual compressive stress is mechanically produced into the surface showed a very high dislocation density within the grains. This was evident throughout the LSP region. The spacing among the fatigue striations in the LSP region was narrow, which indicated that LSP had an obvious inhibitory action to fatigue crack initiation and growth. In contrast, the region without LSP exhibited an extremely low dislocation density. And LSP improved 7050-T7451 alloy specimens’ fatigue intensity.