Material Influence on Mitigation of Stress Corrosion Cracking Via Laser Shock Peening

Stress corrosion cracking is a phenomenon that can lead to sudden failure of metallic components. Here, we use laser shock peening (LSP) as a surface treatment for mitigation of stress corrosion cracking (SCC), and explore how the material differences of 304 stainless steel, 4140 high strength steel, and 260 brass affect their mitigation. Cathodic charging of the samples in 1 M sulfuric acid was performed to accelerate hydrogen uptake. Nontreated stainless steel samples underwent hardness increases of 28%, but LSP treated samples only increased in the range of 0–8%, indicative that LSP keeps hydrogen from permeating into the metal. Similarly for the high strength steel, LSP treating limited the hardness changes from hydrogen to less than 5%. Mechanical U-bends subjected to Mattsson's solution, NaCl, and MgCl₂ environments are analyzed, to determine changes in fracture morphology. LSP treating increased the time to failure by 65% for the stainless steel, and by 40% for the high strength steel. LSP treating of the brass showed no improvement in U-bend tests. Surface chemical effects are addressed via Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy, and a finite element model comparing induced stresses is developed. Detection of any deformation induced martensite phases, which may be detrimental, is performed using X-ray diffraction. We find LSP to be beneficial for stainless and high strength steels but does not improve brass's SCC resistance. With our analysis methods, we provide a description accounting for differences between the materials, and subsequently highlight important processing considerations for implementation of the process.