Wear and friction of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy treated by laser shock processing

Laser shock processing (LSP) is becoming an important surface treatment to induce a compressive residual stress field, which improves fatigue and fracture properties of components. In this work, we examine the effect of laser shock processing on the wear and friction behavior of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy. Wear rate and friction coefficient evolution are investigated for different process parameters of LSP. Roll-on-flat tribometer is used with different loading conditions. Hardness and residual stresses are assessed as well. It is observed that wear rate decreases as pulse density increases; this is explained in light of residual stress distribution.