Fabrication and characterization of micro dent arrays produced by laser shock peening on titanium Ti–6Al–4V surfaces

Surface micro dents may act as lubricant reservoirs to reduce friction and wear in sliding and rolling contact applications. Surface patterning has become a valuable technique for fabricating micro dents. Alternative methods such as micromachining present obvious limitations in comparison with laser shock peening (LSP). In this paper, the use of micro LSP along with an automatic XY table proves to be an attractive and reliable method for producing micro dent arrays with enhanced surface integrity. Surface topography, residual stress, and microhardness of the fabricated micro dent arrays on polished Ti–6Al–4V surfaces have been characterized. It has been shown that LSP is capable of efficiently fabricating mass micro dent arrays with controllable size via adjusting laser power. The center area of the peened dents has the highest hardness. In addition, high compressive residual stress can also be produced.