Proceedings of the
World Congress on Micro and Nano Manufacturing (WCMNM 2022 )
19–22 September 2022, Lueven, Belgium
doi:10.3850/978-981-18-5180-3_RP34-0035
Strengthening of Tungsten Carbide Ceramics by Ultrashort Pulse Laser Shock Peening
1School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
2Rolls-Royce@NTU Corporate Lab, N3.1-B2a-01, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
3Rolls-Royce Singapore Pte Ltd
ABSTRACT
A variety of ceramics are used as an alternative for metals in pipes, pumps, and valve components due to their high toughness and corrosion resistance. Ceramic components fail due to solid particle erosion in fluid flow applications. Shot peening on ceramics helps in strengthening the material properties and helps to overcome this issue. However, shot peening complex shaped ceramics is near impossible. Therefore, in this work, laser shock peening is performed on tungsten carbide (WC) ceramics with a motive to improve their erosion resistance. The challenges in laser peening thin (5 mm) and thick (≥10 mm) geometries are summarized. After peening, the component properties were characterized using roughness, topography, microhardness, microstructure, and erosion rate. Three different peening intensities varying between peak power densities of 1.7-9.4 GW/cm2 were explored. Overall, there was ~ 45 % improvement in erosion resistance at 9.4 GW/cm2 in samples with no significant changes in roughness or microstructure.
Keywords: Laser Peening, Shot Peening, Ceramics, Surface Strengthening, Abrasive Wear.
1School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
2Rolls-Royce@NTU Corporate Lab, N3.1-B2a-01, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore
3Rolls-Royce Singapore Pte Ltd
ABSTRACT
A variety of ceramics are used as an alternative for metals in pipes, pumps, and valve components due to their high toughness and corrosion resistance. Ceramic components fail due to solid particle erosion in fluid flow applications. Shot peening on ceramics helps in strengthening the material properties and helps to overcome this issue. However, shot peening complex shaped ceramics is near impossible. Therefore, in this work, laser shock peening is performed on tungsten carbide (WC) ceramics with a motive to improve their erosion resistance. The challenges in laser peening thin (5 mm) and thick (≥10 mm) geometries are summarized. After peening, the component properties were characterized using roughness, topography, microhardness, microstructure, and erosion rate. Three different peening intensities varying between peak power densities of 1.7-9.4 GW/cm2 were explored. Overall, there was ~ 45 % improvement in erosion resistance at 9.4 GW/cm2 in samples with no significant changes in roughness or microstructure.
Keywords: Laser Peening, Shot Peening, Ceramics, Surface Strengthening, Abrasive Wear.
