Mathematical Modeling of Ultra-High-Pressure Waterjet Peening

Abstract

Waterjet peening is a recent promising method in surface treatment. It has the potential to induce compressive residual stresses that benefit the fatigue life of materials similar to the conventional shot peening process. However, there are no analytical models that incorporate process parameters (i.e., supply pressure, jet exposure time, and nozzle traverse rate, etc) to allow predicting the optimized peening process. Mathematical modeling of high-pressure waterjet peening was developed in this study to describe the relation between the waterjet peening parameters and the resulting material modifications. Results showed the possibility of using the proposed mathematical model to predict an initial range for effective waterjet peening under the variation of waterjet peening conditions. The high cycle fatigue tests were performed to validate the proposed model and fatigue test results showed good agreement with the predictions.