Effects of electro-pulsing combining laser shock peening on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of Ti-6Al-4 V alloy

In this study, the effect of electro-pulsing combining laser shock peening (EP-LSP) treatment on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloys was investigated, and the hardness, surface roughness, microstructure, and electrochemical properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloys after EP-LSP treatment were studied and compared with those of single EPed and LSPed samples. Also, to investigate the effect of the number of laser impacts on microstructure and corrosion resistance, changes in samples after one and three laser impacts were compared. The results showed that all treatments improved the hardness of as-received sample and three EP-LSPed (3 EP-LSP) samples had the maximum hardness which increased 24.3% compared with the as-received sample. As the number of laser impacts increased from one to three, the surface hardness increased, but the surface quality decreased, and the surface showed periodic protrusions. The one EP-LSPed (1 EP-LSP) sample showed the best corrosion resistance, with a 73.2% reduction in corrosion current density compared to the as-received sample. This is due to the grain refinement and the transformation of the α to β phase in the EP-LSPed samples. It has a beneficial effect on the formation of dense passive film. In addition, the sample surface with one impact has lower surface roughness and better surface quality compared to that of three impacts.