An Experimental and Finite Element Analysis Study of Laser Shock Peening on Tungsten-Nickel-Cobalt Alloy for Defense Application

This work investigates the effect of laser shock peening (LSP) on tungsten-nickel-cobalt alloy (WHA), which is applied on the top surface of the alloy to enhance the penetrating effect which will be suitable for defense application. 2 and 3 passes of LSP are done on the WHA samples with power of 3 J, 15 ns pulse width and spot size of 1 mm. The optical microstructure of LSP WHA alloy showed coarser tungsten grains, decreased contiguity, lower dihedral values and volume fraction of the tungsten–binder matrix increase compared to unpeened samples. The EBSD test showed the recrystallized and coarsened grain. From the simulation results, a high compressive residual stress was observed in the LSP sample compared to the unpeened sample. The microhardness test showed an increase in hardness on the LSP sample compared to the unpeened sample. The crystal lattice structure on the surface of the unpeened and peened WHA samples is observed using XRD. The tensile test showed an increase in strength with higher ductility compared to unpeened sample.