Influence of severe shot peening on wear behaviour of an aluminium alloy

Recent developments in shot peening demonstrate that it can be applied using unconventional parameters in order to obtain nanocrystals on a thin surface layer of the treated material. These microstructural modifications have shown to be able to induce superior fatigue and corrosion properties, but still few data are available about their effect on wear behaviour of the materials. In this study, four series of Al 6063 alloy specimens, as‐received, conventionally shot peened, severely shot peened and severely shot peened followed by a slight mechanical grinding are subjected to block on ring wear tests with lubrication, according to ASTM G77 standard. The results evidence the significant role played by the applied shot peening treatments on wear behaviour of the 6063 aluminium alloy with respect to the as‐received not peened material. The important effect of the surface roughness is also highlighted. The data are discussed on the basis of roughness, surface layer microstructure, microhardness trends and the wear marks observed by means of scanning electron microscopy.