Cavitation peening to improve the fatigue strength of nitrocarburized steel

Shot peening is a commonly employed technique used to improve the fatigue strength of nitrocarburized components. However, the compound layer of the component can be broken by this technique. Cavitation peening (CP) is an alternative shotless technique, which can increase the fatigue strength of the component without separation of the compound layer. To evaluate the potential of CP as a means for improving fatigue strength, nitrocarburized carbon steel (JIS S50C) has been analyzed in the non‐peened and CP conditions. The fatigue strength of CP specimens was increased by 15% in comparison with that of non‐peened specimens. This increase in the fatigue strength of CP specimen was achieved by the increase in the maximum hardness and compressive residual stress within the diffusion zone.