Wave-solid interactions in laser-shock-induced deformation processes

A model was developed for material deformation processes induced by laser-generated shock waves. The processes include laser peen forming (LPF) and laser shock peening (LSP) of metals. Numerical solutions of the model using finite element method were implemented in two steps: (1) explicit step, devoted to shock wave propagation, and (2) implicit step, calculating relaxation of material. A series of LPF and LSP experiments was conducted to validate the model. The residual stress measurements by synchrotron x-ray diffraction and deformation measurements by profilometry showed that the experimental and numerical results were in good agreement. It is the first time to numerically and experimentally study the novel process of micro-scale LPF. An important aspect of the work is that the numerical results were further analytically explored to gain improved understanding of wave-solid interaction including shock wave attenuation and shock velocity variation. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.