Formation of nanocrystalline structure in steels by air blast shot peening

The formation of nanocrystalline structure (NS) on the surface of bulk steel samples by a particle impact and air blast shot peening techniques was studied. Nanocrystalline layers with several microns thick were successfully fabricated by these methods. The nanocrystalline layers produced in the present study have extremely high hardness and separated from adjacent deformed morphology region with sharp boundaries. By annealing, nanocrystalline layers showed slow grain growth without recrystallization. Those characteristics are similar to those observed in the NS produced by ball milling and a ball drop deformation. It was suggested that to produce NS by deformation a large strain is a necessary condition and a high strain rate and low temperature are favorable conditions.