Abstract
In this paper, the effect of laser shock peening (LSP) of mono- and polycrystalline copper was studied. It is shown that the residual stress caused by this process is accumulated at the LSP treated surface of the material, the thickness of which is several hundreds of micrometers.
The affected layer contains an enhanced density of dislocations. These dislocations are homogeneously distributed on the cross-section in the single crystal along the single slip plane.
The dislocations in the polycrystal are distributed heterogeneously on the sample cross-section. This heterogeneity is discussed from the viewpoint of the orientation dependence of individual grains and varied values of the Schmid factor and confirms the compressive nature of the stress caused by LSP.
Depth dependence of the microhardness of the material decreases from the LSP treated surface in direction to the sample center correspondingly.