Shaping of ceramics using residual stresses

Shot peening is a common procedure used to improve the static and cyclic strength of metal components and for forming of thin walled components. The underlying mechanisms are localized plastic deformation, work hardening and the introduction of compressive stresses into the near-surface region. During the last decade we have been establishing damage-free shot peening processes for brittle materials such as ceramics. Based on these results we are now developing processes for peen-forming of ceramic components. This paper describes the first successful experiments aimed at shaping ceramic specimens using shot peening. Strips of different thicknesses, made of silicon nitride ceramic, were shot-peened using different shot sizes, peening pressures and coverage. The residual stress-depth distributions were determined using X-ray diffraction. Based on the experimentally determined stress states, the curvatures of the strips were calculated analytically and using Finite Element calculations (FEM). The results of the curvature measurements and calculations agree well.