Improving Fatigue Life of Gears by Shot Peening

Author:  T.Jeff Meister and John S. Eckersley
Source:  Metal Improvement Co.
Doc ID:  1998000
Year of Publication:  1998
Abstract:  
Advances in Gear Technology: A Symposium on Gear Manufacturing Through Powder Metallurgy Shot peening is a very well recognized and documented process in the realm of wroght metals and alloys but the same cannot be said for Powder Metals (P/M). Yes shot peening is being used very effectively to combat metal failures by a few companies who use it on millions of P/M parts but there is a great reluctance to talk about it so that published data from test results or real life applications is almost non-existant. The intent of this paper is, then, to bring to light some of what little documentation there is to show that the use of controlled shot peening can have a very positive effect on the fatigue life, for instance, of P/M parts. Also reviewed will be the benefits of some recent innovations that enhance the use of shot peening. It is hoped that other P/M users and producers will see in shot peening a way to extend the useful range of P/M parts and even save weight by considering the use of shot peening from the design stage.