Abstract: Gas turbine engine compressor component that has an airfoil such as a compressor blade with a metallic airfoil having a leading edge and a trailing edge and at least one laser shock peened surface extending radially along at least a portion of the leading edge and a region having deep compressive residual stresses imparted by laser shock peening (LSP) extending into the airfoil from the laser shock peened surface.

Abstract: A gas turbine engine blade is laser shock peened by laser shock peening a thin airfoil of the blade, forming a laser shock induced twist in the airfoil, and shot peening a portion of the airfoil to counter the laser shock induced twist in the airfoil. The shot peening may be performed before or after the laser shock peening. The shot peening may be applied over a laser shock peened surface formed by the laser shock peening. The shot peening may be performed asymmetrically on asymmetrically shot peened pressure and suction side areas of pressure and suction sides, respectively, of the airfoil. A shot peened patch near a blade tip may be formed on one of pressure and suction sides of the airfoil wherein the airfoil extends radially outwardly from a blade platform to the blade tip of the blade.

Abstract: A method for laser shock peening a gas turbine engine blade includes laser shock peening a thin airfoil of the blade, forming a laser shock induced twist in the airfoil, and altering a root of the blade to counter the laser shock induced twist in the airfoil. The altering may be done after the laser shock peening. The altering may be done before the laser shock peening during casting or forging of the blade or during a machining or broaching procedure which cuts a shape of the root. One embodiment of the altering includes forming the root with an altered root centerline having an altered centerline angle with respect to a predetermined root centerline designed for a non-laser shocked airfoil of the blade.

Abstract: A method of making a laser shock peened article includes bare laser shock peening a bare metallic surface of a substrate of the article without using an ablative coating and forming a pre-stressed region having deep compressive residual stresses extending into the article and a recast layer above the pre-stressed region. Removing just the recast layer with an abrasive vibratory process with an abrasive media. The vibratory process may include one or more of the following: abrasive tumbling including packing the article within a bed of abrasive particles and shaking the article within the bed during a tumbling cycle, mechanical peening including peening the article with small particles which either abrade and/or shatter a brittle surface of the recast layer, and abrasive polishing including loading the article into a bed of paste including abrasive particles and oscillating the bed across and around the article.

Abstract: An integrated laser shock peening coating for laser shock peening a surface of an object includes an ablative medium layer spaced apart from a clear containment layer and a clear liquid confining medium therebetween wherein the clear transparent to a laser beam used for laser shock peening. Two examples of the clear liquid confining medium are water and a mixture of water and agar without flowing a confinement curtain of fluid over the surface upon which the laser beam is firing. The integrated laser shock peening coating may be a tape with an adhesive layer being disposed on a first side ablative medium layer. A method of laser shock peening includes coating a substrate of the article with the integrated laser shock peening coating and firing a laser beam on the coated substrate with sufficient power to form a region having deep compressive residual stresses extending into the substrate.

Abstract: A laser shock peening method including laser shock peening a first area with at least one high fluence normal laser beam and laser shock peening a border area between the first area and a non-laser shock peened area of the article with at least one first low fluence oblique laser beam. The border area may be laser shock peened with two or more low fluence oblique laser beams. The second low fluence oblique laser beam and others have a lower fluence than the first low fluence oblique laser beam. The border area may be laser shock peened with progressively lower fluence oblique laser beams starting with the one first fluence oblique laser beam wherein the progressively lower fluence oblique laser beams are in order of greatest fluence to least fluence in a direction outwardly from the first area through the border area to the non-laser shock peened area.