Effects of Shot Peening on Hardness of Low Nickel Austenitic Steels

New nickel (Ni)-reduced stainless-steel metals have recently been developed to avoid sensitivity to Ni. Heat treatment process like case carburizing & nitriding and cold working process like shot peening are the most widely used processes for surface hardening of several components used in structures, automobiles, heavy duty machines, etc. In case carburizing and nitriding of steel components the composition of the surface changes by the diffusion of carbon and nitrogen respectively and results in a hard outer surface with good wear resistance properties. Similarly shot peening improves the surface characteristics by deforming the surface layer by the shots. The paper presents the results of investigations on the influence of shot peening conditions on the hardness of low nickel austenitic stainless steel. There impact is determined on the surface hardness before and after shot peening. Specimen is prepared for the hardness testing and then comparison is done between the hardness of the shot peening specimen and without shot peening specimen.