Improvement in Fatigue Performance of 2024-T3 Al Alloy Via Single Toroidal Roller Burnishing

Mechanical surface treatment, based on static severe plastic deformation of the surface layer, is a cost-effective approach to improving surface integrity and thus the operating properties of metal components. The present work examines the possibility of using single toroidal roller burnishing (STRB) to implement the deep rolling concept. The effect of the STRB process parameters on the fatigue behavior of 2024-T3 Al alloy specimens is investigated. The specimens were manufactured using a newly developed STRB device. The conventional fatigue limit of 2024-T3 Al alloy is established using the S-N curve approach and tangent method. The STRB implementation as the deep rolling process for 2024-T3 Al alloy specimens provides a maximum conventional fatigue limit of 256 MPa. Compared to the reference condition, the fatigue limit has increased by 38.4%. Calculated at the number of cycles corresponding to the conventional fatigue limit, the fatigue life is enhanced more than 2000 times over. The increase in the number of passes enhances the fatigue strength: as a result the conventional fatigue limit of the treated 2024-T3 Al alloy increased. Increasing the number of passes has practical meaning for up to six passes, after which the effect is negligible.