LSP Technologies, Inc. has been named a co-recipient of the 2010 Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer by the Department of Energy’s Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC). LSP Technologies was recognized for their contribution toward transferring “Laser Shock Peening for Pilger Dies” to the commercial marketplace in collaboration with Battelle’s Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNNL) and Sandvik Special Metals (SSM).  LSP Technologies pioneered the commercial development of a metal surface treatment called laser shock peening in the late 1990s, which was first invented in the 1970s by Battelle researchers in Columbus, Ohio.

Special metalforming tools called pilger dies are used to reduce the circumference and wall thickness of metal tubes. The high operational stresses exerted on the dies during the cold pilgering process can result in frequent die failures, which results in costly downtime.   LSP Technologies, PNNL, and Sandvik teamed to develop and apply laser shock peening techniques to extend steel die life.  Dies treated by LSP Technologies can last up to six times longer than untreated dies. Laser shock peening deters die failures by using high-energy laser pulses to create deep, compressive residual stresses in the die’s surface.  LSP Technologies, Sandvik, and PNNL researchers are studying how the automotive, aerospace, and nuclear industries can benefit from this development. To read more about Laser Shock Peening of Pilger Dies, please click on the following link:
LSP of Pilger Dies – PNNL Sandvik LSPT

LSP Technologies, Inc. will be exhibiting at the DMC Technology Forum. We hope to see you at our booth number 909. David Lahrman,  Jeff Dulaney, Peter Gaydos, and Richard Tenaglia will be available for discussion.

November 29 – December 2, 2010
The Venetian, Las Vegas, Nevada
Booth Number 909

The DMC is the flagship defense manufacturing technology forum for exchanging ideas, assessing technical project progress and dealing with the challenges of the many new and traditional defense industrial base issues across the services and agencies.

http://www.dmc2010.com/

LSP Technologies, Inc. will be exhibiting at theTurbine Engine Technology Symposium. We hope to see you at our booth.
David Lahrman, Peter Gaydos, and Richard Tenaglia will be available for discussion.

September 13-16, 2010
Dayton Convention Center
Booth Number 126

The 2010 Turbine Engine Technology Symposium is the only forum where the United States’ turbine engine community gathers to review and discuss the latest technology advances achieved through the Versatile, Affordable, Advanced Turbine Engines (VAATE) Program.

http://www.tets.utcdayton.com/

On June 8, 2010, LSP Technologies, Inc. filed suit against Metal Improvement Company (MIC) for patent infringement.  The suit was filed in federal court in the southern district of Ohio.  The patent in suit is patent number 6,373,876 and is specifically related to laser peening system technology.

LSP Technologies, Inc. will be presenting at the 2^nd International Conference on Laser Peening. Three of our executives will be presenting, as listed below.

The conference is specifically designed to bring together the most relevant scientists/specialists from all over the world. This conference will enable them to exchange their knowledge and to discuss and cooperate on recent state-of-the-art innovative technologies related to Laser Peening/Laser Shock Processing, along with the latest developments and implementations in the industrial applications of laser peening. The scope of the conference will be dedicated not only to the academic or industrial community working on laser-peening systems or applications, but also to all those working on surface modification technologies or structural integrity interested by the emergence of this process.

Monday, April 19, 9:40 AM
“Advances in Modeling of Laser Peening for Carburized Steels”
Mr. Richard D. Tenaglia
Laser peening is being evaluated by the U.S. Army to toughen helicopter gears, transmission components, and other rotorcraft structural parts.  A critical need exists to boost engine power, particularly when operating in high altitude environments.  Laser peening offers the potential to increase the fatigue performance or damage tolerance of these components without increasing the size or the weight of the propulsion system.

Computer simulation is essential for reducing the development time and costs for optimizing the use of laser peening of actual components.  Modeling of advanced carburized gear steels presents unique challenges.  The composition and hardness gradients in the surface of the carburized steel parts cause gradients of mechanical and physical properties, which affect the laser peen processing response.  To simulate the response properly, it is important to carry the residual stress state from heat treatment forward into the laser shock peening models to predict the resulting compressive residual surface stress profiles, and then transition these profiles to the final part loading models for performance prediction.

This paper presents the recent results of modeling and experimental validation efforts to simulate laser peening of carburized steels, with a correlation of residual stress profiles to fatigue performance.

Monday, April 19, 2:10 PM
“Production Laser Peening Using Automated Overlay Applicators”
Dr. Jeff L. Dulaney
Over the past three years, LSP Technologies has developed an automated overlay applicator system suitable for production laser peening.  This automated system increases throughput and decreases production cost by eliminating manual operations typically associated with tape overlays.  The automated overlay applicators are interfaced with the laser and parts positioning equipment to create a smooth production operation.  The part moves into position, the liquid opaque overlay is applied, the transparent water overlay is applied, the laser fires, and a blast of air preps the surface for the next automated sequence.  The sequence is repeated at the repetition rate of the laser system until processing is completed.

This technology represents an important breakthrough in how laser peening will be implemented in the future: no more expensive, labor-intensive manual applications of tape or similar opaque overlays.  We have successfully introduced automated overlay applicator technology into our production operations, using it to process thousands of parts across two different market sectors: gas turbine engines and tooling dies. 

In this presentation, the author will discuss the operation of the automated overlay applicator system, critical elements of its operation, and how it transitioned from development to production.  The presentation will include photographs of hardware and an operational video showing the system in action. 

Tuesday, April 20, 8:00 AM
“Fretting Fatigue of Laser Peened Ti-6A1-4V”
Dr. Allan H. Clauer
Fretting fatigue tests of laser peened Ti-6Al-4V were performed. The laser peening conditions included use of large, 5.6 mm diameter, and small, 1 mm diameter spots. Both produced significant increases in fatigue life. Depending on the fatigue loading conditions, fatigue life was increased from 10 to greater than 25 times, with most of the laser peened specimens running out at 10⁶ cycles. Increasing the bulk fatigue loads to produce failures was limited by the capacity of the fatigue testing machinery.  The fretting fatigue cracks observed in the laser peened material, appear to be similar to those formed in non-laser peened Ti-6Al-4V, presumably because the contact stresses dominate the laser peening induced compressive residual stresses at the fretting surface. However, the laser peening compressive residual stress inhibited their evolution into propagating fatigue cracks. The small laser spot patterns produced a rough surface compared to the large spots, and showed a much different fretting behavior. However both spot sizes produced comparable fatigue life increases.  Metallographic examinations of the fretting surfaces and fretting cracks produced within the fatigue bars and the fretting pads by different fretting and laser peening conditions will be presented and discussed.

 This investigation demonstrates that laser peening produces a significant life increase in Ti-6Al-4V under fretting fatigue conditions. It also shows that small spots can produce comparable life increases to large spots even though the fretting situation differs due to the rougher surface produced by the small spots.
 

LSP Technologies, Inc. will be exhibiting at the Aircraft Airworthinness & Sustainment Conference. We hope to see you at our booth number 409.
David Lahrman, Pete Gaydos, and Rich Tenaglia will be available for discussion.

May 10-13, 2010
Austin Conference Center
Booth Number 409

The conference is designed to be of interest to DOD, NASA, FAA and industry professionals. It is an excellent forum for sharing ideas and developing new efforts to address airworthiness and sustainment issues facing the community. Hopefully, every attendee will be able to take advantage of the wide variety of research, training and technology made available during the conference. We look forward to seeing you in Austin.

http://www.airworthiness2010.com/

LSP Technologies will be exhibiting at the upcoming Aviation Week MRO Show. We hope you will visit us at booth number 839.
David Lahrman and Pete Gaydos will be available for discussion.

April 20-21, 2010
Phoenix Convention Center
Booth Number 839

Join the most senior military leaders responsible for support of the DoD’s weapon systems as they join in strategic planning sessions to share best practices, lessons learned, and emerging ideas/technologies in the field of MRO. And don’t miss MRO exhibition! This is the one-stop-shop for military MRO.

• Find innovative tools for trimming cost and improving system availability, reliability, cost and cycle time

• Discover propulsion technology that will reduce fuel burn

• Get solutions for inventory control, capacity planning and future sustainment of ground and air weapons

• Develop domestic and international business contacts

• Benchmark best practices, products and services against the commercial sector

http://www.aviationweek.com/events/current/mil/index.htm

On January 14, 2008, LSP Technologies, Inc. filed suit against Continuum Electro-Optics, Inc. for infringement of two of its patents: 5,127,019 and 6,191,385. The suit was filed in federal court in the southern district of Ohio. After initial discovery, a third patent (6,373,876) was added to the suit in November 2008.  All three patents are related to laser peening system technology.

The first international conference on laser peening will be held in Houston-Texas, USA 15-17 December 2008.  It is an honor to have Dr. Allan Clauer of LSP Technologies, Inc. kicking off the conference with the first of two keynote presentations at 9:15 am on 15 December.  Dr. Clauer has been involved with laser peening from its inception in the early 1970s, back when it was called laser shock processing.

 The conference was established by Dr. Omar Hatamleh of NASA-Johnson Space Center.  Dr. Hatamleh is the Conference Chairman.

 Topics will include:

• Laser peening effects on residual stress distribution
• Modeling of residual stresses from laser peening
• Laser peening effects on fatigue life, and crack growth rates in base and welded components
• Laser peening effects on microstructure, mechanical properties, and surface roughness
• General aspects of laser peening – process parameters, potential applications, commercialization
• Additional topics within the field of laser peening are welcome

 Contributions will be made by attendees from around the world, including presentations by Dr. Todd Rockstroh (General Electric Aviation – USA) on “Laser Shock Processing of Aircraft Engine Components”, Dr. Brent Dane (Metal Improvement Company) on “Recent Developments in Large Scale Industrial Laser Peening”, Dr. Yuji Sano (Toshiba-Japan) on Development and Applications of Laser Peening Systems for Field Operations”, Mr. Brad Cowles (Pratt & Whitney-USA) on “Applications, Benefits, and Challenges of Advanced Surface Treatments”, and Dr. Takafumi Adachi (Fuji Heavy Industry-Japan) on “Effects of Laser Peening on Fatigue Properties for Aerospace Aluminum Alloys”.

 For more information about the conference, presentations, and presenters, visit the conference website at http://mmptdpublic.jsc.nasa.gov/laser-peening/

Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) posted the following press release on there website tauting the benefits of laser peening technology, LLNL’s relationship with Metal Improvement Company (MIC), and MIC’s work with Rolls-Royce PLC.

“There’s more life in store for critical components for commercial aircraft.

That’s the result of an advanced laser peening technology developed by researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a New Jersey firm.

The payoff is already proving to be huge: turbine engine parts that last longer, reduced maintenance costs, and annual savings of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The breakthrough that provides these benefits is a powerful LLNL laser and shock-generation technology used by Metal Improvement Co. Inc. of Paramus, N.J., to treat the surface of metal parts.

“This is 21st century technology that will enable engineers to design aircraft parts that are safer, lighter, perform better and are more economical,” said Lloyd Hackel, leader of LLNL’s Laser Science and Technology Program and initial developer of laser peening at LLNL.

During the past 21 months, Rolls-Royce plc has used Metal Improvement to laser peen critical fan blade components installed in over 250 Rolls-Royce Trent 800/Trent 500 engines.

Due to the deeper compressive residual stress imparted by the laser peening process, components are more resistant to fatigue stress, improving the cost effectiveness of the operation of the component in terms of increased life and reduced maintenance costs. Other applications are under development for Rolls-Royce.”

Traditionally, metals have been peened by bombarding the material with tiny metal balls known as “shot” to induce a layer of compressive stress at the surface that prevents metal fatigue and reduces corrosion. Metal Improvement is the world’s leading provider of outsourced shot peening services for the metal working industry.”

For the full press release follow this link to LLNL News Releases.