Wet Shot Peening as a Process Choice for Aerospace Components

Author:  Ryan Ashworth, Head of Sales and Marketing, Vapormatt Ltd
Source:  The Shot Peener magazine, Vol 40, Issue 2, Spring 2026
Doc ID:  2026015
Year of Publication:  2026
Abstract:  
INTRODUCTION Shot peening is one of the most established surface enhancement processes in aerospace engineering because its underlying mechanism is well understood and industrially robust. Repeated impact by spherical media produces local plastic deformation in the near-surface region, leaving a beneficial compressive residual stress field after unloading. For components subjected to cyclic loading, that residual stress state can delay crack initiation and reduce the rate of early crack propagation, particularly where failure is governed by surface or near-surface defects. The practical question for aerospace engineers is therefore not whether peening works, but which peening route is most appropriate for a given component, material system, and production environment. In that context, wet shot peening warrants more serious consideration than it often receives in conventional process selection. It is not a universal replacement for dry shot peening, nor does it alter the fundamental metallurgy of peening itself. Its importance lies elsewhere: in many aerospace applications, it improves the way peening is delivered, controlled and integrated into a manufacturing or maintenance workflow.