In this paper, a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) film with good electro-optical properties and wide working temperature range was prepared by the UV-polymerization induced phase separation (PIPS) method by optimizing the curing temperature using a LC with wide temperature range. The investigation found that when the polymerization temperature was at the clearing point of the prepolymer/LC mixture, the film had better electro-optical properties and a high contrast ratio of 51 at 90 °C, and the rise time and decay time were respectively as fast as 241.5 ms and 1750 ms at −20 °C. This study provides further methodological guidance for the curing process of PDLC film, and promotes its application in outdoor smart windows.

Laser shock peening (LSP) is a powerful technique for improving the fatigue performance of metallic components by customizing compressive residual stresses in the desired near-surface regions. In this study, the residual stress distribution characteristics of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy induced by LSP were identified by the X-ray diffraction method, and their dependent factors (i.e., LSP coverage, LSP energy, and scanning path) were evaluated quantitatively by numerical simulations, exploring the formation mechanism of LSP residual stresses and the key role factor of the distribution characteristics. The results show that LSP is capable of creating anisotropic compressive residual stresses on the specimen surface without visible deformation. Compressive residual stresses are positively correlated with LSP coverage. The greater the coverage, the higher the residual stress, but the longer the scanning time required. Raising LSP energy contributes to compressive residual stresses, but excessive energy may lead to a reduction in the surface compressive residual stress. More importantly, the anisotropy of residual stresses was thoroughly explored, identifying the scanning path as the key to causing the anisotropy. The present work provides scientific guidance for efficiently tailoring LSP-induced compressive residual stresses to improve component fatigue life.