Pressure amplification and modelization in laser shock peening of Ti-6Al-4V and AA7085 with adhesive-backed opaque overlays

•Pressure enhancement of up to 50 % observed using opaque overlays in laser shock peening compared to bare peening.•Novel physics-based analytical model proposed for estimating laser shock peening peak pressure with opaque overlays.•Pressure pulses characterized provide new knowledge for selecting optimal LSP parameters and for use in process simulation.