A method for determining an equilibrium configuration for an object to be
subjected to peening includes representing a bulk geometry of the object
as a solid body and representing a surface of the object as a surface
layer overlying the solid body. The method further includes expanding the
surface layer in response to a number of thermal loads to simulate
peening and balancing a number of forces on the surface layer and the
solid body to determine the equilibrium configuration of the object after
peening.