Nondestructive Determination of Bulk Residual Stresses

Knowledge of residual stress distribution in engineering components shall greatly benefit predictions of component’s service life. Current methods of residual stress measurement are mostly limited to near surface applications. Some of those suitable for stress states at locations deep in the component are either destructive (e.g., surface contouring method) or in need of special and expensive equipment (e.g., neutron and high-energy x-ray diffraction techniques). This presentation is to explore the viability of a highly innovative technology that has the potential of reliably and nondestructively measuring the complete three-dimensional bulk residual stresses. The proposed approach shall integrate high-precision measurement technology with advanced computational methodology to extract the complete distribution of three-dimensional residual stresses in the entire component, not only on or near the surfaces.