Residual Stress Redistribution in Sectioned Welded Plates
X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques are widely employed to quantitatively map residual stress (RS) distributions in welded components, enabling improved understanding and prediction of weldment performance under cyclic loading. XRD is also commonly used to optimize engineered RS treatments applied to enhance fatigue performance. At the test-coupon level, fatigue investigations are typically conducted on specimens of manageable size due to limitations in fatigue testing equipment. These specimens are often produced by welding a component or mock-up with a long, relatively homogeneous weld bead, followed by sectioning into smaller strips for post-weld processing and fatigue testing. However, when RS is considered a contributing factor in fatigue performance, it is important to account for potential changes in RS magnitude and distribution resulting from the sectioning process. As a result, such specimens may not fully represent the RS state of the full-scale weldment used in service. The present study examines the distribution of residual stress in generic butt-welded samples and evaluates how both the effective RS magnitude and range are altered when the sample is sectioned. The objective is to assess how these changes may potentially influence subsequent fatigue testing outcomes when weldments are reduced to smaller test specimens.