A review of selected non-destructive methods for residual stress measurement

Abstract

The roll of residual stresses in the failure of metallic components has long been recognized. However, the most commonly employed methods for its measurement are destructive or at least partially so. This has led to an active interest in non-destructive methods for residual stress measurement. This review describes the essence of the principles of a semi-destructive (hole drilling) and three non-destructive (X-ray diffraction, ultrasonic velocity, and Barkhausen noise analysis) residual stress measurement methods. The review also describes selected applications of these four methods to residual stress and related property measurements, as well as discussing their limitations and some sources of measurement errors. Conclusions as to the general applicability of the methods to practical residual stress measurements are drawn and a prognosis for the future development of each is offered.