Measurement of residual stresses by neutron diffraction

Abstract

A neutron diffraction method has been applied to measure residual stresses in rings sliced from as-recieved and autofrettaged thick-walled steel tubing. The principles of neutron diffraction are outlined and the method is described. A comparison is made with results obtained using the more traditional Sachs boring technique. It is shown that satisfactory agreement is achieved between the two procedures and that the neutron diffraction method can be used with acceptable accuracy to measure residual stress non-destructively in bulk samples of steel several centimetres thick.