Study of the Precision of X-ray Stress Analysis

Abstract

Software is described for complete computer control of residual stress measurements. One program (that incorporates either the two tilt method, the sins| procedure, or the Cohen-Marion technique) has been developed for use with either a normal detector or a position sensitive detector. The operator inputs the desired error in stress and various instrumental parameters that determine systematic errors. The counting strategy to obtain the total error is then determined by the software. Employing this automated system, an investigation of a parabolic fit to the top of a diffraction profile indicates that a three point fit is satisfactory only for sharp profiles.