Introduction to Residual Stress Measurement

Abstract This article focuses on various methods that are used to measure residual stress in materials and presents the principles by which each method works. These include nondestructive and destructive methods; portable and nonportable methods; and diffraction and mechanical methods. The article also considers residual stress gradients and discusses surface residual stress gradients (i.e., gradients across the surface) and subsurface residual stress gradients (i.e., gradients into the depth of the material). The article also presents a checklist to verify and validate experimentally obtained residual stress measurement results.