Influences in the residual stress computation by the contour method when a partial part of the measured cross-section is applied as contour

Abstract

Abstract Background The contour method has been used for the residual stress analysis of whole cross-sections affected by the cutting process. In some cases, the evaluation in a localized region is mandatory and it requires the measurement of a partial part of the cross-section laying far from the traditional applications of the contour methodology. Objective This research is aimed to analyze the feasibility of computing residual stresses in a reduced area of the cross-section after the application of the traditional contour method but with a reduced area as loading. Methods The contours used for analysis were numerically simulated by 2D Legendre distributions. The contours related to the whole cross-section, after cutting, were used to create a set of contours associated to reduced regions of the complete cross-section. The whole as well as the partial regions were used in the contour simulations to evaluate the influence on the computed stress generated by the loading of only a part of the area. Results The comparative analysis of the results for all conditions showed that the stresses were computed with a relative error lower than 10% for 75% of the evaluated area. Conclusions The presented results showed that the feasibility to compute stresses in one portion of a cross-section examined by the contour method is possible having good concordance in the analyzed region. This a suitable solution in cases were local and specific features are present in the cross-section allowing to analyze the featured region with a detailed resolution.