Beyond the Streetlight Effect: A United Future for Relaxation and Diffraction Methods for Residual Stress Measurement

Abstract

Residual stress measurement techniques can be categorized as either relaxation or diffraction methods. Practitioners often advocate a particular category and sometimes a specific technique (hole drilling, contour, XRD, neutron, etc) based on their experience or capability rather than using the best technique for the particular application. This paper considers some of the implications from applying this “drunkard’s search” or “streetlight” approach by examining examples where the critical stress could be hidden from both relaxation and diffraction measurements. A better approach to planning residual stress measurements would begin with a detailed consideration of why the stresses should be measured and how the results will be used. Only then can the most appropriate measurement plan be developed. Since a single measurement technique cannot reveal the full state of stress, especially in challenging parts, the use of multiple measurement types often provides the most useful information to customers.