Energy-dispersive X-ray stress analysis under geometric constraints: exploiting the material’s inherent anisotropy

Two data evaluation concepts for X-ray stress analysis based on energy-dispersive diffraction on polycrystalline materials with cubic crystal structure, almost random crystallographic texture and strong single-crystal elastic anisotropy are subjected to comparative assessment. The aim is the study of the residual stress state in hard-to-reach measurement points, for which the sin(2)ψ method is not applicable due to beam shadowing at larger sample tilting. This makes the approaches attractive for stress analysis in engineering parts with complex shapes, for example. Both approaches are based on the assumption of a biaxial stress state within the irradiated sample volume. They exploit in different ways the elastic anisotropy of individual crystallites acting at the microscopic scale and the anisotropy imposed on the material by the near-surface stress state at the macroscopic scale. They therefore complement each other, in terms of both their preconditions and their results. The first approach is based on the evaluation of strain differences, which makes it less sensitive to variations in the strain-free lattice parameter a (0). Since it assumes a homogeneous stress state within the irradiated sample volume, it provides an average value of the in-plane stresses. The second approach exploits the sensitivity of the lattice strain to changes in a (0). Consequently, it assumes a homogeneous chemical composition but provides a stress profile within the information depth. Experimental examples from different fields in materials science, namely shot peening of austenitic steel and in situ stress analysis during welding, are presented to demonstrate the suitability of the proposed methods.