Control of Residual Stresses

This article introduces the fundamental sources of residual stresses common to most manufacturing processes. It explains the effect of material removal on residual stresses and distortions in a part. The article assists the reader in making a choice between trial-and-error and computer-simulation approaches for the control of residual stresses. It provides a summary of the commonly used techniques of measuring residual stresses. The article also describes the finite element method for predicting residual stresses caused by various manufacturing processes. It concludes with a discussion on the operations involved in thermal and mechanical stress-relief methods.