Residual Stress Determination for A Ferritic Steel Weld Plate

The primary objective of this experiment is to demonstrate the capability of neutron diffraction technique to reproducibly map residual strains in a ferritic steel weld. The objective includes the identification of corrections for variations in metal composition due to the welding process which produces changes in lattice parameter that are not due to mechanical effects. The second objective is to develop and demonstrate a best practice for neutron diffraction strain mapping of steel welds. The appropriate coordinate system for the measurement of a weld, which is strongly distorted from planar geometry, has to be defined. The coordinate system is important in determining the procedures for mounting and positioning of the weld so that mapping details, especially in regions of high gradients, can be conveniently inter-compared between laboratories