Determination of Multiple Near-Surface Residual Stress Components in Laser Peened Aluminum Alloy via the Contour Method

In this study, residual stress fields, including the near-surface residual stresses, were determined for an Al7050-T7451 sample after laser peening. The contour method was applied to measure one component of the residual stress, and the relaxed stresses on the cut surfaces were then measured by X-ray diffraction. This allowed calculation of the three orthogonal stress components using the superposition principle. The near-surface results were validated with results from incremental hole drilling and conventional X-ray diffraction. The results demonstrate that multiple residual stress components can be determined using a combination of the contour method and another technique. If the measured stress components are congruent with the principal stress axes in the sample, then this allows for determination of the complete stress tensor.