We present an entirely new method for measuring residual stress that is extremely simple to apply yet more powerful than existing techniques. In this method, a part is carefully cut in two. The contour of the resulting new surface is measured to determine the displacements normal to the surface caused by the release of the residual stresses. Analytically, the opposite of these measured displacements are applied as boundary conditions to the surface in a finite element model. By Bueckner's superposition principle, this gives the original residual stresses normal to the plane of the cut. Unlike other relaxation methods for measuring residual stress, the measured data can be used to solve directly for the stresses without a tedious inversion technique. At the same time, an arbitrary two-dimensional variation in stresses can be determined. We demonstrate the method on a steel specimen with a known residual stress profile.
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