The push for increased fuel efficiencies has pushed the aerospace industry to develop stronger and lighter materials while simultaneously increasing component longevity. In turn, these new designs, materials, and processes require verification. X-ray diffraction residual stress measurements have been shown to add value to advanced designs and processing of aluminum alloys used by the aerospace community. This article provides a background in effectively using X-ray diffraction to improve the quality of manufactured aluminum alloys in aerospace applications.
Residual stresses can be beneficial (generally compressive stresses) or harmful (generally tensile stresses) and are fundamental to the useful lifetime of any component, particularly those subjected to fatigue and/or stress corrosion cracking environments. Identifying the types of stress in new designs or processes assist in manufacturing superior products. Luckily, stresses can be changed from harmful to beneficial in the manufacturing process (Noyan and Cohen, “Residual Stress Measurement by Diffraction and Interpretation,” Springer-Velag, New York, 1987).