Neutron diffraction measurements of residual stresses in a 50 mm thick weld

Research highlights: → Determined residual stresses through the thickness of the 50 mm thick weld. → Two-dimensional mapping of the longitudinal stress. Observed significant stresses along the heat-affected zone. → Measured the maximum stress of 460 MPa at 40 mm below from the top surface. - Abstract: Residual stresses were determined through the thickness of a 50 mm thick ferrite steel weld plate using neutron diffraction. Whereas the limiting penetration depth for iron-based alloys is about 25 mm in the most typical neutron diffractometers, we significantly enhanced the penetration depth up to 50 mm with 2 mm spatial resolution by using the neutron wavelength of 2.39 A. The selected wavelength minimizes the total neutron cross-section and beam attenuation, thereby, maximizes the neutron fluxes at depth. Two-dimensional mapping of the residual stresses shows that significant amounts of the tensile longitudinal stresses (over 90% of yield strength) were developed along the heat-affected zone of the weld.