Plasticity in the contour method of residual stress measurement

The contour method is a powerful measurement technique that can provide two-dimensional maps of residual stress in engineering components. However, like most strain relief techniques, it can lose accuracy owing to plasticity when residual stresses have high magnitude relative to the yield strength of the material being measured. 2D finite element analysis is utilised to provide an insight into how plasticity introduced by material removal can influence the accuracy of the contour method. In addition the effect of component restraint during the cut is investigated and the results discussed with respect to published experimental measurements.