Measurement and Prediction of Residual Stresses in Quenched Stainless Steel Components

Austenitic stainless steel cylinders and rings are spray water quenched to create residual stresses at or greater than the yield strength. The residual stresses are measured using neutron diffraction, and two mechanical strain relaxation methods: deep hole drilling and incremental centre hole drilling. This paper compares the measurements with predictions of quenching using finite element analysis. Also finite element analysis is used to mimic deep hole and incremental centre hole drilling methods and to reconstruct residual stresses as if they have been measured. The measurements reveal similar trends to the predictions but there is only limited agreement between their magnitudes. However, there is better agreement between the reconstructed stresses and the measurements. Both the two mechanical strain relaxation methods reveal that large discrepancies occur between measurements and predictions arise because of plasticity. Irrespective of this and surprisingly there is good agreement between deep hole drilling and neutron diffraction measurements.