Characterisation of residual stresses in heat treated, high strength aluminium alloy extrusions

Residual stresses were measured in rectilinear aluminium bars quenched using an aqueous polyoxyethylene glycol (PAG) solution or cold-water. Residual stresses were measured with neutron diffraction and a superposition-based method using mechanical strain release measurements. Three orthogonal stress components were measured along two transverse lines using neutron diffraction. The longitudinal residual stresses were mapped over a transverse cross-section using the contour technique. A primary slice removal technique mapped three orthogonal residual stresses over a transverse cross-section in the PAG extrusion. Residual stresses were found to vary from biaxial compressive in the part boundaries to triaxial tensile in the interiors. There was close correlation between the neutron diffraction and mechanical strain release techniques. PAG quenching demonstrated lower residual stresses. This paper is part of a Themed Issue on Measurement, modelling and mitigation of residual stress.