Influence of Layer Removal Methods in Residual Stress Profiling of a Shot Peened Steel Using X-Ray Diffraction

For X-Ray Diffraction Measurement of Depth Profiles of Residual Stress, Step-Wise Removal of Materials has to be Done to Expose the Underneath Layers to the X-Rays. this Paper Investigates the Influence of Layer Removal Methods, Including Electro-Polishing in Two Different Electrolytes and Chemical Etching, on the Accuracy of Residual Stress Measurement. Measurements on Two Shot-Peened Steels Revealed Large Discrepancy in Subsurface Distributions of Residual Stress Obtained with the Respective Methods. Especially, the Chemical Etching Yielded much Lower Subsurface Compressive Stresses than the Electro-Polishing Using a so Called AII Electrolyte. the Difference was Explained by the Influence of the Different Layer Removal Methods on the Microscopic Roughness.