RESIDUAL-STRESS MEASUREMENTS AT THE NIST REACTOR

A neutron-diffraction residual-stress measurement program has been in place for several years at the National Institute of Standards and Tec hnology (NIST). Very recently a new, dedicated, state-of-the-art diffr actometer has been installed at the NIST reactor. With it, the residua l stress fields in a variety of engineering specimens have been determ ined. These include slices of railroad rails, weldments in steel plate s and plastically bent steel pipes. Features of the new instrument and various experimental results will be discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sci ence B.V. All rights reserved.