Overview - Residual stress part 2 - Nature and origins

Residual stress is that which remains in a body that is stationary and at e quilibrium with its surroundings. It can be detrimental when it reduces the tolerance of the material to an externally applied force, as is the case w ith welded joints. On the other hand, it can be exploited to design materia ls or components which are resistant to damage, toughened glass being a goo d example. This paper, the second part of a two part overview, the first pa rt having been devoted to measurement techniques, examines the nature and o rigins of residual stresses across a range of scales, This extends from the long range residual stress fields in engineering components and welded str uctures, through the interphase stresses present in composites and coatings , to the microscale interactions of phase transformations with local stress es.