Structural integrity assessment of welds using neutron diffraction method

Significant amounts of residual stresses are often generated during welding and result in critical degradation of the structural integrity and performance of components. Neutron diffraction has become a well-established technique for the determination of residual stresses in welds because of the unique deep-penetration, three-dimensional mapping capability, and volume-averaged bulk measurements characteristic of the scattering neutron beam. In this paper I introduced the neutron diffraction technique and highlighted two research examples addressing how the residual stresses can be analyzed non-destructively for mechanical engineering purposes by the review of author's references.