Absolute Stress Determination from Angular Dependence of Ultrasonic Velocities in Orthotropic Materials

Abstract

The characteristic dependence of ultrasonic velocity on stress has for a long time been thought a promising for making residual stress measurements in materials. For a review of theory and experimental methods the reader is referred to [1–3]. Different wave modes were proposed for stress determination. Through-thickness average stress can be obtained using longitudinal wave data at normal incidence [4, 5] or transverse waves with different polarizations [6–8]. Near-surface stresses can be determined using Rayleigh waves [9–11] and surface-skimming longitudinal [12] and SH [12, 13] waves.