Surface Treatment Effect on Measurement of Welding Residual Stress Using X-Ray Stress Analyzer

The effects of welding residual stress (WRS) would be harmful to safety and intensity of pressure vessel. X-ray stress analyzer (XRSA) can be used to non-destructively quantitative analyze WRS. In this study, stress changes of constant stress beam in loading process were tested using strain gauge (SG), strain rosette (SR) and XRSA, and their test results were compared to analyze measurement errors of XRSA. It was found that the property of XRSA meets the experimental requirement. The machining stress in surface of welding test plate could be completely removed after 4 min electrolytic polishing under 1 A current and 100% NaCl electrolyte. The WRS of welding test plate was tested by XRSA after machining stress completely removed, and its distribution along vertical welding seam direction corresponded with theory calculation. Furthermore, XRSA as a non-destructive method will be more used to study WRS of pressure vessel, so these results can provide scientific basis for the studying.