Abstract

The most commonly known techniques of X-ray residual stress analysis use diffractometers with conventional counters or position sensitive detectors. The sin⁡2Ψ-method is often applied to X-ray stress determination, but requires various measurements at different sample positions. This technique was combined with an imaging plate, which is an X-ray digital area detector. The use of a two-dimensional detector like an imaging plate offers the possibility to get diffraction in one measurement from lattice planes lying on the whole diffraction cone. Thus the number of measurements for the calculation of the stress components can be significantly reduced. In addition, the use of an imaging plate has several advantages for the stress calculation even for materials having relatively large grains or a strong texture. Measurements on an electron beam hardened steel sample are described as an application example.