A Numerical Study on the Residual Stress Measurement Accuracy Using Inverse Eigenstrain Method

Investigation of residual stresses is of crucial importance due to their effect on the performance of engineering components. Recently, inverse methods have been developed for determination of the residual stresses. Inverse eigenstrain method is one of the mentioned inverse methods. The inverse eigenstrain method, which is based on the eigenstrain theory, uses limited measurements of residual elastic strains obtained from the experimental tests. In this study, effective parameters on result accuracy obtained from the 2D inverse eigenstrain method in residual stresses measurement were investigated using numerical experiment. The results indicated that in the inverse eigenstrain method the accuracy of the results increases with increasing the basis functions order and the number of the points where  displacement is measured. Additionally, the result accuracy increases selecting the appropriate basis functions. Moreover, in this paper the inverse eigenstrain method was applied for an actual part. The results showed that in the real conditions too, accurate results can be obtained by selecting the appropriate parameters of the inverse eigenstrain method.