Residual Stress

The significance of residual stresses for fatigue is important in various practical problems. Unintentional tensile residual stress can have an adverse effect on the fatigue resistance, while compressive residual stress can significantly improve the fatigue behavior. The existence of residual stress and the introduction of such stresses in components are the subjects of the present chapter. It is restricted to basic aspects, while some specific topics will return in later chapters.

By definition, residual stress refers to a stress distribution, which is present in a structure, component, plate or sheet, while there is no external load applied. In view of the absence of an external load, the residual stresses are sometimes labeled as internal stresses. The background of the terminology “residual stress” is that a residual stress distribution in a material is often left as a residue of inhomogeneous plastic deformation.