Application of Portable X-Ray Stress Techniques at the Commercial Airplane Division of The Boeing Co.

Several examples are presented where x-ray stress measurements were made with a portable unit. The examples include the measurement of stresses in a welded rocket motor case (maraging steel), heat-treat stresses in a machined part (7079-T611), and stresses in a spot-welded panel (Ti-8Al-IV-1Mo). Each application emphasizes the advantages of stress analysis by x-ray diffraction by the portable method. For the spot-welded panel there is a direct comparison of x-ray diffraction stress measurements and stress measurements by the compliance method. The results show good agreement between the two methods.