Residual Stress Analysis by Means of Neutron Diffraction at Research Reactors - Facilities and Applications at the HFR

Neutron diffraction is among the scientific techniques available at nuclear research reactors. A particular application of neutron diffraction is the analysis of residual stresses in crystalline materials. The basic principles of the method are described and the unique capabilities of the method are pointed out. The High Flux Reactor (HFR) is one of about 20 reactor based neutron sources worldwide, where instruments for this technique are available. The HFR equipment is shown and several examples of studies performed during the last decade are given. These examples include nuclear applications, investigations in automotive components and a round robin exercise executed in the context of pre-normative research on the method. The examples demonstrate that the method is also suitable for validation of computational analyses or other experimental methods. A comparison between time-of-flight instruments and monochromatic instruments and an outlook to future developments are given at the end.

OHMS Carsten;  WIMPORY Robert;  NEOV Dimitar;  YOUTSOS Anastasius; 

2008-01-25

International Atomic Energy Agency

JRC37404

92-0-103007-X,   

1011-4289,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC37404,