Reconstruction of residual stresses in autofrettaged thick-walled tubes from limited measurements

An analytical method for reconstructing residual stresses within axisymmetric cylinders is presented. The method uses the stress equilibrium and boundary conditions together with an Airy stress function that satisfies these conditions. The method allows the reconstruction of residual stresses from limited measurements. The analysis is also coupled to a least squares approximation and a regularization analysis to provide stability of the inverse problem. The application of the method is demonstrated for four cases; two correspond to analytical solutions for residual stresses created during autofrettage and two sets of experimental results for through wall measurements of residual stresses. In all cases the reconstructions are successful. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.