Internal residual stress measurement on inertia friction welding of nickel-based superalloy

The internal residual stress in the narrow inertia friction welding (IFW) welds of FGH96 nickel-based superalloy was measured with the contour method (CM). The as-welded internal hoop and axial residual stresses were obtained after two cuts and the detailed steps of the CM measurement were described. In addition, the hole-drilling method was used to obtain the surface stress. Furthermore, the internal hoop residual stress of a FGH96 superalloy IFW specimen after post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) was also measured with the CM after a single cut. The measured results show that the peak hoop residual stress is not symmetrical about the weld centreline. Axial residual stress on the outer surface at the weld centreline is compressive stress, while tensile stress appears on the inner surface, and it varies linearly along the thickness. The peak values of hoop tensile and compressive stresses decrease dramatically after PWHT.