Residual strain evaluation of curved surface by grating-transferring technique and GPA

This paper investigates an advanced grating-transferring technique combined with geometric phase analysis (GPA) for residual strain evaluation of curved surface. A standard holographic grating is first transferred to a pre-produced epoxy resin film and then consolidated to a test region of curved surface. With a rubber mold and silicone rubber the deformed grating is replicated to a sheet metal after hole-drilling for release of residual stress. After that the grating is transferred from the sheet metal to the glass plate, which would be served as an analyzer grating (specimen grating). By GPA the local strain distributions related to the phase difference between the reference grating and analyzer grating for the released stress can be evaluated. A validation test has been conducted on the weld joint of a stainless steel tube and the obtained results demonstrate the ability of the method in measuring the residual strain of curved surface.