Residual stress distribution in an Al₂O₃-Ni joint bonded with composite layer

Neutron diffraction was used to investigate the residual stress distribution in an axisymmetric Al₂O₃-Ni joint bonded with a 40 vol% Al₂O₃-60 vol% Ni composite layer. A series of measurements was taken along the axis of symmetry through the Al₂O₃ and composite layers. It is shown that after taking into account the finite neutron diffraction sampling volume, both the trends and peak values of the experimentally determined strain distribution were in excellent agreement with calculations of a simple finite element model, where the rule-of-mixtures approach was used to describe the constitutive behavior of the composite interlayer. In particular, the predicted steep strain gradient near the interface was confirmed by the experimental data.