| Abstract: | Residual stresses and microstructure of thermal cutted steel sheet A research project of Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH and the Swiss Federal Laboratories of Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) was launched to investigate the residual stress depth profiles induced by different thermal cutting methods. The measurements have been performed by X‐ray stress analysis. Pronounced differences in the stress levels at the surface and for the depth profiles have been obtained for the different cutting methods (plasma, microplasma, autogenous (gas), and laser cutting). Near the surface a small region of compression stresses due martensitic or bainitic transformation was found. With increasing depth a transition to tensile stresses occurs, which are caused by the contraction in the heat affected zone (HAZ) during cooling. The highest tensile (237MPa) and compression stresses (‐550MPa) have been obtained for the laser cut samples, while the microplasma cut samples showed the lowest residual stresses (max. 180MPa/‐56MPa). |
