The traditional contour method maps a single
component of residual stress by cutting a body carefully in
two and measuring the contour of the cut surface. The cut also
exposes previously inaccessible regions of the body to
residual stress measurement using a variety of other techniques,
but the stresses have been changed by the relaxation
after cutting. In this paper, it is shown that superposition of
stresses measured post-cutting with results from the contour
method analysis can determine the original (pre-cut) residual
stresses. The general superposition theory using Bueckner’s
principle is developed and limitations are discussed. The
procedure is experimentally demonstrated by determining the
triaxial residual stress state on a cross section plane. The 2024-
T351 aluminum alloy test specimen was a disk plastically
indented to produce multiaxial residual stresses. After cutting
the disk in half, the stresses on the cut surface of one half were
determined with X-ray diffraction and with hole drilling on
the other half. To determine the original residual stresses, the
measured surface stresses were superimposed with the change
stress calculated by the contour method. Within uncertainty,
the results agreed with neutron diffraction measurements
taken on an uncut disk
