The structural elements of ships are subjected to several manufactural processes during the stages of production. As a result of these processes, residual stresses are created in the structural elements to a large extent.
Many techniques have been proposed and used for measuring residual stresses in metals, These techniques are classified into the following groups: (a) stress -relaxation techniques, (b) X-ray diffraction techniques ,(c) techniques using stress-sensilive properties, and (d) cracking techniques.
The main aim of this research is the measurement of residual stresses in structural elements of ships using sectional method. Digital electronic automation machine is used for morking the gage length and then measuring it before the processing and after the sectioning,
Comparison between the results of sectional method and the blind-hole drilling method has been made from accuracy and economical points of view.
It is concluded that, the sectional method is adequate , accurate and economical for residual stresses measurements in structural elements of ships.