The presence of residual stresses within engineering components is often a key feature in determining their usable lifetimes and failure characteristics. Residual surface compression can, for example, restrict the propagation of surface cracks through the bulk. As a consequence, it is essential to characterize the magnitude and spatial distribution of residual stresses and, at least for non-destructive testing, this is most widely achieved using diffraction of neutron and high energy synchrotron radiations.This book aims to provide a detailed description of the methodology used to determine residual stresses. The major emphasis is placed on the neutron method, this being the more widely established approach at present. It contains 20 chapters contributed by 23 authors, divided into five major parts. The overall layout is very logical, with the first part giving a general introduction to the use of neutrons and x-rays for materials research and summarizing the methods used for their production. Part 2 considers the more specific aspects of extracting the residual stress distribution within a bulk sample and includes some valuable comments on a number of potential experimental problems, such as the determination of the stress-free lattice parameter and the effects of broadening of the Bragg peaks. The experimental facilities currently available or under development are described in part 3, with the remaining two parts devoted to general and specific applications of the residual stress measurement technique.As expected with such a large number of different authors, there is some variation in style and quality. However, the text is generally easy to follow and, more importantly, it is largely free of the problems of inconsistent notation and dupication of material that can afflict multi-authored texts. My only negative comment concerns the latter portion of the book devoted to specific applications of the technique, which is illustrative rather than comprehensive. In particular, there is no clear justification for the particular choice of topics included. Chapters devoted to the more important areas of residual stresses in aerospace components and within the chemical industry would probably have more general interest than, for example, the one devoted nuclear fusion reactors.The publication of this book is rather timely, with a current expansion in the experimental facilities available for the measurement of residual stresses, including dedicated diffractometers for the study of engineering components. To the best of my knowledge, there is no comparable text currently available. In my opinion, this book provides both an accessible introduction to the topic for new students in this particular area and a useful reference text on the current status of the field to more established researchers.Stephen Hull

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