Editorial

Residual Stresses in material, tensile or compressive, are pent up furies that are released, unpredictably, over a period of time depending much upon temperature, ambient or applied. Tensile residual stresses add-on to applied stresses thereby increasing actual stress-situation in a component could promote premature failure - even more sounder the conjoint action of cyclic loading and ‘the environment’. On the other hand compressive residual stresses would hinder (surface) crack nucleation, somewhat obviating the situation In the material as under tensile residual stresses. In this issue of the IWJ authors of two papers, dedicated to the generic terms related to residual stresses in material ( P-7 & 24 ), describe in worthy details with wealth of references, difficulties both in theoretical modeling and in data accumulation processes. Readers, particularly In R & D works, would find useful references.