SEM Annual Conference and Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics

Hill Engineering will be presenting at the upcoming Annual 2017 Conference and Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, which is organized by the Society of Experimental Mechanics (SEM). The conference will run from June 12, 2017 through June 15, 2017 and will be located in Indianapolis, IN. We invite you to come see us while we share some recent work about residual stress measurement repeatability using the contour method. The abstract text is presented below. Continue reading SEM Annual Conference and Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics

What is Residual Stress?

What is residual stress? That’s a very common question when you work at Hill Engineering. Many of our customers, friends, colleagues, and family members like to ask us questions about residual stress including: What is residual stress? How do you measure it? How does residual stress affect material performance? If you have questions about these topics, you’ve come to the right place. At Hill Engineering we love to talk about our work and we have a lot to share about residual stress. Continue reading What is Residual Stress?

Come see us at PS&S 2017

Hill Engineering will be presenting at the upcoming Propulsion Safety & Sustainment Conference (PS&S) in Phoenix, AZ on May 22nd through May 25th. We invite you to come see us. We will be sharing some recent work about experimental validation of process models for nickel engine disk design. Hill Engineering’s presentation will include a summary of residual stress measurements used to calibrate and validate process models for nickel engine disk applications. The abstract text is presented below. Continue reading Come see us at PS&S 2017

Come see us at AeroMat 2017

Hill Engineering is presenting about advanced manufacturing methods and their effects on residual stress at the upcoming 2017 AeroMat Conference in Charleston, SC. The event is organized by ASM International and is hosted by Arconic. Hill Engineering’s presentation will include a summary of recent programs where we evaluated the residual stress from a variety of advanced manufacturing methods. The abstract text is presented below. Continue reading Come see us at AeroMat 2017

Building a Quality System

As was previously discussed, Hill Engineering was recently awarded ISO17025:2005 accreditation for our Quality System. Developing a Quality System that is compliant with ISO is a significant effort, and at Hill Engineering we took it as an opportunity to improve the quality and documentation of our laboratory residual stress measurement services. Here’s a look back on some of the highlights in the development of our Quality System. Continue reading Building a Quality System

The Prime Room

Hill Engineering recently moved into a new facility in Rancho Cordova, CA. The new facility features a combination of laboratory, research and development, and office space; all of which are important as we work tenaciously to meet the needs of our current projects, while at the same time keeping an eye towards innovation and new opportunities. We have proudly named the primary conference room in our new facility the Prime Room, a fitting tribute to a special Hill Engineering collaborator, the inventor of the contour method, and inspirational figure, Mike Prime. Continue reading The Prime Room

Hill Engineering achieves ISO 17025 certification

We are excited to announce that Hill Engineering was recently awarded ISO17025:2005 accreditation!

ISO/IEC 17025 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories is the primary ISO standard used by testing and calibration laboratories. Hill Engineering was accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). Compliance with the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard provides an internationally recognized basis for laboratory accreditation. The standard is used to govern Hill Engineering’s Quality System and entails adherence to rigorous technical requirements. Continue reading Hill Engineering achieves ISO 17025 certification

Residual stress in linear frictions welds

In a previous blog post we discussed, in general, issues related to residual stress in welding. In this post, we’ll follow up with a more detailed look at a specific welding application – linear friction welding of titanium alloys.

Titanium alloys are widely used in aerospace applications for their high strength to weight ratio, good corrosion resistance, and metallurgical stability. New joining methods are being implemented that allow for more efficient manufacture of titanium components. Linear friction welding (LFW) is a solid phase bonding process, which is particularly appropriate for titanium alloys. Due to the titanium’s great affinity for oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen, protective atmospheres must be used to prevent contamination of the welded material. LFW avoids the formation of a liquid phase during the welding process, and can therefore be carried out in air. Likewise, the typical defects caused by melting and solidification during traditional welding process such as pores, pinholes, shrinkage cracks and grain coarsening are avoided. However, as with all welding and deformation processes, understanding the weld residual stress is important. Continue reading Residual stress in linear frictions welds

Residual stress in welding

Welding is a very common manufacturing process that is used to join materials together to form assemblies and systems. In many cases the welded joints are large, have reduced material properties (e.g., stress corrosion cracking resistance, fracture toughness), and contain defects. The welded joints tend to be critical locations in terms of design and sustainment. For this reason, residual stress in welding is a primary concern. Hill Engineering has extensive experience with residual stress measurements and welding residual stress. Continue reading Residual stress in welding

Happy Birthday to the Contour Method!

Today marks a major milestone in the field of residual stress measurement. The contour method, one of the most useful and advanced residual stress measurement techniques, was first successfully implemented on this date (August 16th) in 1999 by Mike Prime at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The most significant feature of the contour method is its ability to generate detailed two-dimensional residual stress maps like the one shown below. Please join us in wishing the contour method a very happy 17th birthday! Continue reading Happy Birthday to the Contour Method!