Multireflection grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction: A new approach to experimental data analysis

The multireflection grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction method is used to test surface stresses at depths of several micrometres in the case of metal samples. This work presents new ways of analysing experimental data obtained by this method for Ni samples exhibiting significant elastic anisotropy of crystals. Three different methods of determining biaxial stresses and lattice parameter were compared. In the first approach, the calculations were performed using the linear least-squares method, and then two simplified procedures based on simple linear regression (weighted and non-weighted) were applied. It was found that all the tested methods give similar results, i.e. almost equal values of the determined stresses and lattice parameters and the uncertainties of their determination. The advantage of analyses based on simple linear regression is their simplicity and straightforward interpretation, enabling easy verification of the influence of the crystallographic texture and the presence of shear stresses, as well as graphical determination of the stress-free lattice parameter.