Abstract
The determination of macroscopic and microscopic residual stresses, their influences and their variations have to be taken into account to study the behaviour of short fiber reinforced metal matrix composite behaviour under external applied stresses. X-ray and neutron diffraction applied to matrix and reinforcement made it possible to give a good evaluation of these stresses. A great care is needed for the evaluation of the stress free parameter a0 especially in the case of stress and chemical composition gradients. First order thermal stresses similar in two Al-SiC and Al specimens but in the previous one, second order stresses are very high.
