AbstractThe thermal and thermomechanical behaviour of the relaxation of the residual stresses of a shot peened Astroloy superalloy under tensile cyclic loads has been evaluated by X-ray diffraction and investigated. The stress relaxation under purely thermal conditions (550 and 650°C) and thermomechanical conditions (pulsating tensile loading at 650°C) as afunction of the exposure time is presented. The purely thermal relaxation is interpreted by annihilation and reorganisation of the crystalline defects induced by shot peening, whereas the mechanical relaxation is linked to cyclic plasticity of materials. In consequence, the thermomechanical relaxation is essentially due to the complex mechanism of the concurrent thermal and mechanical effects. A model is used to predict the residual stresses induced by the specified shot peening conditions and their relaxation under the specified thermal/thermomechanical conditions.MST/1963