Operational reliability and service life of engineering products depend not only on the composition of used materials but also on the technological procedures used in their processing. Nondestructive X‑ray methods are employed to determine residual stresses that arise inside components as a result of external forces or other factors (such as temperature fields, phase transformations, etc.), either directly or indirectly (for example, as a consequence of inhomogeneous deformation). Residual stress analysis therefore plays an important role in material diagnostics comparable to that of classical methods for investigating material properties, such as strength, hardness, wear resistance, or corrosion resistance.

The range of problems addressed in the X‑ray diffraction laboratory, both within basic and applied research projects and in response to requests from domestic and international partners, is remarkably diverse. Industrial collaborators have been interested in the distribution of residual stresses in the surface layers of coil springs, passenger‑car gearboxes, locomotive axles, etc.. The laboratory has also investigated the effectiveness of various mechanisms responsible for the relaxation of residual stresses in machine parts as well as in specially prepared laboratory samples of nickel‑based heat‑resistant alloys for the nuclear industry. In recent years, research has expanded beyond bulk metals and alloys to include plasma‑sprayed oxide, ceramic, and other thin films exhibiting structural and functional gradients.

The research carried out is a representative example of how physical engineers are educated at the FNSPE, CTU in Prague: from a thorough understanding of the theory of physical processes, through the preparation and execution of experiments focused on the real structure of solids, all the way to the application of laboratory research results in industrial practice.

The laboratory cooperates with leading industrial companies in the Czech Republic and with foreign institutions, see References.