Residual stress relief of welded aluminum alloy plate using ultrasonic vibration.

•Ultrasonic vibratory stress relief (UVSR) was first applied to a random size plate.•The local yield stress of AA6082 is reduced by at least 27% during the UVSR.•The vibratory stress introduced by ultrasonic vibration was obtained accurately.•The stress relief ratio was 53% and the distribution interval was reduced by 57%.