Aresidual-stressprofilealongthethicknessofanaluminumalloysheetisdeterminedbylaser-ultrasonictechnique.SurfaceacousticwavesaregeneratedbyaNd:YAGpulselaseranddetectedbyaHeterodyneinterferometeronalateralfreesurfaceofthesheet.Thedistributionofresidualstressisdeterminedbymeasuringtherelativevariationofthewavevelocitiesatdifferentlocationofthesamplealongitsthickness.Thistechniqueisvalidatedbythreedifferentresidualstressprofilesobtainedexperimentally.