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Theoretical and experimental works on acoustoelasticity are briefly generalized. Studies conducted and scientific results obtained at the S. P. Timoshenko Institute of Mechanics and E. O. Paton Institute of Electric Welding of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine are highlighted. Special features of these works and their difference from those of other authors are pointed out. The basic principles and laws governing the propagation of longitudinal, shear, and surface waves in bi- and triaxially stressed bodies are briefly stated with regard for the orthotropy and nonlinear properties of the material. The experimentally proven principles and laws for elastic waves propagating in initially stressed bodies are formulated. The physical fundamentals of the ultrasonic nondestructive technique for determining bi- and triaxial stresses in solids are described. The determination of bi- and triaxial residual stresses in specimens and structural members is demonstrated by examples. The basic principles of the related (dielectric and electromagnetic) methods for stress analysis of polymeric materials are stated. The application of the electromagnetic method to the stress analysis of some polymeric materials is considered