The design of a automated system for photoelastic analysis of complex components is described, and an outline of the theory used in its operation is given. The potential of the system for providing detailed data over the full field of view is demonstrated by the analysis of a slice from a model of a bolt.

Towards full field automated photoelastic analysis of complex components

In this paper a new full-field method for the automatic analysis of isochromatic fringes in white light is presented. The method, named RGB photoelasticity, eliminates the typical drawbacks of the classical approach to photoelasticity in white light which requires a subjective analysis of colors and an experienced analyst to acquire and interpret the results.

Towards RGB photoelasticity: Full-field automated photoelasticity in white light

Photoelasticity is one of the most widely used full-field methods for experimental stress analysis. However, the collection of photoelastic parameters can be a long and tedious process. The advent of automated photoelastic systems has allowed the experimentalists to speed up the rate of analysis and to perform more complex investigations.This paper provides a survey of recent methods of automated photoelasticity developed in the last 20 years, i.e. methods of the fringe centres, half-fringe photoelasticity, phase-stepping photoelasticity, methods based on the Fourier transform, spectral content analysis (SCA) and RGB (red, green, blue) photoelasticity.

A review of automated methods for the collection and analysis of photoelastic data

A novel instrument is described for the simultaneous observation and capture of four phase-stepped photoelastic images. A theoretical description of the optics of the instrument is presented for the first time. Three examples are given of the use of the instrument in reflection photoelasticity to generate full-field maps of isochromatic and isoclinic parameters. The results from these experiments show close correlation to results from both theoretical analyses and manual measurements. The instrument can be used in either reflection or transmission mode and it is concluded that the new instrument significantly enhances the potential for real-time studies using reflection photoelasticity.

Simultaneous observation of phase-stepped images for automated photoelasticity

Digital photoelasticity has rapidly progressed in the last few years and has matured into an industry-friendly technique. This review thematically classifies all the developments in digital photoelasticity and highlights the relative merits and drawbacks of the various techniques. The overall objective is to provide enough information and guidance to allow an end-user to make an informed choice on the type of technique to be used in a particular situation.

Digital photoelasticity – A comprehensive review

Computer-aided methods for evaluation of photoelastic patterns use video technique and digital image processing. They are based on localization of fringe centers [ 1, 2, 3, 4]. Neighbourhood operations are needed to reduce the influence of nonuniform illumination, inhomogeneous optical components and models, etc. Fractional orders of the relative retardation and of the isoclinic parameter at points between the fringes are computed by spline- functions, if the components of the plane stress state have to be derived from photoelastic data. In the following a method is proposed, which enables the complete extraction of photoelastic information at local picture elements (pixel) from series of related images of the same stress state. For this purpose the well-established phase-shifting technique (see e. g. [ 5,6]) was modified to meet the special requirements of photoelastic patterns.

B. Morche

Papers

Computer-Aided Measurement of Relative Retardations in Plane Photoelasticity