Augusto Ajovalasit

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

Abstract 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 method for reducing the influence of quarter-wave plate errors in phase stepping photoelasticity

Abstract The phase stepping technique has recently been applied to the automated analysis of photoelastic fringes to determine the isoclinic parameter and the relative retardation. Generally, in these methods the error of quarter-wave plates, due to common manufacturing tolerances, influences the determination of the isoclinic parameter and the fringe order. In this paper a new phase stepping method in which the influence of quarter-wave plate error is null on the isoclinic parameter and negligible on the fringe order is proposed. The theoretical results have been confirmed by experimental tests.

Measurement of residual stresses by the hole-drilling method: Influence of hole eccentricity

Abstract The hole-drilling method is a semidestructive technique which allows the measurement of residual stresses. In this method, a source of error is due to the misalignment between the hole and rosette centres. This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the influence of such misalignment on the strains measured by the rosette. Formulae which give the residual stresses taking account of the hole eccentricity are derived. Finally, the errors, which affect the residual stresses when the eccentricity is neglected, are evaluated for some commercial strain-gauge rosettes especially developed for the hole-drilling method.

High-velocity Impact Location on Aircraft panels Using Macro-fiber Composite piezoelectric Rosettes

In this article, an approach based on an array of macro-fiber composite (MFC) transducers arranged as rosettes is proposed for high-velocity impact location on isotropic and composite aircraft panels. Each rosette, using the directivity behavior of three MFC sensors, provides the direction of an incoming wave generated by the impact source as a principal strain angle. A minimum of two rosettes is sufficient to determine the impact location by intersecting the wave directions. The piezoelectric rosette approach is easier to implement than the well-known time-of-flight-based triangulation of acoustic emissions because it does not require knowledge of the wave speed in the material. Hence, the technique does not have the drawbacks of time-of-flight triangulation associated to anisotropic materials or tapered sections. The experiments reported herein show the applicability of the technique to high-velocity impacts created with a gas-gun firing spherical ice projectiles.

AUTOMATED PHOTOELASTICITY IN WHITE-LIGHT - INFLUENCE OF QUARTER-WAVE PLATES

Abstract This paper deals with the influence of optical retarders on the isochromatic fringes obtained by automated white light photoelasticity using methods such as those based on spectral content analysis (SCA) and on primary colour (red, green and blue) analysis. In the following the light intensity equations of dark- and light-field polariscopes with both crossed and parallel optical retarders are reviewed. In particular, it is shown that the retardance error of the quarter-wave plates produces an attenuation of the maximum intensity in dark field and an increase of minimum intensity in light field. Experimental evidence of the influence of optical retarders is also shown.

RGB photoelasticity applied to the analysis of membrane residual stress in glass

The measurement of residual stresses is of great relevance in the glass industry. The analysis of residual stress in glass is usually made by photoelastic methods because glass is a photoelastic material. This paper considers the determination of membrane residual stresses in glass plates by automatic digital photoelasticity in white light (RGB photoelasticity). The proposed method is applied to the analysis of membrane residual stresses in some tempered glass. The proposed method can effectively replace manual methods based on the use of white light, which are currently provided by some technical standards.

The influence of the quarter wave plates in automated photoelasticity

During the last decades, several methods have been proposed to automate photoelastic analyses. Some procedures are based on the circularly polarised light by using quarter wave plates. However, quarter wave plates are typically matched for a specific wavelength, and an error is introduced at different wavelengths. The error of quarter wave plates affects the measurement of isochromatic and isoclinic data. In this paper, the influence of the errors of quarter wave plates in some of the most common automated photoelastic methods is reviewed. The errors in the photoelastic data are given and the procedures to reduce, or eliminate, them are also suggested.

Limitation of fourier transform photoelasticity: Influence of isoclinics

The application of the Fourier transform to photoelasticity was used in the evaluation of the retardation using a carrier system of fringes. In photoelasticity, the light intensity from the analyzer in a circular polariscope depends on both the retardation (isochromatics) and the isoclinic parameter. The theoretical analysis shows that the angle between the principal stresses in the model and in the carrier system of fringes influences the evaluation of the retardation (isochromatics), as occurs when misaligned compensators (namely, Babinet) are used. As a consequence, this method may not be applied as a full-field technique, although the error is small if the angle between the principal stresses in the model and in the carrier is less than 25 deg. Numerical simulations and experimental tests were conducted to corroborate this prediction.

A critical assessment of automatic photoelastic methods for the analysis of edge residual stresses in glass

The measurement of residual stresses is of great importance in the glass industry. The analysis of residual stresses in the glass is usually carried out by photoelastic methods since the glass is a photoelastic material. This article considers the determination of membrane residual stresses of glass plates by digital photoelasticity. In particular, it presents a critical assessment concerning the automated methods based on gray-field polariscope, spectral content analysis, phase shifting, RGB photoelasticity, “test fringes” methods and “tint plate” method. These methods can effectively automate manual methods currently specified in some standards.

Review of photoelastic image analysis applied to structural birefringent materials: glass and polymers

Abstract. Photoelasticity is particularly suitable for the analysis of the stress state in structural materials that are transparent and birefringent. Some techniques of digital photoelasticity (phase shifting and RGB) are applied to the analysis of stress field in two classes of structural materials. The first one consists of tempered glasses, such as those used in the automotive and architectural fields. The second one consists of thermoset polymers, typically used as matrices in fiber reinforced plastic structural composites. The birefringence of such resins is, in particular, exploited to investigate the development of swelling stresses and changes in fracture toughness as induced by water uptake aging.