Photoelasticity

Photoelasticity describes changes in the optical properties of a material under mechanical deformation. It is a property of all dielectric media and is often used to experimentally determine the stress distribution in a material, where it gives a picture of stress distributions around discontinuities in materials. Photoelastic experiments (also informally referred to as photoelasticity) are an important tool for determining critical stress points in a material, and are used for determining stress concentration in irregular geometries. The photoelastic phenomenon was first discovered by the Scottish physicist David Brewster, who immediately recognized it as stress-induced birefringence. That diagnosis was confirmed in a direct refraction experiment by Augustin-Jean Fresnel. Experimental frameworks were developed at the beginning of the twentieth century with the works of E. G. Coker and L. N. G. Filon of University of London. Their book Treatise on Photoelasticity, published in 1930 by Cambridge Press, became a standard text on the subject. Between 1930 and 1940, many other books appeared on the subject, including books in Russian, German and French. Max M. Frocht published the classic two volume work, Photoelasticity, in the field. At the same time, much development occurred in the field – great improvements were achieved in technique, and the equipment was simplified. With refinements in the technology, photoelastic experiments were extended to determining three-dimensional states of stress. In parallel to developments in experimental technique, the first phenomenological description of photoelasticity was given in 1890 by Friedrich Pockels, however this was proved inadequate almost a century later by Nelson & Lax as the description by Pockels only considered the effect of mechanical strain on the optical properties of the material. With the advent of the digital polariscope – made possible by light-emitting diodes – continuous monitoring of structures under load became possible.