MAE244 OPTICAL Methods of Stress Analysis - Photoelasticity Lab 4-B

Experimental Procedures -- Photoelastic Stress Analysis

Introduction
Strain gages allow very accurate measurements of strain. A major limitation of strain gages
is, however, the fact that they measure only local strain, at specific locations where the strain
gages are bonded. In many applications, the strain/stress field has to be determined over the
entire structure, or over a designated region of the structure. Such information is often
essential for preliminary design studies, since it permits the engineer to identify problem
areas, and specific regions of high localized stress concentrations. Optical techniques, such as
photoelasticity, provide a means to obtain full-field stress distributions.
Objective
The primary goal of this experiment is to learn and implement the basic principles and
procedures of photoelasticity. It will demonstrate the ability of photoelasticity to depict
visually stress distributions over significantly large areas of a test specimen. The technique is
applied also to illustrate the experimental analysis of stress concentrations in a notched
tensile specimen.
Equipment
• Circular polariscopes equipped with white light source and monochromator.
• Two different types of photoelasticity specimens, for different types of loading: semi-circular
notch specimen under tension for stress concentration determination and beam specimen
under four-point bending for flexural bending stress evaluation.
Procedures
1. A semi-circular notched specimen in tension (Dark-field, P⊥ A)
1) Study and comprehend the setup of a circular polariscope and the functions of each
element.
2) Measure and record the dimensions of the semi-circular notch specimen. Place the
test specimen in the loading fixture of the polariscope.
3) Set the analyzer at an orientation of 90° and set the polarizer at an angle of 0°, to
generate "Dark field", integer-order fringes (N=0, 1, 2,3…..).
4) Load the specimen first to 80 lbs (20 lb × 4.25) and carefully observe the formation of
fringes in white light. Follow carefully the pattern of each fringe and observe its
movement.
5) Measure the distance from the edge of the notch to the center of the black fringe (if the
monochromatic filter is used); In the absence of the monochromatic filter, measure the
distance from the edge of the notch to the center of the red and blue tint of passage.
6) Based on the recorded digital images, determine both the half and whole (integer) order
fringes, at the notched section of the specimen (section of minimum area). Extrapolate
the fringe distributions to the outer boundary of the specimen, in order to estimate the
maximum fringe order (and thus the maximum stress) in that region.
7) Determine the stress concentration factor
8) Increased the applied load to 160 lbs and repeat steps 5 and 6.

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MAE244 OPTICAL Methods of Stress Analysis - Photoelasticity Lab 4-B

2. Four-point Beam bending test (bright-field, P//A)

1) Measure and record all the relevant dimensions of the beam.
2) Record the positions of the load application points in the four-point-bend fixture and
draw the shear and moment diagrams.
3) Set-up the polariscope with bright-field mode to observe whole order fringes (N=±0.5,
±1.5, ±2.5….). Check the setting to verify that the polarizer is set, indeed, at 0° while the
analyzer is also set at 0°.
4) Mount the beam in the center of the loading fixture and load it in small steps, up to the
maximum load of 20lb (Note: the upper loading beam weighs 2.5 lb, please reset the loading
sensor to 2.5 lb prior to loading). Note the positions, characteristics, and formation of the
fringes during the loading process: the first fringe will appear on the top and the bottom of
the beam. Subsequently, it will move towards the beam center as the load is increased.
5) At maximum load, measure the positions of all the fringes from the center of the beam.
This includes fringes in both the positive and the negative directions from the neutral axis
(fringes in the top and bottom of the beam, respectively).

Report
1. Semi-circular notched specimen
a. Calculate the σ max by utilizing the fringe-patterns, and then calculate the experimental stress
concentration factor, Ktn
b. Calculate the theoretical stress concentration factor, Ktn,
c. Compare the experimental stress concentration factor (calculated in “a”) with the theoretical
stress concentration factor calculated in question "b". Comment on the accuracy of
predicting stress concentration using the photoelastic technique.

2. Beam-bending specimen
a. Calculate the experimental stress value corresponding to each fringe.
b. For each fringe location, as measured by its distance from the center of the beam, calculate
the theoretical bending stress, by using the beam bending equation and the section moment
(resultant moment) from the bending moment diagram.
c. Tabulate the fringe constant, the distance from the beam center, the theoretical bending stress
and the experimental stress values for the corresponding fringe orders. Compare, in terms of
% difference, the theoretical bending stress and the corresponding stress value calculated
from the fringe order. Comment of the accuracy of the photoelastic technique.

(To be continued on next page)

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MAE244 OPTICAL Methods of Stress Analysis - Photoelasticity Lab 4-B

Hint for imaging processing

center

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