Module: 14MMP102

Q
1.(a)
Max in-plane shear stress

max =

x y

= 32.4 MPa
2
Strains in x, y and xy
x = 1100

y = 101
z = 500
Max shear strain:
( max )xy = 1200

( max )xz = 1600

( max ) yz = 399

1(b)
(i) Max: B, D, F, H
(ii) Zero: A, C, E, G

2
e)
Solving,
y = 60.7 MPa

xy = 27.9 MPa

3.

a) Setup and wavevector diagram

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b) Displacement corresponding to one fringe: w f =

Phase difference between B and C: BC = 22rad.
Relative displacement is 0.93m

6
= 266nm

Relative displacement between C and D is 1.596m

c) w AB = 6.5 * 266nm = 1.729m.
d) No, that would require the measurement of the in plane displacement
component on the surface, along the line defined by points B and C. As this is
an out of plane interferometer, only the surface slope between those points
could be established.
e) Error sources and mitigation:
-convective currents > enclose measurements; avoid air currents and thermal
5
gradients.
-Vibration > isolate interferometer using optical table or some damping
platform.
-Speckle noise > filter speckle noise using convolution filter on phase shifting
formula.
-Speckle decorrelation > limit maximum displacement so that fringe spacing
is larger than speckle size
f) The surface roughness, measured as a peak to valley distance, should be
greater than l/4. In this out-of-plane interferometer, that represents a round
trip of l/2, which is the minimum required to achieve total destructive
interference and give maximum contrast to the speckle. Shiny / polished areas

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do not contribute to speckle and therefore data is lost across them. These
surfaces should be spray coated with matt white paint, to ensure good surface
scattering.

a) One of the simplest arrangements possible is a plane polariscope, shown in

Fig. 4. Let the light source be a monochromatic one (single wavelength). A
photoelastic material under plane stress is kept in the field of view. The
incident light on the model is plane polarized with a polarizer at 90 degrees to
the x axis. As it passes through the model, the state of polarization changes
from point to point depending on the principal stresses direction and the
magnitude of the principal stresses difference. The information about the
stress field can be obtained if the state of polarization of the emergent light is
studied. This is easily achieved by introducing a polarizer at 0 degrees. Since
this optical element helps to analyse the emergent light, it is known as an
analyzer. With the introduction of the analyzer, dark fringe contours appear
on the screen. They correspond to those points where intensity of light
transmitted is zero (at the centre of the fringes, and close to zero nearby).
Since the analyzer is kept at 0 degrees, this is possible only if the emergent
light from the model has its plane of polarization along the vertical (i.e.
perpendicular to the analyzer transmission axis). Thus to give physical
meaning to the contours, we have to identify the conditions under which the
incident plane polarized light is unaltered as it passes through the model. It is
to be noted that in this optical arrangement, the polarizer and analyzer are
crossed, and the background appears as a dark field.

b) Isochromatics: The incident light polarization state is unaltered upon

emergence on all those points where the model behaves as a full-wave plate.
This happens when the principal stress difference ( 1 - 2 ) is such as to cause
a relative phase difference of 2m (m=0, 1, 2), where m is an integer. Since

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stress is a continuous field, one observes a collection of points forming

contours that satisfy the above condition and the respective fringe field is
known as isochromatics. Thus, by knowing the isochromatic fringe order at
a point and using the stress-optic law one can determine the principal stresses
difference at the point. The order is the value of m that corresponds to a given
fringe and is usually found by first identifying the zero order and counting
fringes in opposite directions from it. The term isochromatics is more
appropriate to use when white light is used as a source.When white light is
incident on the model only a single wavelength is cut off completely (other
wavelengths very close to it are attenuated as well). In view of this, one
observes white light minus the extinct colour over the field. Iso means
constant and chroma means colour. Thus, isochromatics are contours of
constant colour.

Isoclinics: Another possibility, wherein the incident light is unaltered, is

when the polarizer axis coincides with one of the principal stress directions at
the point of interest. This means that linearly polarized light entering the
stressed sample, will travel with the same polarization state through the
material. As the projection of the incoming polarization vector onto the
polarizing (stress) axes is unaltered, then the emerging light has the same
linear or plane polarization state. The analyzer will block it as it is at 90
degrees to the polarizer. In this case, light extinction is not wavelength
dependent and one observes a dark fringe even in white light. These are
known as isoclinics meaning contours of constant inclination (angle of one of
the principal stresses). Isoclinics are usually numbered with the angles they
denote, such as 0, 10, 15, etc. The principal stress direction on all points
lying on an isoclinic is a constant.
c) In order to separate the principal stresses, we need extra information, in the
form of a known relationship between s1 and s2. Valid examples are:

1 / 2 = 1
A uniform shaft in torsion:
1 / 2 = 2
A thin-walled cylinder:
1 = 0 or 2 = 0
Uniaxial stress state:
Stress at a boundary:
1 = 0 or 2 = 0

NF
These relationships, combined with the stress optic law 1 2 =
h
can be solved simultaneously to separate the ppal stresses.
d) Moire interferometry (MI) relies on the measurement of the distortion of
diffraction gratings bonded onto the specimen. Their distortion is measured
using diffraction of light, as strain changes the period of the grating and thus
the diffracted angles when they are illuminated. The periodicity of the
gratings make MI suitable in cases where rigid body motion is expected, on
top of a deformation field. Speckle interferometry cannot cope in the same
way with rigid body displacements as speckle decorrelates. MI would be
suitable to measure a specimen in a tensile test, when the region of interest is
close to the moving grip or in general when the region of interest moves
rigidly more than the decorrelation limit of SI (a few tens of micrometers).

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e) Monochromatic light in PE allows us to count more fringes, with no limits

imposed by colour interpretation as usual in white light photoelasticity, where
the colour sequence changes with fringe order and is limited to 4-5 fringes
only.

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