Applications of Optical Methods of Stress Analysis to Study Fracture Phenomena

Abstract

Shadow optical and photoelastic data were collected from digitally sharpened isochromatic fringe patterns and caustics by using a digital image analysis system. A photoelastic analysis for cracked two-phase compounds has been performed by using the image analysis of isochromatic fringe loops. A combination of the so-called phase-stepping method, an automatic polariscope and the multiple point method result in an automatic method for the determination of stress intensity factors. An overview about the experimental modelling of cracks arising in plane disk-like models of two-phase composite structures is given.