Effects of rotation of principal stresses on photoelastic retardation

Abstract

The photoelastic effects observed when polarized light is passed through a medium subjected to nonhomogeneous stresses have been investigated. The nonhomogeneous stresses are such that they may occur in plates or thin shells, where membrane and bending stresses need not be co-axial. An approximate solution generalized from a solution by Drucker and Mindlin1 is suggested. Two sets of experiments are reported herein. Experimental results indicate that the approximate solution is useful within certain limits.