Laser sheet scattered light method for industrial measurement of thickness residual stress distribution in flat tempered glass

Abstract

The paper presents the laser sheet scattered light technique, a fast optical non contact method for measuring internal stress distribution over a cross section of flat glass specimens, designed for closed loop control of glass tempering furnaces. The technique is an evolution of the scattered light method for flat glass residual stress analysis and allows a full thickness stress profile to be measured with a single shot acquisition across a glass plate without any contact. A linearly polarized laser sheet, shaped into a thin plane of parallel light beams, enters orthogonally to the side of the flat glass illuminating its full thickness. Light sheet is orthogonal to the glass surface and travels parallel to it. Stress induced birefringence through the glass affects light polarization, thus scattered light intensity detected at 90° with respect to the polarization of the incident light appears spatially modulated in intensity. A camera aligned orthogonal to the laser light polarization collects an image of fringes whose shape is digitally analyzed to measure the thickness stress state. The paper describes the development of this technique by recalling the scattered light method, then describing its automation by scanning a collimated beam across the glass thickness and finally by showing that the scan method can be substituted by the light sheet method. Light sheet method provides a full field non contact stress measurement across the glass thickness, thus allowing for a fast inspection method, suitable for industrial use. Flat glass items for industrial use have bevelled edges; this does not allow measurements close to glass surface. To solve this limit, experimental data are extrapolated by a symmetrical polynomial fitting and imposing a zero integral to the stress profile. Results on surface stress measured by the laser sheet scattered method are in agreement with those of the automated light scattered method and show a fair agreement with measurement by an epibiascope, thus proving the applicability of the method for fast and contact-less detection of residual thickness stress; the industrial application of the method is outlined, so that a tempering furnace could be controlled using feed-back data from thickness stress measurements on flat glass.