UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOSYSTEMS

ENGINEERING

FEB 588: EXPERIMENTAL STRESS ANALYSIS REPORT

2017 / 2018 ACADEMIC YEAR

2 DIMENSION PHOTOELASTICITY

COMPILED BY: KELVIN ATING’A MULUSA

REGISTERATION NUMBER: F21/3678/2013

COORDINATOR’S NAME: MR. J. AGULLO

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 10TH JULY, 2018

Use of a Polari-scope

INTRODUCTION

A polariscopic is an instrument used to measure the relative retardations or phase difference

produces when polarized light passes through stressed photoblastic model.

OBJECTIVES

The effect of a stressed model in the plane and circular polariscope.

APPARATUS

1. Source of light
2. Polarizer
3. Analyzer
4. Quarter wave plate
5. Supports blankets
6. Weight
7. Camera

 The plane Polari-scope

The optical elements were set on their axes crossed mean perpendicular to one another, thus one
vertical and other on horizontal. In the absence of the model, none of the light emerging from the
polarizer was emitted by the analyzer.
When all axis optical elements were set on the same axis light was transmitted.
When the model was put into the field of crossed plane periscope appeared against the dark
background.

When a plate of temporary doubly reflecting material in a 2D or plane state of stress was placed
in the field of plane Polari-scope and one could observe the isoclinic and isochromatic,
superimposed to each other

The intensity transmitted by plane polariscopic was given by

I =I 0 sin 2 θ

1=I 0 ¿

Observations made for the plane to differentiate between isoclinic and isochromatic fringes.

When white light was used with the crossed arrangement the isoclinic were black and the
isochromatic with the exception of fringes order were colored with monochromatic light, both
sets of the fringes were black. The isochromatic were however, more distinguishable since they
were much more sharply defined by the isoclinic.

Isoclinic represents the direction of principal stresses while isochromatic represents the
difference between the principal stresses.

 The circular Polari-scope.

2
Was obtained by inserting wave plate between the Polaroids or optical elements in the plane
4
Polari-scope with their principal axes at 45° to those Polaroids (polarizer and analyzer).

Polaroids were crossed and parallel and also those of the quarter wave plates.

When the wave plate were crossed, the arrangement was known as crossed or standard circular
Polari-scope.
In the parallel circular Polari-scope axes of Polaroid are in parallel to one another and so that of a
quarter wave-plate. The final wave was transmitted and the background appear bright.
Observation made from circular Polari-scope.

In the circular one, only the isochromatic fringes were observed.

Intensity of light transmitted is given by

α
I =I 0 sin 2
2

Even if the axes of the analyzer was at an angle of 45° counterclockwise. Thus representing a
bright set up still the isochromatic fringes were observed. The intensity of the light transmitted
was given by.

α
I =I 0 cos 2
2