Applications of Photoelasticity – A review

Photoelasticity is an experimental method for analyzing stress or strain fields in mechanics. Now-a-days it has become so advanced that it can analyze a 3-dimensional model; this technique is known as integrated photoelasticity. When plane polarized light passes through the model, the state of polarization changes from point to point depending on the principal stress direction and magnitude of principal stress difference. Stress analysis by using polariscopes plays a vital role in advancements in dental sciences, aerospace technology etc. This paper deals with use of polariscope in various fields.