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Photoelasticity

Photoelasticity on Fotopedia

Photoelasticity is an experimental method to determine stress distribution in a material. The method is mostly used in cases where mathematical methods become quite cumbersome. Unlike the analytical methods of stress determination, photoelasticity gives a fairly accurate picture of stress distribution even around abrupt discontinuities in a material. The method serves as an important tool for determining the critical stress points in a material and is often used for determining stress concentration factors in irregular geometries. This article is licensed under the GFDL. It uses material from Wikipedia content.