Complete Isochromatic Fringe-order Analysis in Digital Photoelasticity by Fourier Transform and Load Stepping.

In this paper, a new fully automated photoelastic technique based on both the Fourier transform and the envelope of the fringe centres, is presented. Using two images of the isochromatics acquired with different loads and a simple calculation routine, the method allows the user the complete determination of the isochromatic fringe retardation on any arbitrary line chosen over the model domain, without the need for supplementary external information or calibration. Various experiments have corroborated the accuracy of the method, estimated theoretically to about 0.07 fringe orders. As a result of its simplicity and sufficient accuracy, the method can be used in the industrial field also by a non-expert user. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]