On the stress-optic law for orthotropic-model materials in biaxial-stress fields

Abstract

The stress-optic law for othotropic-model materials, proposed by Sampson on the basis of a simple analogy to the isotropic-model materials, is examined for biaxial-stress fields. The stress-optic law is reduced to a simple form for special cases. It is also shown that the zero-order isochromatic fringe corresponds to an isotropic state of stress only in the case of balanced laminates. A glass-fiber-reinforced plastic disk with the glass fibers in only one direction is examined under diametral compression photoelastically and by means of strain-gage rosettes, with the loading direction perpendicular and at 45 deg to the reinforcement direction. The fringe order along the horizontal diameter is computed from the simplified stress-optic law making use of stress values from strain-gage readings and compared with the observed fringe order. Based on a fairly good agreement of the fringe orders, it is shown that a circular-disk specimen can be used to calibrate an orthotropic-model material. The three independent material-fringe values,f _L ,f _T ,f _LT , can be found from measurements of the fringe order and the strains at the center of the disk for the three cases of loading perpendicular, parallel and at 45 deg to the reinforcement direction.