Photoelastic Analysis of Edge Residual Stresses in Glass by Automated "Test Fringes" Methods

Since the glass is a birefringent material, the analysis of residual stress in glass is usually carried out by means of photoelastic methods. This paper considers the automation of the "test fringes" method which is based on the use of a Babinet compensator or of a beam subjected to bending. In particular, two automated methods are proposed: the first one is based on the use of the centre fringe method in monochromatic light and the second one is based on the use of RGB photoelasticity in white light. The proposed methods have been applied to the analysis of membranal residual stresses in some tempered glasses, showing that they can effectively replace manual methods of photoelastic analysis of residual stresses in glass.