Strain Viewers – Polariscope for Qualitative Observation of Stress Patterns in Glass & Plastics

A polariscope is a qualitative tool that uses polarized light to reveal stress patterns in transparent or translucent objects. Strainoptics offers several standard models of polariscopes (strain viewers), ranging from a small, portable unit to large, modular instruments that may be free-standing, installed on a wall, on a tabletop, or even on a production line.

A polariscope operates on the proven optical property of birefringence. This phenomenon causes a stressed transparent or translucent material such as glass or plastic to display a characteristic range of colors when viewed in polarized light (the photoelastic effect). When properly interpreted, photoelastic colors can indicate both the magnitude and direction of residual stresses. They also indicate when stress is not present, which is useful for verification of annealing. The procedure is fast, nondestructive, and does not require a high level of operator skill.

Please click on the product photo to learn more about that specific polariscope (strain viewer).