Simulating Isochromatic Fringes from Finite Element Results of FEniCS

Numerical analysis of complex problems invariably requires the use of inputs from experimental methods like photoelasticity to validate the boundary conditions as well as the numerical modelling. In this era where the engineering community follows open-source culture to solve numerical problems, this brief note brings out a procedure to plot the photoelastic contours from FE results. The methodology is verified using a benchmark problem of a disk under diametral compression with experimental results and applied to a plate with an edge crack problem.