Inspection of assembly stresses in an industrial chain plate using reflection photoelasticity

Assembly stresses developed in a chain plate assembly play a critical role in the fatigue performance of the industrial chain. However, it is difficult to identify precisely the stress concentration zones and estimate its values using conventional industry-friendly tools such as the routine quality control test, pull out force test and numerical computations. In this context, reflection photoelasticity proves to be an excellent industry-friendly tool. Use of reflection photoelasticity technique has made it possible not only to instantly identify the stress concentration zones but also to quantify the stress and strain at any point on the chain plate. © 2010 SPIE.