Use of photoelasticity to study the effect of particle distribution on stress in composites

The photoelastic effect is used as an analogue to study the deformation in metal matrix composites. A mathematical model that predicts the misfit stress and inhomogeneity effect due to a cluster of reinforcement-rich phases is developed and the results of this model are in agreement with experimental results obtained from the photoelastic analogue. The use of this analogue is intended to complement existing computer simulations and analytical solutions. It has the advantage of being able to study large numbers of reinforcing particles. The preliminary results indicate that the analysis can be extended to the three-dimensional situation.