100-years’ story of success: photoelasticity — LSR–MICE – MSUCE
Authors: Savostyanov Vadim N. , Frishter Lyudmila Yu. 
Published: November 2021

Introduction. The 100-years’ history of MICE – MSUCE is also a history of establishment and flourishing of one of the world’s most powerful experimental school of development and application of the photoelasticity method in the investigation of the stress state of civil and special structures. Reliable forecast of the stress state of buildings and structures under static, thermal and dynamic impacts is an indispensable prerequisite of safe operation provision of civil structures during the construction and the operation. The photoelasticity method, allows, along with the analytical methods of the mechanical science, for continual study of the stress state of the object under test, being an experimental method efficiently used both in “standalone” mode and in conjunction with numerical methods. The goal and the objectives hereof: a retrospective development review of the photoelasticity method, in particular, of the contribution of LSR of MICE, and the assessment of the contemporary state of the method in terms of its actuality, novelty and practical significance of mechanical problem solutions, of stress-strain state studies of structures and buildings.

Materials and methods. The subject hereof is the polarized light method or the photoelasticity method: development, problematics, solution methods of mechanical problems and studies of structures, applications.

Results. The paper describes solution examples of vital problems by the photoelasticity method: stress analysis in the wedge-shaped notch zone of the area boundary, stress state problem under forced deformation in the block-basement contact area, stress state study of underground hydropower plant tunnel with the weir erected by pinpoint blasting. The performed analysis of the photoelasticity method and its contemporary level illustrates the opportunities provided by the method in solving of mechanical problems and in structural studies.

Conclusions. Is the experimental school of the photoelasticity method of LSR–MICE – MSUCE really the sunk Atlantis? The development of the experimental mechanics of deformable solid bodies is characterized by progressive proximity of experimental and numerical analysis research methods. The physical modelling, in particular, the polarized light method, allows for obtaining stress-strain state diagrams of structures, or solutions of mechanical problems, feasible for assessment or for calculation result corrections, that is why the polarized light method retains actuality and practical significance. The development of the deformable solid body mechanics determines the significance of the physical modelling, including the polarized light method. The benefit of the polarized light method is the continuity of mechanical problem solutions which is especially important when local areas with specific features of the stress strain behaviour are considered. Modern technologies of material property studies, invention of new materials lead to creation of new mechanical models, for adequacy assessment of which physical modelling methods are required, in particular, the polarized light method.