Stresses and Strains in a Disk With Variable Modulus of Elasticity

A transparent material with variable modulus of elasticity has been manufactured. It exhibits good photoelastic properties, and can also be strain analyzed by printing gratings on its surface and producing the moire´ effect. The new material is used to stress and strain analyze a disk of variable E, subjected to diametral compression. The discussion of the results obtained suggests that the stress distribution in the disk of variable E is practically the same as the stress distribution in the homogeneous disk. It also indicates that the strain fields in both cases are very different, but that it is possible, approximately, to obtain the strain field from the stress field for an homogeneous material using the value of E at every point, and Hooke’s law.