Real-time analysis of isochromatics and isoclinics using the phase-shifting method

This paper studies a new real-time phase-shifting method for the analysis of isochromatic and isoclinic parameters in photoelasticity. By rotating an analyzer at a constant rate and an output quarter-wave plate at a double rate of the analyzer and recording images by a CCD camera continuously, sequential images which brightness is integrated by sensors in a CCD camera during phase-shifting are obtained. Then, the distributions of the isochromatic and isoclinic parameters are obtained immediately and quantitatively using the proposed phase-shifting algorithm. The proposed method can be applied to high-speed inspection of optical elements or glass products. Also, it is expected that slowly varying time-dependent problems can be analyzed by the proposed method.