A color scanner as a digital recording polariscope

The use of a color scanner as a digital recording polariscope was found to be beneficial in certain applications, such as the imaging of frozen-stress models and 2-D photoelastic coatings. Particular benefits of using a scanner-based polariscope system include its high degree-of-resolution, ease-of-use, and relatively low cost in comparison to other recording methods. The relatively shallow depth-of-field of a scanner is a limitation of this method, allowing only the use of 2-D photoelastic specimens. Investigation into methods for automated analysis of scanned fringe images is currently being conducted.