PhotoStress® is a complimentary technique to FEA for achieving optimal and verifiable stress analysis of a design. In this example, an FEA analysis of an automotive steering knuckle was conducted, and after manufacturing the actual part, PhotoStress® testing was chosen to verify the FEA results. Photo A shows an illustration of the steering knuckle and how the directional loads were applied. Photo B shows the FEA results indicating that the highest stresses are located in the fillet area of the protruding spindle. Photo C shows a physical model of the actual part in the test rig for PhotoStress® testing. Photo D shows the results of PhotoStress® analysis confirming the general location of the significant stresses revealed on the FEA model. PhotoStress® measurement, however, showed that the peak stress magnitudes were approximately 20 percent higher than the computer solution.

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