A New Method for Measuring the Strength of Materials Used in Optical Windows and Domes

Thispaper introduces new method and apparatus for measuring strength of optical windows and domes that use in flying vehicles such as satellite and missiles. There are different methods for measuring strength such as 3-point and 4-point flexure test, equibiaxial disk flexure test, ring-on-ring and ball-on-ring.This apparatus can test all optical material strengthsthatare used in windows and domes with different aerodynamic shapes. This method can measure windows or domes strength by considering thermal effects at hi-speed application, thermal shock, aerodynamic design, internal pressure and simulating all these conditions. Also, experimental results provided by this apparatus showed same measuring results for equivalent samples and also represented impact of aerodynamic design in material strength.