Retardation profile for stress characterization of tubing

A non-contact tubing measurement system, comprising:

• a light source delivering a light to a transparent tube, the light being a collimated line-shaped beam;
• a polarizer receiving the light after the light is refracted through a wall of the transparent tube;
• a detector receiving the light from the polarizer, the detector operable to capture a first image of the light at a first polarization state and a second image of the light at a second polarization state;
• and
• a controller operable to determine a retardation profile by determining a retardation magnitude of the light refracted through the wall of the transparent tube based on a difference between the first image of the light and the second image of the light.

A method for determining a retardation profile of a tubing wall, the method comprising:

• delivering a light from a light source to a transparent tube;
• receiving the light at a polarizer after the light is refracted through a wall of the transparent tube;
• receiving the light from the polarizer at a detector;
• capturing, by the detector, a first image of the light at a first polarization state and a second image of the light at a second polarization state;
• and
• determining a retardation profile of the transparent tube from a retardation magnitude of the light refracted through the wall, wherein the retardation magnitude is determined based on a difference between the first image of the light and the second image of the light.