Abstract: This paper presents an energy principle, zero different principle of coupledsystems in photoelasticity, from which the potential energy, the complementary energy,generalized potential energy and generalized complementary energy variationalprinciples of the coupled systems in photoelasticity are derived What is called the coupled systems means that two deformational bodies, forwhich figures, sizes,loads and boundary conditions are the same and they are all inactual states but they are made of different materials.Prototype body and model body in photoelasticity are essentially the coupledsystems, therefore the above principles become the theoretical basis of defining theinflunce of Poissons ratio v on accuracy of the frozen-stress method.

Key words: photoelasticity, coupled systems, zero different work principle, coupled variational principle