A REPORT ON

ELECTRICAL STRAIN GAUGES

By

Mr. AKSHAY A. KULKARNI

Mr. NIKHIL K. KUNDAR

Guide:
Prof. NILAJ DESHMUKH

Department of Mechanical Engineering

FR. CONCEICAO RODRIGUES INSTITUTE OF
TECHNOLOGY, VASHI
ACADEMIC YEAR 2019-20
 ABSTRACT

The harmony between safety and economics is an extremely

important factor in designing a structure. To design a structure
which ensures the necessary strength while keeping such
harmony, it is significant to know the stress borne by each
material part. However, at the present scientific level, there is no
technology which enables direct measurement and judgement
of stress. So, the strain on the surface is measured in order to
know the internal stress. Strain gauges are the most common
sensing elements to measure surface strain. This review aims at
explaining the basics and working principle of the strain gauges
and the implementation of the same.
 CONTENT

I. Need of strain gauges

II. Introduction
III. Principle of working
IV. Types of strain gauges
V. Materials used for strain gauges
VI. Temperature compensation
VII. Wheatstone Bridge working principle
VIII. Strain gauge bonding procedure
IX. Rosette analysis
X. Load cell and its types
XI. Conclusion
XII. Reference
 INTRODUCTION

It is often easy to measure the parameters like length,

displacement, weight, etc. that can be felt easily by some senses
However, it is very difficult to measure the dimensions like force,
stress and strain that cannot be really sensed directly by any
instrument For such cases, special devices called strain gauges
are very useful.
There are some materials whose resistance changes when
strain is applied to them or when they are stretched and this
change in resistance can be measured easily For applying the
strain, you need force, thus the change in resistance of the
material can be calibrated to measure the applied force Thus,
the devices whose resistance changes due to applied strain or
applied force are called as the strain gauges.
Invented by Edward E. Simmons and Arthur C. Ruge in 1938 the
most common type of strain gauge consists of an insulating
flexible backing which supports a metallic foil pattern. A gauge is
attached to the object by a suitable adhesive, such as
cyanoacrylate. As the object is deformed, the foil is deformed,
causing its electrical resistance to change This resistance change,
usually measured using a Wheatstone bridge, is related to the
strain by the quantity known as the Gauge Factor.
 The above figure is a typical foil strain gauge. The blue region is
conductive and resistance is measured from one large blue pad
to the other. The gauge is far more sensitive to strain in the
vertical direction than in the horizontal direction. The markings
outside the active area help to align the gauge during
installation.
 PRINCIPLE OF WORKING

When force is applied to any metallic wire its length increases

due to the strain. More is the applied force, more is the strain
and more is the increase in length of the wire If L1 is the initial
length of the wire and L2 is the final length after application of
the force, the strain is given as:

ε =(L2-L1)/L1
 If a metal conductor is stretched or compressed, its resistance
changes because:

As the length of the conductor increases its resistance

decreases. This change in resistance of the conductor can be
measured easily and calibrated against the applied force. Thus,
strain gauges can be used to measure force and related
parameters like displacement and stress. The input and output
relationship of the strain gauges can be expressed by the term
gauge factor or gauge gradient, which is defined as the change
in resistance R for the given value of applied strain ε.
We know that,

R = ꝭL/A
𝑑𝑅/𝑅 = 𝑑ꝭ/ꝭ + 𝑑𝐿/𝐿 - 𝑑𝐴/𝐴
𝑑𝑅/𝑅ɛ = 𝑑ꝭ/ꝭɛ + 1 + 2ʋ

This expresses the basic proportionality between resistance

and strain in the gauge element material.
Gauge factor:

𝑑𝑅/𝑅ɛ = 𝑑ꝭ/ꝭɛ + 1 + 2ʋ

A measure of sensitivity of the material or its resistance change

per unit applied strain is defined as the Gauge Factor (GF).

So, GF = 𝑑𝑅/𝑅ɛ

Therefore, GF = 𝑑ꝭ/ꝭɛ+ 1 + 2ʋ

Gauge Factor gives the sensitivity of strain gauge.

 TYPES OF STRAIN GAUGES

Based on the principle of working:

• Mechanical
• Electrical
• Piezoelectric

Based on the structure of material:

• Wire type Strain Gauges

• Metal foil type Strain Gauges

Based on the mounting:

• Bonded type Strain Gauges

• Unbonded type Strain Gauges
Mechanical Strain Gauge:

It is made up of two separate plastic layers. The bottom layer

has a ruled scale on it and the top layer has a red arrow or pointer
One layer is glued to one side of the crack and one layer to the
other. As the crack opens, the layers slide very slowly past one
another and the pointer moves over the scale. The red crosshairs
move on the scale as the crack widens.
Electrical Strain Gauge:

When an electrical wire is stretched within the limits of its

elasticity such that it does not break or permanently deform, it
will become narrower and longer that increases its electrical
resistance end to end.
Strain can be inferred by measuring the change in resistance.
Piezoelectric Strain Gauge:

Piezoelectric materials generate electric voltage when strain is

applied over it. Strain can be calculated from voltage.
Piezoelectric strain gauges are the most sensitive and reliable
devices.
Bonded Strain Gauge:

A bonded strain gauge element, consisting of a metallic wire,

etched foil, vacuum deposited film or semi-conductor bar, is
cemented to the strain surface.
Unbonded Strain gauge:

The unbonded strain gauge consists of wire stretched between

two points in an insulating medium such as air. One end of the
wire is fixed and the other end is attached to a movable element.
 MATERIALS USED FOR STRAIN GAUGES

Earlier, wire types of strain gauges were used commonly, which

are now being replaced by the metal foil types of gauges. The
metals can be easily cut into the zigzag foils for the formation of
the strain gauges. One of the most popular materials used for
the strain gauges is the copper-nickel-manganese alloy, which is
known by the trade name of Advance. Some semiconductor
materials can also be used for making the strain gauges. The
value of Gauge Factors for various materials are:

Materials Gauge Factor Materials Gauge Factor

Nickel -12.1 Platinum +4.8
Manganin +0.47 Carbon +20
Nichrome +2.0 Doped Crystals 100 to 5000
Constantan +2.1 Soft Iron +4.2
 TEMPERATURE COMPENSATION

Temperature changes during a measurement with strain

gauges can frequently have undesirable effects on the
measurement result. Fortunately, a number of options are
available with the right choice of a strain gauge, the one that
suits the application best, by making use of the effects of a
Wheatstone bridge circuit with a half or full bridge circuit, and
also with computational methods to compensate largely for
unwanted temperature effects.

Effect Possible compensating measure

Self-heating of the Observe the maximum excitation voltage
strain gauge
Climate/relative Careful covering of the measuring point
humidity
Adhesive creep Observe the temperature limits of the
adhesive you are using
Temperature coefficient of the gauge factor:

The gauge factor is the most important property of the strain

gauge It describes the correlation between strain and change in
resistance. The gauge factor is temperature dependent with
typical temperature coefficients of the gauge factor of 0 01 %/ K
its distorting effect on the measurement result is usually
relatively small and is therefore mostly ignored. However, a
computational compensation (for the temperature
measurement) is also feasible.

Temperature dependence of the modulus of elasticity:

The modulus of elasticity is a material dependent property of

the measuring body It describes the correlation between the
measured strain and the mechanical stress. The modulus of
elasticity is temperature dependent.
 A typical value for steel in this case is approx. 0 02 %/K In
experimental stress analysis, the effect of the modulus of
elasticity is typically ignored. With high precision transducers
that can be calibrated, compensation is made by means of
temperature dependent nickel elements in the bridge.

Self-heating of the strain gauge (excitation voltage):

The excitation voltage causes the strain gauge to heat up in

comparison to the measuring body. Depending on the thermal
conductivity of the measuring body, heat conductance is more
or less absorbed by the measuring body. If the measuring body
conducts heat poorly, the result may be a difference in
temperature between the measuring body and the strain gauge.
This could possibly interfere with the functioning of the self-
compensated strain gauge.

Climate and relative humidity:

If the measuring point is not adequately protected, a drift in the

zero point may occur depending on the relative humidity.
 This is due to water molecules of the adhesive and strain gauge
carrier material being absorbed. A suitable counter measure is
carefully covering the measuring point.

Adhesive creep:

As the temperature increases, adhesives become soft and are

no longer able to transfer 100 of the strain. In this way they are
comparable to a declining gauge factor. Because of this it is
important to always observe the temperature limits of the
adhesive and to choose them appropriately for the field of
application.

Using self-compensated strain gauges:

Self-compensated strain gauges are specially developed to

compensate for the temperature behavior of certain materials
by their own temperature behavior. This means that they
counteract the apparent strain (and thus the temperature
induced expansion of the measuring body). Therefore, a strain
gauge with a temperature response suitable for the material of
the measuring body is selected.
 WHEATSTONE BRIDGE WORKING PRINCIPLE

The Wheatstone bridge circuit as shown in figure below for

which condition of balance for this network being (i.e. the
galvanometer reading zero when,

In practice, the strain measurements rarely involve quantities

larger than a few mill strains. Therefore, to measure the strain
requires accurate measurement of very small changes in
resistance. The general Wheatstone bridge, illustrated, consists
of four resistive arms with an excitation voltage, Vex. The output
voltage of the bridge, V 0 will be,

From this equation, it is apparent that when R 1 /R 2 R 3 /R 4

the voltage output V 0 will be zero. Under these conditions, the
bridge is said to be balanced. Any change in resistance in any arm
of the bridge will result in a nonzero output voltage. Therefore,
if we replace R 4 in figure with an active strain gauge, any
changes in the strain gauge resistance will unbalance the bridge
and produce a nonzero output voltage.
 STRAIN GAUGE BONDING PROCEDURE

1) Select strain gauge: Select the strain gage model and gage
length which meet the requirements of the measuring
object and the purpose. For the linear expansion coefficient
of the gage applicable to the measuring object. Select the
most suitable one from the 11 choices.

2) Remove dust and paint: Using a sand cloth, polish the

strain-gage bonding site over a wider area than the strain
gage size. Wipe off paint, rust and plating, if any, with a
grinder or sand blast before polishing.
3) Decide bonding position: Using a pencil or a marking-off
pin, mark the measuring site in the strain direction. When
using a marking-off pin, take care not to deeply scratch the
strain-gage bonding surface.

4) Remove grease from bonding surface and clean: Using an

industrial tissue paper (SILBON paper) dipped in acetone,
clean the strain-gage bonding site. Strongly wipe the
surface in a single direction to collect dust and then remove
by wiping in the same direction. Reciprocal wiping causes
dust to move back and forth and does not ensure cleaning.
5) Apply adhesive: Ascertain the back and front of the strain
gage. Apply a drop of CC-33A adhesive to the back of the
strain gage. Do not spread the adhesive. If spreading occurs,
curing is adversely accelerated, thereby lowering the
adhesive strength.

6) Bond strain gage to measuring site: After applying a drop of

the adhesive, put the strain gage on the measuring site
while lining up the center marks with the marking-off lines.

7) Press strain gage: Cover the strain gage with the accessory
polyethylene sheet and press it over the sheet with a
thumb. Quickly perform steps (5) to (7) as a series of
actions. Once the strain gage is placed on the bonding site,
 do not lift it to adjust the position. The adhesive strength
will be extremely lowered.

8) Complete bonding work: After pressing the strain gage with

a thumb for one minute or so, remove the polyethylene
sheet and make sure the strain gage is securely bonded. The
above steps complete the bonding work. However, good
measurement results are available after 60 minutes of
complete curing of the adhesive.
 ROSETTE ANALYSIS

Drawbacks of Strain gauge:

• A strain gauge is capable only of measuring strain in the
direction in which gauge is oriented.
• There is no direct way to measure the shear strain or to
directly measure the principal strains as directions of
principal planes are not generally known.

Strain rosettes:
Since, for strain analysis in biaxial state of stress we should
know strain in three directions and due to drawbacks in a strain
gauge, strain rosettes came in to picture. Strain rosette can be
defined as the arrangement of strain gauges in three arbitrary
directions. These strain gauges are used to measure the normal
strain in those three directions.

Depending on the arrangement of strain gauges, strain rosettes

are classified into:
• Rectangular strain gauge rosette
• Delta strain gauge rosette
• Star strain gauge rosette
 LOAD CELL AND ITS TYPES

A load cell is a type of transducer, specifically a force

transducer. They convert a force such as tension, compression,
pressure, or torque into an electrical signal that can be measured
and standardized. As the force applied to the load cell increases,
the electrical signal changes proportionally.

Load cells can be classified using the following criteria: -

• Direction of Loading: When classified by the direction of
load detection, load cells can be divided into the following
types tension, compression, alternating, and bending.
• Precision: Based on precision, load cells can be classified as
ultra-precision, precision, standard, and general purpose.
• Shape of Spring Material: The shape of the spring material
often determines the characteristics of the load cell.
• Outer Shape: Load cells are often classified by their outer
shape. Classifications include the can type, the S type, the
washer type, and the beam type.
 CONCLUSION

The material elongates for tensile load and normal load and
also compress for compressive force. So, in sensitive
instruments, where material elongation after a certain limit, will
cause a great damage to the whole instrument, strain gauge
sensor is very much applicable there. It can measure the strain
of a point or critical edges. It is also used to measure the stress
of tablets in medical fields. Now, in automated machines, strain
gauge is used to measure the torque of rotating shaft. So, proper
installment of strain gauge is very much necessary.
 REFERENCES

1. www.researchgate.net
2. www.kyowa-ei.com
3. Wikipedia and YouTube