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    Strain Gauges: Mark Colton

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    GATE FACULTY
    Strain gauges are used to measure strain, which is a change in length per unit length of a material under loading. Strain gauges work by having a change in electrical resistance proportional to experienced strain, according to their gauge factor. Strain gauges are commonly constructed of metal foil or semiconductor material and bonded to the surface of a specimen. A Wheatstone bridge circuit is used to convert small resistance changes in the strain gauge into measurable voltage changes. Multiple strain gauges can be used in a bridge configuration to increase sensitivity and cancel unwanted effects like temperature changes.

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    Strain Gauges: Mark Colton

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    GATE FACULTY
    29 views15 pages
    Strain gauges are used to measure strain, which is a change in length per unit length of a material under loading. Strain gauges work by having a change in electrical resistance proportional to experienced strain, according to their gauge factor. Strain gauges are commonly constructed of metal foil or semiconductor material and bonded to the surface of a specimen. A Wheatstone bridge circuit is used to convert small resistance changes in the strain gauge into measurable voltage changes. Multiple strain gauges can be used in a bridge configuration to increase sensitivity and cancel unwanted effects like temperature changes.

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    Strain gauges are used to measure strain, which is a change in length per unit length of a material under loading. Strain gauges work by having a change in electrical resistance proportional to experienced strain, according to their gauge factor. Strain gauges are commonly constructed of metal foil or semiconductor material and bonded to the surface of a specimen. A Wheatstone bridge circuit is used to convert small resistance changes in the strain gauge into measurable voltage changes. Multiple strain gauges can be used in a bridge configuration to increase sensitivity and cancel unwanted effects like temperature changes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    29 views15 pages

    Strain Gauges: Mark Colton

    Uploaded by

    GATE FACULTY
    Strain gauges are used to measure strain, which is a change in length per unit length of a material under loading. Strain gauges work by having a change in electrical resistance proportional to experienced strain, according to their gauge factor. Strain gauges are commonly constructed of metal foil or semiconductor material and bonded to the surface of a specimen. A Wheatstone bridge circuit is used to convert small resistance changes in the strain gauge into measurable voltage changes. Multiple strain gauges can be used in a bridge configuration to increase sensitivity and cancel unwanted effects like temperature changes.

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    of 15

    Strain Gauges

    Mark Colton
    ME 363
    Spring 2011
    What is Strain?
     Strain is a measure of deflection per unit length
     Usually it is in response to some loading condition imposed
    on the material

    L
    
     Units: L
    δL L
    – length/length
    – mm/mm
    – in/in L + δL
    – 10-6 in/in or 10-6 mm/mm → με
    – 0 to 2000 με typical
    Why Measure Strain?
     Linear relationship between
    stress and strain
    – If we can measure strain, then we
    can calculate stress
    – There is no direct way to   E
    measure stress
     Strain can be used as the basis
    for the design of force
    measurement devices (load
    cells) and other sensors
    Bonded Resistance Strain
    Gauges
     Most common method for strain measurement
     Gauge is bonded to surface of specimen
     Resistance of gauge changes with strain
     Two types:
    – Metal foil
    • Common
    • Cheap
    • Wide range of designs
    • Easy to mount
    – Semiconductor
    • Higher sensitivity
    • Longer fatigue life
    • More sensitive to temperature
    • More delicate
    Strain Gauge Theory
     How does the resistance change with strain?
     Consider a wire L
    R
    A
     As the wire experiences positive strain:
    – Wire becomes longer (L increases)
    – Cross-section of wire is reduced in area (A decreases)
     The change in resistance can be described by:
    dR dL
     1  2   d
    R L 
     Change in resistance due to two effects:
    – Change in geometry
    – Change in resistivity
    Strain Gauge Construction
    Gauge Factor
     The sensitivity of a strain gauge is characterized by its “gauge
    factor”
    R R R R
    GF  
    L L 
     Typical gauge factors:
    – Metal foil: 2
    – Semiconductor: up to 200
     If we can measure the resistance change in a strain gauge,
    then we can use the GF to calculate the corresponding strain
     Problem: Resistance changes are small
    Example
     An aluminum specimen (E = 70 GPa) has a 1 cm x 1 cm
    cross-section and a length L = 5 cm
     An axial force F = 1000 N is applied
     What is the change in resistance of a metal foil strain gauge
    with GF = 2 and R = 120 Ω?
    Wheatstone Bridge

     The Wheatstone bridge is a signal


    conditioning circuit that converts small
    changes in resistance into measurable
    voltage changes
     Inventor: Samuel Hunter Christie (1833)

     Used by Sir Charles Wheatstone


    Bridge Configurations

     Some or all of the resistors in a Wheatstone


    bridge may be strain gauges
     Quarter, half, or full bridges

     Other resistances are fixed resistors

     Quarter bridge:
    Multiple-Gauge Bridges
     We can use multiple active gauges in a single
    bridge
     Advantages:
    – Increased sensitivity
    – Cancel unwanted effects (temperature changes,
    transverse strain, etc.)
     Strains on opposite bridge arms sum, strains
    on adjacent bridge arms cancel
     Equation 11.22: E GF
            
    o
    1 2 4 3
    Ei 4
    Example: Half Bridge
     Want to boost output (increase sensitivity)
    when measuring axial strain
     Gauges 1 and 4 are active, with ε1= ε4= ε

     Gauges 2 and 3 are inactive (or fixed


    resistors), with ε2= ε3= 0
     The output is therefore
    Eo GF GF GF
      1   2   4   3     0    0 
    Ei 4 4 2
    Bridge Constant
     To summarize the overall sensitivity of the
    bridge compared to a standard quarter bridge,
    introduce the bridge constant:
    Eo GF

    Ei 4
     For the previous example, the bridge constant
    was κ = 2:
    Eo GF GF 2GF GF
      1   2   4   3     0    0  
    Ei 4 4 4 2
    Eo GF
      1   2   4   3 
    Ei 4
    Balancing (Nulling) a Bridge
     Recall that in the unstrained state, we want
    the output of the bridge to be zero
     When strained, the output is δEo

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