Strain Gauges

TYPES OF STRAIN GAUGES : MECHANICAL

OPTICAL
PNEUMATIC
ACOUSTICAL
ELECTRICAL

 MECHANICAL STRAIN GAUGES: The mechanical devices are generally known as extensometer and are

used to measure strain under static or gradually varying loading condition.

PRINCIPLE: Extensometer is usually provided with two knife edges.
They are clamped firmly in contact with the test component at a specific

distance.
When the test component is strained, the two knife edge undergoes a small
relative displacement.
This displacement is amplified through a mechanical linkage and magnified

displacement or strain is displayed on a calibrated scale.

Johansson Extensometer

Martens optical gauge

Variable Inductance Type Strain Gauge

Acoustical Strain Gauge

1 P
1 E L / L

A
2L m 2L
m

E = Youngs modulus of wire material

L = length of vibrating wire
m = mass per unit length of the wire
P = tensioning force in the wire
L = increment in length of the vibrating wire

Dr. O. Schaefer

Electrical Strain Gauges

Semiconductor Strain Gauges

STRAIN GAUGE CONFIGURATION

Strain Gauge Configurations

Weldable Strain Gauges

Material

Sensitivity (S)

Platinum (Pt 100%)

6.1

Platinum-Iridium (Pt 95%, Ir 5%)

5.1

Platinum-Tungsten (Pt 92%, W 8%)

4.0

Isoelastic (Fe 55.5%, Ni 36% Cr 8%, Mn 0.5%)

*

3.6

Constantan / Advance / Copel (Ni 45%, Cu

55%) *

2.1

Nichrome V (Ni 80%, Cr 20%) *

2.1

Karma (Ni 74%, Cr 20%, Al 3%, Fe 3%) *

2.0

Armour D (Fe 70%, Cr 20%, Al 10%) *

2.0

Monel (Ni 67%, Cu 33%) *

1.9

Manganin (Cu 84%, Mn 12%, Ni 4%) *

0.47

Nickel (Ni 100%)

-12.1

Isoelastic, Constantan, Advance, Copel, Nichrome V, Karma, Armour D,

Monel, and Manganin are all trade names owned by the respective owners.
*

For a given voltage input Vin, the currents flowing through ABC and
ADC depend on the resistances, i.e.,

The voltage drops from A to B and

from A to D are given by,

The voltage gage reading Vg can

then be obtained from,

Now suppose that all resistances can change

during the measurement. The corresponding
change in voltage reading will be

Apparent Strain

Apparent Strain Variation

with Temperature