Force Sensors
What is a force sensor?
In physics, the definition of force is any
agent that causes a mass to move. When
you push an object, say a toy wagon,
you’re applying a force to make the
wagon roll. Whether the wagon actually
does roll depends upon the applied force
overcoming other forces that oppose the
motion, such as the force from friction. A
force sensor, then, is a device that mea-
sures the amount of force applied.
There are many ways to measure force,
and major differences among force mea-
surement devices. Factors that engineers
must consider when making a force mea-
surement decision include determining the
proper output range, accuracy, price, and
the ease of project integration provided by
the sensor’s signal conditioning electronics.
Force, mass, and weight
The most commonly known force is
that of gravity, which continuously tries
to pull objects to the earth. Holding an
object stationary in your hand, say a 2-kg
mass, means your hand is applying an
upward force that exactly opposes the
downward force of gravity. The measure
of force is called a Newton (N). Gravity
exerts a 9.8 N force per kilogram of mass,
so a 2-kg mass exhibits a force of 19.6
N. Your hand must be exerting a 19.6 N
force upward to hold the mass stationary
against gravity’s downward tug.
Note that the previous discussion
used the term mass rather than weight.
In everyday use, the mass of an object is
often referred to as its weight. However,
this is incorrect. The physical sciences
rigidly define mass and weight as sepa-
rate measures. The weight of an object
actually depends on several factors, most
notably the force of gravity. Surprisingly,
the force of gravity changes with latitude,
altitude, and subsurface densities. Thus
the same object can possess different
weights at different points on the earth.
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The mass of an object, however, does not
change and represents the total amount
of matter in the object. For best results,
the idea of weight in force sensing should
be avoided.
Other confusions arise with the use of
the term pressure. While pressure does
exert force, the amount of force is con-
trolled by the size of the area to which
the pressure is applied:
Force = Pressure X Area
For example, let’s start with three
weights, each with a mass of 2 kg. The
bottom of the first weight has a surface
area of 10 cm 2, the second weight 1 cm 2,
and the third weight 0.1 cm 2. Holding
each weight stationary in your hand
means that you are applying an upward
force of 19.6 N for each weight. But how
the weights feel in your hand will be
quite different. The first weight is easy
to hold, while the second creates some
discomfort. Holding the third weight
becomes outright painful. In each case,
the force to hold the weight stationary
remained the same: 19.6 N. But the pres-
sure changed from 1.96 N/cm 2 to 19.6 N/
cm 2 for the second, and 196 N/cm 2 for
the third!
Stress vs. strain
An object will change its size or shape
at the application of any force. A prime
example of this is a diving board. As a diver
walks to the end of the board, it bends
downward due to the force applied to the Presented by
board by the diver’s weight. Once the diver
leaps from the board, it snaps back to its
original shape. The diving board is said to
have elasticity.
Material can shift many different ways
Sponsored by
in reaction to an applied force depend-
ing upon how the force is applied. Such
forces typically fall into one of three clas-
sifications: tension, compression, or shear.
1 June 2012
 F F
F ∆L
A ∆L A A
∆L
LO LO
LO
F pressure is applied to the surface of an
F F
Tension Shear
Compression
Tension occurs when the force pulls
on an object, increasing its length.
Compression does just the opposite,
pushing against an object shortening
its length. In shear, the elastic object
is subjected to equal but opposite
forces across its opposing faces.
The degree to which the object
changes shape is a function of the
stress and strain on the element.
Strain is the relative change in the
shape or size of an elastic object due to
an applied force. For example, a 10-kg
mass attached to a wire applies a ten-
sion force that makes the wire stretch
0.01 mm over a 20-mm length. The
strain on the wire is 0.01/20 or 0.0005.
The strain value thus tells us how
much a particular length of wire will
stretch with the same amount of force.
Note that strain does not have a unit
of measure.
Strain = Change in Length / Original
Length (for the same applied force)
Because strain is typically such a
small number, the value is usually
measured in microstrain (µstrain).
Microstrain equals the strain value
times 106. For example, an elastic ele-
ment has a strain value of 0.0000032.
To convert this reading to microstrain,
multiply the strain value by 106:
0.0000032 × 106 = 3.2 µstrain.
Stress is the measure of the internal
forces acting within an object. In the
wire example, the wire grew longer
when attached to a 10-kg mass. We say
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a force of 196 N has been applied to the
wire. If the wire had a cross-sectional
area of 0.04 cm2, the amount of stress
applied to the wire becomes 196 N/0.04
cm2, , or 4,900 N/cm2 of stress.
Stress = Force / Cross-sectional Area
Confusion can arise between the
values of stress and pressure because
this equation for stress looks similar
to the equation for pressure. However,
object, while stress occurs within the
body of the object.
For real materials, stress is pro-
portional to strain only when strain
is sufficiently small. It is possible to
exceed the elastic limit of the mate-
rial. The elastic limit is defined as the
maximum force that can be applied to
a material without permanently chang-
ing its shape. Forces kept below the
elastic limit let the material snap back
to its original shape when the force is
removed. However, if the elastic limit
is exceeded, the material’s shape is per-
manently changed, destroying its cali-
bration to measure the applied force.
As even more weight is added, the
wire eventually breaks. This is the
breaking stress of the wire. Every ma-
terial has its own elastic modulus, elas-
tic limit, and breaking stress.
Hooke’s Law states that stress is
directly proportional to strain as long
as the load does not exceed the elastic
limit of the material being stretched.
That means if the weight attached
to the wire should double, the wire
should stretch to 0.02 mm, twice the
amount. By measuring the amount the
wire stretches, it should be possible to
calculate the amount of force applied
to the wire, and thus the amount of
mass attached to the wire. If the wire
stretched 0.005 mm, then the mass is 5
kg. However, if the wire stretched 0.015
mm, the mass equals 15 kg.
Measuring strain
Now that it has been demonstrated
that the elastic element changes its
shape when a force is applied, a way to
measure that change is needed. The
most common method uses an electri-
cal resistance strain gauge. (Note that

Elastic limit
Force, F
Elastic region Plastic region
Change in length, ∆L
some texts refer to these devices as
strain gages. This is an accepted alter-
nate spelling.)
Electrical resistance strain gauges
work under a simple principle: All
conductors exhibit some degree of re-
sistance that is directly proportional to
the conductor’s length, and inversely
proportional to its cross-sectional area.
Make the conductor longer, and its re-
sistance goes up. Conductors with large
diameters have lower resistance than
those with small diameters.
If a predetermined length of wire
with a specific resistance is bonded to
an elastic element, its size and shape
will change with changes in the size and
shape of the element. By measuring
this change in resistance, the change in
size of the elastic element can be deter-
mined, and the force applied to the elas-
tic element calculated.
The two most common strain gauges
use either a metallic foil or wire, or a
semiconductor material. Each has a
specific gauge factor, the measure of the
output for a given strain. Semiconductor in resistance with changes in force
gauges typically have a 100 to 150
gauge factor while metallic wire and foil
gauges typically only have a 2 to 4 gauge
factor. The output of semiconductor
gauges is non-linear with strain, and so
they usually need special linearization
circuitry. They are sensitive to tempera-
ture changes, especially high tempera-
tures, thus need careful matching of the
gauges within any given load cell. Even
so, they may still need a high degree of
temperature compensation. The high
gauge factor of semiconductors leads
them to be the element of choice for
“small” transducers. Typical uses are
as force transducers, accelerometers,
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and pressure sen-
sors whose sensing
element may be
Breaking point micro-machined
out of a single piece
of silicon.
Wire strain
gauges were the
original resistance-
type strain gauge.
Even though they
are more expensive
to produce than
semiconductor or
thin-film gauges,
they are still the gauge of choice for
high temperatures and stress analy-
sis. A 20-to-30-µm diameter wire is
bonded to a substrate material that is in
turn bonded to the elastic element. To
improve sensitivity, the wire makes sev-
eral back-and-forth paths to extend its
length along the force axis.
A relative newcomer to the
force sensing arena is made of
piezoresistive material sand-
wiched between two conduc-
tive plates. Piezoresistive
material differs from other
strain gage material in that its
resistance depends upon the
amount of force applied to the
material rather than change
in overall length or volume.
With no force applied, piezoresistive
material offers an electrical resistance
of several megohms (MΩ) — almost
an open circuit. However, as force is
applied its resistance drops to the low
kilo-ohm (kΩ) range. The large swing
helps simplify the sens-
ing electronics as well. Contact
Load cells
The most common Silicon
means for measuring
force is the load cell.
The geometric shape Contact
and modulus of elas-
ticity of the elastic ele-
ment within the load
cell determines the
range of force that can
be measured, the di-
mensional limits of the
cell, its final perfor-
3 June 2012
 +Exc +Exc +Exc
Strain gage Strain gage Strain gage

R1 R2 R1

–Sig +Sig –Sig +Sig –Sig +Sig

Strain gage Strain gage Strain gage Strain gage
R3 R3

–Exc –Exc –Exc

Quarter-bridge Half-bridge Full-bridge

mance, and its production costs. repeatability between applications

Each load cell contains an elastic
element to which the force is ap-
plied. It is the change in shape of
this elastic element that measures
the overall force applied to the load
cell. The load cell housing merely
protects the elastic element and the
sensing gauges attached to it.
The elastic element can take on
many different shapes. Some shapes
the elastic element may assume include
that of a simple solid cylinder, a hol-
low cylinder, a bending beam, a shear
beam, an S-beam, a double-ended
shear beam, a ring, or a toroidal ring.
The material used for the elastic
element is usually tool steel, stain-
less steel, aluminum, or beryllium
copper. The best materials exhibit
a large linear relationship between
stress and strain with no noticeable
change over time.
There must also be a high level of
Load Spherical load button
Diaphragm-1
Diaphragm-2
Housing
(enclosed
inert gas)
Elastic body
Strain gage
of force to ensure that the load cell
is a reliable measuring device. To
achieve these characteristics it is
usual to subject the material to a
special heat treatment. This may
include a sub-zero heat treatment
cycle to get maximum stability.
Circuits to Measure Change
Because of the extremely small
resistance changes that occur with
both semiconductor and metallic
wire and film load cells, the most
common measuring circuits for
those devices use a Wheatstone
Bridge. The load cell makes up one
or more legs of the bridge. A sensi-
tive voltmeter or other electronic
circuit monitors the amount of im-
balance in the bridge, and thus the
level of applied force.
Bridge circuits are classified as
quarter, half, and full bridge depend-
ing upon how many load sensing ele-
ments are used and how they wire into
the bridge. Less than full bridges need
completion resistors to complete the
other legs of the bridge circuit.
An excitation voltage is applied
to the bridge (+Exc, -Exc) to create
voltage drops across the four resis-
tive elements. The output signal
(+Sig, -Sig) measures the difference
in voltage drops from one side of
the bridge to the other. When +Sig
and –Sig are equal, the bridge is said
to be balanced. Any force applied to
a strain gauge changes the gauge’s
resistance, producing a change in
the signal voltage. For half and full-
bridge circuits, the strain gauges are
arranged in such a way that as one
gauge rises in resistance, the other
drops. This enhances the measured

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 100lb Sensor over a larger
surface area.
1200 0.020 Measuring the
different forces
0.018 applied over a
1000
0.016 large area can
Ressitance (K-Ohms)

800 0.014 be daunting,

Conductance: 0.012 in that it needs
600 1/R 0.010
an individual
force sen-
0.008 sor for each
400 0.006 measurement
0.004 point. This can
200 easily reach
Resistance 0.002
into the hun-
0 0.000
dreds, if not
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
thousands, of
Force (lbs) force sensors
distributed
over the sur-
signal over the smaller bridge types. face of an object.
A piezoresistive force sensor has However, thin-film piezoresis-
a much larger range of resistance tive force sensors simplify that task.
output which lends itself to a simpler The piezoresistive material of the
electronics implementation. In addi- sensor is crossed with two sets of
tion, the drop in resistance is inversely parallel lines set in a crosshatch pat-
proportional to the force applied to tern. A simple scanning multiplexer
the material. The inverse resistance ef- checks the resistance at each point
fect means that the conductance of the where the lines cross. If there are
sensor becomes directly proportional 10 horizontal and 10 vertical
to the force applied. lines, sensing for 100 points is VIN = 5V
There are a variety of circuit op- possible. A 20 by 20 line matrix
tions available to measure this rela- produces 400 sensing points.
tionship. A simple voltage divider Dynamic pressure distribution R1
configuration is easily integrated systems currently available can
into a small portable device where contain as many as 1,600 sensing VOUT
overall packaging size is of critical points per square inch.
importance. By analyzing the reading at RFLEXFORCE
However, as shown earlier, it is each point, an overall distribu-
conductance that responds in a linear tion of the forces applied to the
fashion with force. As current flow surface area of the sensor can be
maintains a linear relationship with displayed.
conductance, a standard I-V op-amp VOUT = VIN * RFLEXIFORCE / (R1 + RFLEXFORCE)
circuit is recommended for applica- Summary
tions that need optimal linearity. Force sensors C1
This simpler sensing arrangement can measure
is easily adapted to microprocessor- any push from
based operation such as the type a feather land- RFEEDBACK
used for embedded control systems. ing on a brick to Piezoresistive VEE = Ground
the thrust of the element
Surface force distribution space shuttle’s VT= –5V
All of the prior force measurement rocket engines. _ VOUT
systems have one common limitation: It’s adaptable
+
They can only measure the force ap- for many other MCP6002
plied to one point. However, there types of mea-
are times when it’s desired to look surements, such
at the distribution of force applied as pressure,
VCC= +5V

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 mass, weight, ible circuit materials typically less
and torque. than 0.01-in. thick overcome many
When used of these size limitations. In addi-
with proper tion, their simpler interface and
temperature low-power operation makes them
compensation, an ideal candidate for portable, low-
it’s capable of cost force measuring systems.
operating over Though force sensors can only
a wide tempera- detect the force applied to a single
ture range from point, surface force distribution
numbing Antarctic cold to blistering measurement designs using thin-film
desert heat. piezoresistive materials can incor-
While load cells offer the great- porate thousands of test points per-
est sensitivities to force measure- mitting display of the distribution of
ments, their bulk and operational forces across the entire surface.
needs place definite limitations on
their use in areas where weight and
size are at a premium. Thin-film
piezoresistive sensors built on flex-

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