SENSORS AND TRANSDUCERS

Load cells:

A load cell is a transducer which converts force into a measurable electrical output. Although there are
many varieties of load cells, strain gage based load cells are the most commonly used type.
Load cell designs can be distinguished according to the type of output signal generated (pneumatic,
hydraulic, electric) or according to the way they detect weight (bending, shear, compression, tension, etc.)
Hydraulic load cells are force -balance devices, measuring weight as a change in pressure of the internal
filling fluid. In a rolling diaphragm type hydraulic load cell, a load or force acting on a loading head is
transferred to a piston that in turn compresses a filling fluid confined within an elastomeric diaphragm
chamber. As force increases, the pressure of the hydraulic fluid rises. This pressure can be locally
indicated or transmitted for remote indication or control. Output is linear and relatively unaffected by the
amount of the filling fluid or by its temperature. If the load cells have been properly installed and
calibrated, accuracy can be within 0.25% full scale or better, acceptable for most process weighing
applications. Because this sensor has no electric components, it is ideal for use in hazardous areas. Typical
hydraulic load cell applications include tank, bin, and hopper weighing. For maximum accuracy, the
weight of the tank should be obtained by locating one load cell at each point of support and summing
their outputs.
Pneumatic load cells also operate on the force-balance principle. These devices use multiple dampener
chambers to provide higher accuracy than can a hydraulic device. In some designs, the first dampener
chamber is used as a tare weight chamber. Pneumatic load cells are often used to measure relatively small
weights in industries where cleanliness and safety are of prime concern. The advantages of this type of
load cell include their being inherently explosion proof and insensitive to temperature variations.
Additionally, they contain no fluids that might contaminate the process if the diaphragm ruptures.
Disadvantages include relatively slow speed of response and the need for clean, dry, regulated air or
nitrogen.
Strain-gauge load cells convert the load acting on them into electrical signals. The gauges themselves
are bonded onto a beam or structural member that deforms when weight is applied. In most cases, four
strain gages are used to obtain maximum sensitivity and temperature compensation. Two of the gauges
are usually in tension, and two in compression, and are wired with compensation adjustments. When
weight is applied, the strain changes the electrical resistance of the gauges in proportion to the load. Other
load cells are fading into obscurity, as strain gage load cells continue to increase their accuracy and lower
their unit costs.

1
 F F

Strain Gauges

(f) Spring flexure pivots :

There are two different types of flexure pivots, one single spring and second crossed spring. The
crossed spring pivot is widely used due to its sensitivity (angular deflection per unit applied
torque is virtually constant for angular relations less than 15⁰).

2. Pressure sensitive primary devices:

The pressure sensing devices use elastic members for sensing pressure at primary stage where
the pressure is converted to mechanical displacement. The commonly used pressure sensing
devices are:

(a) Bourdon tubes: The bourdon tubes are designed in various forms as: i) C-type; ii) spiral;
iii) twisted tube ; and iv) helical.

2
 x

y
Tip(sealed
end)
Geared sector t
C type bourdon tube and pinion Section through tube

The bourdon tubes are made of elliptically flattened tube which is bent to give different shapes.
The classification of bourdon tubes is based on these shapes. One end of the tube is fastened to
the gear and pinion section while the other end is open to let the fluid (whose pressure is to be
measured) enter the tube. When this fluid enters the tube, the tube tends to straighten and hence
the end connected to gear section tends to move. This displacement is amplified by mechanical
linkages (as shown) to move the pointer on a calibrated scale, which is calibrated in terms of
pressure. The amplification can also be done by applying this displacement to an electrical
transducer(like LVDT) whose output may be calibrated in terms of pressure. Bourdon tubes are
low in cost, have simple construction, high pressure range, good accuracy at comparatively high
pressure and are easily manufactured in various designs. The disadvantage of bourdon tubes is
their low spring gradient which limits their use up to a pressure of 3MN/m². They are also
susceptible to shocks and vibrations as well as hysteresis.
The displacement of the C type bourdon tube is given by,
Δa = 0.05 aP (r/t)0.2(x/y)0.33(x/t)3
E
where E = modulus of elasticity in (N/m²); P = applied pressure in (N/m²); x = length of section
of tube in (m); y = breadth of section of tube in (m); t = thickness of tube wall in (m); a = mean
length of tube in (m); r = radius of tube in (m).
This shows that relationship between displacement and applied pressure is non-linear. Therefore
a linear relation between deflection of the pointer and applied pressure is obtained by using the
geared sector and pinion movement or by some other mechanical means. The accuracy of C type
bourdon tube varies from ±0.5% to 2%.The accuracy of spiral type bourdon tube is about ±0.5%
and that of helical type is about ±0.5% to 1% of span. The advantage of helix type is its high
over-range capabilities ( as high as 10:1) and its stability in fluctuating pressures.
Bourdon tubes are made of different materials including brass, alloy steel, stainless steel, bronze,
phosphor bronze, beryllium, copper, K monel, Monel and Ni-span C. Phosphor bronze is used in

3
low pressure applications where the atmosphere is non-corrosive, otherwise stainless steel or
Monel is used. Range of bourdon tube varies from 760mm of Hg to 700 Mpa.

(b) Bellows

4
A metallic bellow is a series of circular parts as shown in the figure. They are made in this shape
to expand or contract as per the direction and magnitude of the pressure. Metal bellows are
elastic vessels that can be compressed when pressure is applied to the outside of the vessel, or
can be expanded at reverse situation. When this pressure is released, the bellows return to their
original shape, provided it is operated within the elastic limit. There are mainly two types of
metal bellows: formed (by reworking tubes) and welded ( by welding a number of diaphragms to
each other).The bellows are made of materials like brass, bronze, beryllium, copper, alloys of
nickel and copper, steel and monel which is composed of nickel, copper, iron and some other
elements. The displacement of bellows element is given by:

d = 0.453 P b n D² √(1-υ²)
E t³

Where, P = pressure in N/m²;

b = radius of each corrugation in m;
n = number of semi-circular corrugations;
t = thickness of wall in m;
D = mean diameter in m;
E = modulus of elasticity in N/m²;
Υ = Poisson’s ratio

5
Usually, bellows have ability to move to a greater distance than required in a pressure
application. Therefore, its movement is generally opposed by a calibrated spring so that only a
part of maximum stroke is used. Deflection of bellows when opposed by a spring is,

d = P Ab
Kb +Ks

where, Ab is effective area of bellows in m2;

Kb and Ks are stiffness constants of bellows and spring respectively in N/m2

Therefore, Pressure = d (Kb +Ks)

Ab

If the bellows are required to operate some other mechanisms, then

P = F+ds(Kb+Ks)
Ab
where, F = force required to operate the other mechanism in N;
ds = deflection required to operate the other mechanisms in m.

(c) Diaphragms

Electromechanical Transducers:
Electromechanical sensors are those in which the input is onverted to electrical output for
convenience of processing and display. Usually, a mechanical quantity like displacement, speed,
force, pressure, torque, etc. are converted to electrical output. Many mechanical variables are
secondary in nature such as the motion of the tip of a bimetallic element in thermal sensor, which
is due to the temperature variation of the element. Here, the temperature is the primery input and
tip motion is the secondary variable. Similarly, other mechanical devices like diaphragm and
bellows are also actuated by pressure, force, etc. Any translational or rotational displacement is
directly or indirectly measured by various devices. Direct measurement is done by using a
pointer attached to the moving end and often leads to poor accuracy due to very small
displacement and/or low resolution. Therefore, electrical transducers are finding wide
applications.

Most of the electrical transducers are categorized basically on the basis of electrical parameter
used for their operation. These parameters are mainly resistance, inductance, capacitance,
voltage or current. One important factor is of course, whether they are self generating (active) or
externally powered (passive).

Resistive transducers:

6
Resistive transducers are based on the change in resistance of the transducer due to change in
physical parameters like temperature, length, area, resistivity, etc.

Since, R= ρL/A.,
where ρ= resistivity in Ωm; L= length in m; A= area of cross section in m2, R= resistance in Ω,
change in any or all of these parameters effects the resistance of any material. The value of
resistance with change in length of conductor can be used for measurement of translational or
rotary displacements.

1. Resistive Potentiometers:
Resistive potentiometer is a wire wound variable resistive transducer. It consists of a resistive
element provided with a sliding contact called wiper. The motion of the sliding contact could be
translatory or rotational. Usually, the resistive element is a single wire of conducting material
which gives a continuous stepless variation of resistance as the wiper moves along it. Use of
such potentiometers is restricted by their length and diameter due to space consideration. In such
places, wire wound potentiometers are used. Hence, potentiometers may be classified as wire
wound and non-wire wound or continuous potentiometers. The elements used for wire wound
potentiometers are platinum, nickel chromium, nickel copper, etc. They carry large currents at
high temperature. The response of wire wound potentiometers is limited to about 5Hz due to
interwinding capacitance between turns.
The materials used for non-winding or continuous potentiometers are cermet, hot moulded
carbon, carbon film, thin metal film, etc.

TRANSLATIONAL (LINEAR) POTENTIOMETER

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If the input supply voltage is ei and output voltage across potentiometer is eo, then

ei xi
eo =
xt

since, eo = resistance at output terminal X ei

resistance at input terminal

= [ Rp(xi/xt)/ Rp ] ei

where, xt = total length of potentiometer; xi = displacement of wiper from its zero position;
Rp = total resistance of the potentiometer.

Sensitivity = output/ input

= e0/ei = xi/xt

Under ideal conditions, the sensitivity is constant and output-input relation is linear.

8
 Rm/Rp =∞

eo/ei
eo/ei
Rm/Rp decreasing

xi/xt xi/xt

But practically, during the measurement, the output terminals of the potentiometers are
connected to a voltage measuring device. Ideally, the impedance of a voltmeter is infinite, but
practically, this impedance is finite. This forms a load for the potentiometer and the error
introduced due to this loading effect is called loading error.

Rp

ei xi
Rm eo

Let xi xt  K

Then, under ideal conditions, eo  ( xi xt )ei  Kei

But practically, the resistance of the voltage measuring meter comes in parallel with a portion of
the potentiometer. The resistance of the parallel combination is:

( xi xt ) Rp Rm
Rp ( xi xt )  Rm

Rp
Since, = resistance per unit length
xt

9
Therefore, at xi , resistance of potentiometer wire = xi ( Rp xt )

KR p Rm
Hence, parallel combination resistance =
Rm  KR p

KR p Rm
The total resistance seen by the source is R = Rp  Rp ( xi xt ) 
Rm  KR p

KR p Rm KR p 2 (1  K )  R p Rm
 R p (1  K )  
Rm  KR p KR p  Rm

ei ei ( KRp  Rm )
Current i 
R KRp 2 (1  K )  Rp Rm

KRp Rm
e0  i
Output voltage
KRp  Rm

ei ( KRp  Rm ) KRp Rm
 .
KRp 2 (1  K )  Rp Rm KRp  Rm

ei KRp Rm ei KRp Rm
 
KRp 2 (1  K )  Rp Rm  KR 
Rp Rm  p (1  K )  1
 Rm 

eo K
 
ei K (1  K )( Rp Rm )  1
This shows that there is a non-linear relationship between output voltage and input displacement
as K = xi/xt. Therefore, for linearity, Rm>>Rp, Rp/Rm ~ eo/ei = K

For greater sensitivity, eo should be high, which requires high input voltage. But potentiometers
are designed depending on their heat dissipation capacity, ranging mostly from 100Ω to 10KΩ in
steps of 100Ω, rating typically 5W.The maximum input excitation voltage that is used is
ei max  PRp volts
10
 ei 2
P 
Rp
Due to limitations in power dissipation, the input voltage is limited by the resistance of the
potentiometer. Therefore, to keep power dissipation at low level, high value of potentiometer
resistance Rp is required. For sensitivity concern, a proper choice of the wire material with safety
limit extended in current carrying capacity is desirable. Thus, for higher sensitivity, high Rp is
required. This contradicts with the linearity requirement, as it requires low Rp.
Therefore, a compromise has to be made between the linearity and sensitivity in measurement by
potentiometer.
The sensitivity can be calculated from the manufactures data. The shorter stroke devices have
generally a higher sensitivity. It may be of the order of 15V/degree for rotational type and
12V/mm for translational type potentiometers. The usual values of sensitivities are 10 to 100
times smaller than these values.
The linearity could be improved without using a meter of very high resistance by using a
resistance R = Rm as shown in the figure:

With R
R=Rm

eo without
ei Rp ei R
Rm eo

xi/xt
Linearization of potentiometer by an external resistance

The input/output characteristics with and without R in the circuit is also shown in the adjacent
figure.

The resolution is the smallest increment in input which can be detected with certainty by an
instrument. This resolution causes variation in the construction of potentiometers. The resolution
of a potentiometer is dependent upon construction of the resistive element and in order to get
high values of resistance in small space, wire wound potentiometers are used. The resistance is
wound on a mandrel and the variation of resistance is not linear continuous, but is in small steps.
Therefore, resolution is limited. For example, if a potentiometer has 500 turns of wire on a
mandrel of 25mm length, the resolution = 25/500 = 0.05mm. The actual practical limit is 20 and
40 turns per mm. Hence, practical resolution is near about 1/20 = 50μm or 1/40 = 25μm.

For rotational device, best angular resolution = 3º to 6º / diameter of POT in mm.

In order to get higher resolution, thin wires having high resistance are put close to each other and
can be closely wound. Therefore, resolution and total resistance are interdependent. For fine
resolution and high resistance, carbon film or a conductive plastic resistance element is used
which may have resolution of about 12.5nm.The resolution can also be increased by using multi-

11
turn potentiometers (helipots), where resistance element is in the form of a helix and wiper
travels along a lead screw direction.

2. Strain Gauge:

The working principle of strain gauge is based on the fact that when a metal conductor is
stretched or compressed, its resistance changes because resistance

R= ρL/A, where ρ is the resistivity in Ωm;

L is the length in m;
A is the area of cross section in m²

The resistivity of the material also changes with strain and this property is called piezoresistive
effect. Therefore, these gauges are also known as piezoresistive gauges.

Strain is the amount of deformation of a body due to an applied force. More specifically, strain
(e) is defined as the fractional change in length, as shown in Figure 1.

Fig. Definition of Strain

Strain can be positive (tensile) or negative (compressive). Although dimensionless, strain is

sometimes expressed in units such as in./in. or mm/mm. In practice, the magnitude of measured
strain is very small. Therefore, strain is often expressed as microstrain (μe), which is e x 10-6.

When a bar is strained with a uniaxial force, as in Figure 1, a phenomenon known as Poisson
Strain causes the girth of the bar, D, to contract in the transverse, or perpendicular, direction. The
magnitude of this transverse contraction is a material property indicated by its Poisson's Ratio.
The Poisson's Ratio n of a material is defined as the negative ratio of the strain in the transverse
direction (perpendicular to the force) to the strain in the axial direction (parallel to the force), or
n = eT/e. Poisson's Ratio for steel, for example, ranges from 0.25 to 0.3.
Therefore, when a strip of material is subjected to tension, its longitudinal dimension increases
and cross sectional area decreases.
Let, for a tensile stress‘s’, change in length = ∆L; change in Diameter = ∆D ; change in cross-
section area = ∆A; change in resistivity = ∆ρ.
Since, R = ρL/A,

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Therefore, change in resistance ∆R due to change in physical quantity could be found by
differentiating this expression with respect to ‘s’
L

D D-∆D

L+∆L

dR L  LA LA

  2 
ds As A s As
Dividing through out by ‘R’= ρL/A, we get,
1 dR 1 L 1  1 A
  
R ds L s  s A s
For circular cross- section A= πD2/4,
A  D D  D D
 2 
s 4 s 2 s
1 dR 1 L 1  4  D D
   
R ds L s  s  D 2 2 s
1 dR 1 L 1  2 D
   
R ds L s  s D s

Now Poisson’s ratio ν = lateral strain

Longitudinal strain

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 D
   D
L
L
D L
 
D L
1 dR 1 L 1  2 L
   
R ds L s  s L s

By small variations, we can write,

R L  L
   2
R L  L
R / R
Gf 
L / L
 / 
 G f  1  2 
L / L
 / 
 G f  1  2 

  longitudinalstrain  L / L

Strain is usually expressed in terms of microstrain and 1μstrain= 1μm/m.

If change in value of resistivity is neglected,
Gf = 1+2ν
This stands for negligible piezoresistive effect.
Poisson’s ratio for all metals is between 0 and 0.5. Usually it is 02 to 0.3 and this accounts to a
gauge factor of 1.4 to 1.6.
 / 
is the piezo resistive or Bridgeman effect = ψE, where ψ is the Bridgeman or
L / L
longitudinal piezoresistive coefficient and ‘E’ is the modulus of elasticity.
Hence, there are two distinct effects that contribute to gauge factor: one, is the piezoresistive
effect (∆ρ/ρ)/ε and the second is the geometric effect (1+2ν).
In metal foil type of stain gauges, the geometric effect dominates piezoresistive effect; where as
for semiconductor type, piezoresistive effect dominates geometric effect.
Different materials are used for making strain gauges and have different gauge factors.
In p-type semiconductor gauges, Gauge factor is up to +200 and n-type has a negative gauge
factor down to -125.A negative gauge factor indicates that the resistance decreases with
increasing strain. Semiconductor type strain gauges are not only sensitive to strain but also to the
temperature. Therefore, compensation has to be provided for such type of strain gauges.

14
In semiconductor type strain gauges, the effective mobility of majority carriers are effected by
applied stress. In p-type materials, the effective mobility of holes decreases and so resistivity
increases and in n-type effective mobility of electrons increases and so resistivity decreases with
applied stress. If the geometric effect in these strain gauges is neglected, then the fractional
change in resistivity is given by:

  l l   t t

where πl and πt are longitudinal and transverse piezoresistive coefficients and σl andσt are
corresponding stresses. These two coefficients are dependent or crystal orientation, doping and
concentration. Gauge factors of different materials are tabulated below:
Materials Gauge factor
Metal foil strain gauge 2-5
Thin film metal 2
Single crystal silicon -125 to 200
Thick film resistors 10
Polysilicon +30

Strain gauges are mostly used for either determining the stress with standing capacity of
machines and structures or for constructing force, torque, pressure, flow and acceleration
transducers. For faithful results, strain gauge wire should have following characteristics:
(i) It should have high gauge factor i.e it should be more sensitive to strain.
(ii) The resistance should be as high as possible. Typical values are 120Ω, 350Ω, 1kΩ.
But this may result to decreased sensitivity which demands higher voltages to be
used. The bridge voltmeter is limited by maximum current carrying capacity which is
usually 30mA.
(iii) It should have low resistance temperature coefficient to minimize errors.
(iv) It should have low hysterisis effect.
(v) It should have linear characteristics.
(vi) It should exhibit good frequency response.

There are different types of strain gauges and are classified as follows:

1. Unbonded metal strain gauges:In these type of strain gauges, a wire is stretched between
two points in an insulating medium such as air. The wires may be made up of copper nickel,
chrome nickel or nickel iron alloys with diameter ranging from 0.003mm and gauge factor 2 to 4,
which can withstand force of about 2mN. Length of wire used is less than 25mm.

15
 Strain gauge winding

These types of strain gauges are used mostly as transducers and are connected to wheatstone
bridge to determine the change in resistance with respect to force, pressure or stress. The other
arm bridge resistances range from 120Ω to 1kΩ and input voltage from 5V to 10V. The full scale
output of the bridge is typically about 20mV to 50mV. But unbonded strain gauges are rarely
used in stress analysis due to their limited frequency range and lack of sensitivity. Unbonded
strain gauges are used where the gauge is to be detached and used again and again.
2. Bonded metal strain gauges:

These types of strain gauges are used for both stress analysis and construction of transducers.
Bonded strain gauges are available in a wide range of sizes and resistances. The materials used
for wire is same as that of unbonded type, mainly, constantan (Ni 0.45, Cu 0.55) having gauge
factor approximately +2, Iso-elastic (Ni 0.36, Cu 0.08, Fe 0.52, Mo 0.005) having gauge factor
approximately +3.5 and modified Karma (Ni 0.75, Cr 0.20, plus additions) having gauge factor
approximately +2.1. The diameter of the wire is about 0.025mm which is made as a grid and
cemented to the carrier (base). In order to handle this delicate fine wire, it is encapsulated in or
bonded to the carrier material.

16
BONDED STRAIN GAUGE

17
The carrier material may be a thin sheet of paper, bakelite or a sheet of teflon. The wire is
covered on the top with a thin sheet of material to prevent it from any mechanical damage.
Spreading of wire results in a uniform distribution of stress over the grid. The carrier is bonded
to the test specimen with the help of adhesive material, so that the transfer of strain from carrier
to grid of wires could be effective. The size of gauge may be 3mm by 3mm square or 25mm long
and 12.5mm wide. The adhesive material used could be epoxy (-200ºC to +150ºC), bakelite
cellulose or fibre glass material (up to +200ºC). The gauge factor varies from +2 to +5 for these
types of strain gauges.

18
19
Strain Gauge measurement: In practice, strain measurements rarely involve quantities larger
than a few millistrain (e x 10-3). Therefore, to measure the strain requires accurate measurement
of very small changes in resistance. For example, suppose a test specimen undergoes a strain of
500 me. A strain gage with a gage factor of 2 will exhibit a change in electrical resistance of only
2 (500 x 10-6) = 0.1%. For a 120 Ω gage, this is a change of only 0.12 Ω.

To measure such small changes in resistance, strain gages are almost always used in a bridge
configuration with a voltage excitation source. The general Wheatstone bridge, illustrated in
Figure 3, consists of four resistive arms with an excitation voltage, VEX, that is applied across the
bridge.

Figure 3. Wheatstone Bridge

The output voltage of the bridge, VO, is equal to:

From this equation, it is apparent that when R1/R2 = R4/R3, the voltage output VO is zero. Under
these conditions, the bridge is said to be balanced. Any change in resistance in any arm of the

20
bridge results in a non-zero output voltage Vo which corresponds to the change in resistance.

Therefore, if R4 is replaced in Figure 3 with an active strain gage, any changes in the strain gage
resistance will unbalance the bridge and produce a nonzero output voltage. If the nominal
resistance of the strain gage is designated as RG, then the strain-induced change in resistance,
DR, can be expressed as DR = RG·GF·e, from the previously defined Gage Factor equation.
Assuming that R1 = R2 and R3 = RG, the bridge equation above can be rewritten to express
VO/VEX as a function of strain (see Figure 4). Note the presence of the 1/(1+GF·e/2) term that
indicates the nonlinearity of the quarter-bridge output with respect to strain.

Figure 4. Quarter-Bridge Circuit

Ideally, you would like the resistance of the strain gage to change only in response to applied
strain. However, strain gage material, as well as the specimen material to which the gage is
applied, also responds to changes in temperature. Strain gage manufacturers attempt to minimize
sensitivity to temperature by processing the gage material to compensate for the thermal
expansion of the specimen material for which the gage is intended. While compensated gages
reduce the thermal sensitivity, they do not totally remove it.

By using two strain gages in the bridge, you can further minimize the effect of temperature. For
example, Figure 5 illustrates a strain gage configuration where one gage is active (R G + DR) and
a second gage is placed transverse to the applied strain. Therefore, the strain has little effect on
the second gage, called the dummy gage. However, any changes in temperature affect both gages
in the same way. Because the temperature changes are identical in the two gages, the ratio of
their resistance does not change, the voltage VO does not change, and the effects of the
temperature change are minimized. NOTE: In the Wheatstone bridge configuration, the active
gage and the dummy gage should be on the same vertical leg of the bridge.

21
 Figure 5. Use of Dummy Gage to Eliminate Temperature Effects

The sensitivity of the bridge to strain can be doubled by making both gages active in a half-
bridge configuration. For example, Figure 6 illustrates a bending beam application with one
bridge mounted in tension (RG + DR) and the other mounted in compression (RG - DR). This
half-bridge configuration, whose circuit diagram is also illustrated in Figure 6, yields an output
voltage that is linear and approximately doubles the output of the quarter-bridge circuit.

Figure 6. Half-Bridge Circuit

Finally, you can further increase the sensitivity of the circuit by making all four of the arms of
the bridge active strain gages in a full-bridge configuration. The full-bridge circuit is shown in
Figure 7.

22
 Figure 7. Full-Bridge Circuit

The equations given here for the Wheatstone bridge circuits assume an initially balanced bridge
that generates zero output when no strain is applied. In practice, however, resistance tolerances
and strain induced by gage application generate some initial offset voltage. This initial offset
voltage is typically handled in two ways. First, you can use a special offset-nulling, or balancing,
circuit to adjust the resistance in the bridge to rebalance the bridge to zero output. Alternatively,
you can measure the initial unstrained output of the circuit and compensate in software. This
topic is discussed in greater detail later.

The equations given above for quarter-, half-, and full-bridge strain gage configurations assume
that the lead wire resistance is negligible. While ignoring the lead resistance may be beneficial to
understanding the basics of strain gage measurements, doing so in practice can be a major source
of error. For example, consider the 2-wire connection of a strain gage shown in Figure 8a.
Suppose each lead wire connected to the strain gage is 15 m long with lead resistance R L equal to
1 Ω. Therefore, the lead resistance adds 2 Ω of resistance to that arm of the bridge. Besides
adding an offset error, the lead resistance also desensitizes the output of the bridge.

You can compensate for this error by measuring the lead resistance RL and accounting for it in
the strain calculations. However, a more difficult problem arises from changes in the lead
resistance due to temperature fluctuations. Given typical temperature coefficients for copper
wire, a slight change in temperature can generate a measurement error of several microstrain.

Using a 3-wire connection can eliminate the effects of variable lead wire resistance because the
lead resistance affects adjacent legs of the bridge. As seen in Figure 8b, changes in lead wire
resistance, RL2, do not change the ratio of the bridge legs R3 and RG. Therefore, any changes in
resistance due to temperature cancel out each other.

23
Figure 8. 2-Wire and 3-Wire Connections of Quarter-Bridge Circuit

24
25