Gauges on a gear block

(lorry gear housing)

STRAIN, FORCE & TORQUE MEASUREMENT IN

ENGINEERING
DR. B. GASHI
Strain gauges may be used in "smart
bridge" technology to detect Strain gauges on Strain gauges measure aerospace
structural problems early roller bearings phenomena like wing deflection.

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 STRAIN GAUGE FORCE TRANSDUCER DESIGN – CASE STUDY (1)
Coventry University Student Group Project
Project: Designing an affordable weight measuring system for automotive application
The Team: Roger Conteh, Mihail Ana, Gareth Holt, Juan Espineira Strain gauges
Supervisor: Dr. B Gashi attached to the 4
cylindrical columns

MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

Summary
An affordable vehicle weight measurement system was
designed and developed using FEA and CES EduPack. The load
is measured using strain gauges positioned in the cylindrical
load cells and a signal conditioning circuit.
STRAIN GAUGE FOR STRAIN, FORCE AND TORQUE
MEASUREMENT APPLICATIONS
1. Some SENSORS generate
resistance change. We have
to convert it to voltage!
Whetstone bridge allows us to convert R --> V

STRAIN GAUGE

1ST STAGE 2ND STAGE

3RD STAGE

3
 STRAIN MEASUREMENT

The measurement of strain has many important applications in

engineering. These can be divided into two groups:
• Measuring the strain distribution in the material of a structure
or component which allows the stress distribution to be
determined and hence the risk of failure through overload or
fatigue to be assessed.

• Sometimes the objective is actually to measure quantities

such as force, torque, pressure, acceleration, thermal expansion.
All of these quantities can be measured using strain sensitive
transducer. The whole measuring system is calibrated for the
quantity of interest.
All the above quantities can be measured using a strain gauge

4
 WHAT CASUSES STRAIN ?
Strain in a material means a change in its dimensions, usually
relatively small. Strains can occur due to:
i. Strain due to temperature changes
ii. Strain due to applied forces
iii. Strain due to the combination of temperature and forces

CASE STUDY
Thermal deformation of a milling machine

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i. Strain due to temperature changes
The amount that a material expands (or contracts) due to temperature
change is quantified by its ‘coefficient of thermal expansion’ – βm

For a temperature change of ΔT the strains are:

Note that the strains in the two axial

directions are equal for many materials.

When a material is heated it expands by the

same proportion in each axial direction.
Check βm of Constantan on CES EduPack. βm = 16.5 x 10^-6 / °C
After change in temperature, the material changes length (l) & breadth (b)

Q: Are the changes in length equal?

A: Yes, the expansion are equal

i. Strain due to temperature changes
EXAMPLE
A steel bar of length 0.5 m is heated in oven from room temperature 20⁰C to
200⁰C. Bm (thermal expansion) = 13*10^-6
• What is the change in length of the steel bar?
• What is the strain induced due to the temperature change?

SOLUTION

The change in length is:

The strain is:

Typical values for the coefficient of linear expansion β of
various materials are shown in table below.

Thermal expansion
Material
x10-6 / ⁰C
Aluminium 24
Steel 13
Platinum 9
Constantan 16 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantan
https://www.nickel-
INVAR 1.0 alloys.net/invar_nickel_iron_alloy.html
https://www.schott.com/advanced_optics/english/p
ZERODUR 0.1 roducts/optical-materials/zerodur-extremely-low-
expansion-glass-ceramic/zerodur/index.html
 ii. Strain due to applied forces
• When axial force is applied to a material, the strain in the direction of the axis
depends on the resulting stress (σ) and the Young’s modulus (E) of the material.

• There is also strain in the direction of the other axis which depends on the Poisson’s
ratio (ν) of the material.

Poisson’s Ratio
The stresses are: The strains are:
The strain due to applied force in the x-direction is not equal to the strain in the y-direction
(why???)
unlike strain due to temperature

We've seen that strain due to temperature gives an equal strain in both directions X & Y for
MOST materials

Poisson's ratio is negative as the applied force

causes the material to contract in the Y-direction

Poisson's ratio can be calculated rearranging the equation above:

 STRAIN MEASUREMENT USING STRAIN GAUGES
• Strain gauges are used extensively in engineering applications and can be used to
measure static loads, dynamic loads and thermal expansion.

• Strain gauges are used as sensors in force, torque and pressure transducers
https://www.omega.co.uk/pptst/lcl.html
• Some strain gauges can compensate for temperature changes

• Strain gauge resistance change can be measured and converted to voltage using
Wheatstone bridge circuits. 3 types of strain gauges:

Foil type is most popular strain gauges

• Further details about strain gauge type can be found on my notes; tutorial
questions and further problems with applications
• Note: Strain gauge can be used to measure temperature if calibrated to do so!
As we can see, strain gauges can be used to measure many physical quantities
 USING STRAIN GAUGE
Strain gauges can be used to measure axial strains in the direction
of load or lateral strains perpendicular to the applied load.
The strain can be due to temperature, force or both!

Strain due to Strain due to

applied force applied force
in x-direction in y-direction

horizontal strain gauge will measure the

axial strain (epsilon x) Need to attach a temp sensor to obtain
the temperature change (delta T)
vertical strain gauge will measure the
lateral strain (epsilon y)
Strain due to temperature change in both x & y direction
 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESISTANCE AND STRAIN
Wire Resistance
The electrical resistance R of a strain gauge of length L and cross-
sectional area A is given by:
• ρ is the wire resistivity, units (Ωm). Resistivity of Constantan ≈ 22 µΩcm.
Check it on CES EduPack
Typical strain gauge resistance are:
• 120 Ω
• 350 Ω
• 1000 Ω
Example
• A strain gauge with resistance of R=120Ω and a
gauge factor k=2 is used to measure strain on a
steel bar.
• The strain gauge resistance changes by ΔR=1Ω
What is the strain ?
As the strain gauge expensed/contracts due to temp change or applied force or both, the internal resistance varies

We need to find a way to convert resistance to strain

R - the electrical resistance of the wires within the strain gauge

rho - wire resistivity

L - length of the wires within the strain gauge

A - C.S.A of the wire

When there is strain induced to the strain (due to temp change or applied
force or both) the length of the strain gauge will increase by delta L.

As the length of the wire increases, the csa of the wire decreases

Hence, these two variables will affect the electrical resistance output

Therefore, the equation on the right allows us to convert electrical resistance

to mechanical strain

Where K is the gauge factor

 SIGNAL PROCESSING OF STRAIN GAUGE
Strain Gauge Quarter-bridge 2-wire
connection

Resistance of the
wire within the
strain gauge!!!

• L is wire length Not interested in resistance, we want strain!

• A is wire cross-sectional area https://www.omega.co.uk/pptst/KFH.html
 SIGNAL PROCESSING OF STRAIN GAUGE
Strain Gauge Quarter-bridge
Q: Why is 3-wire connection better than 2-wire connection? 3-wire connection
A: Temp will not only affect the strain gauges resistance but will also reduces temperature
affect the resistance on the wires effect on the resistivity
To overcome this issue, we connect a third wire to strain gauge change of wires
which will eliminate any temp affects on the wire

As long as the 3 wires are the same length & material,

the change in resistance due to the wires will be negligible
and so the resistance change will only be due to the
strain gauge
 SIGNAL PROCESSING OF STRAIN GAUGE
Strain Gauge Half-bridge

This relationship allows us

to obtain strain, rather than
resistance
Q: strain gauges needs to be measured opposite to each other, WHY?
A:
 SIGNAL PROCESSING OF STRAIN GAUGE
Strain Gauge Full-bridge
4 strain gauges are used in this scenario as we are measuring bending stress in beams

Top in is tension (+), bottom is in compression (-) if force acts downwards (vice versa if force acts upwards)

Therefore, the set up of the strain gauges are crucial to obtain a positive voltage output
Two strain gauges are placed at the top of plate and two are placed at the bottom

If we assume the direction of force is downwards, then strain gauge 1 & 3 will be a + measurement
and strain gauge 2 & 4 will have a - measurement

The voltage out (V2) will be a +ve value as -- = + (for R2 & R4)

We can see that the way the wheatstone bridge is set up is very crucial!!!

Q: Why is it good to have more than one sensor?

A: ~ 58 min
A: Sensitivity is increased, which increases the output signal ???
If one is faulty, you have another available ???
Q&A
 USING SELF-COMPENSATING STRAIN GAUGE
When a gauge is attached to a material and when both undergo temperature
change ΔT the total apparent strain will be:
When βm = βg, When ΔT=0, there is
Temperature effect on
cancels strain due to no thermal
strain gauge resistance
temperature effects expansion, so ε=0

This slide expands

on slide 6

βm (µm/⁰C), is the ‘thermal coefficient of expansion’ of material

β𝑔 (µm/⁰C), is the ‘thermal coefficient of expansion’ of strain gauge
α𝑔 (/⁰C), is the ‘temperature coefficient of resistance’ of strain gauge
K (no units), is the gauge factor
ΔT (°C), is temperature change during measurement.

By matching the right gauge to the right material it is possible to

satisfy the above equation over a large temperature range:
20⁰C to 150⁰C.
 USING “DUMMY GAUGE” TO COMPENSATE FOR TEMPERATURE
EFFECT ON STRAIN GAUGE
When measuring strain due to force
only, the strain due to temperature Gage 1 Dummy Gauge, Gage 2
should be “eliminated”! measures strain attached to another
on the specimen piece of same material
A solution is to use a so called as the Specimen
“Dummy Gauge” in the bridge

When temperature change, it affects both

gauges equally, so gauge resistance change
due to temperature cancels out.

If force is applied to the specimen, the gauge Both gauges must be

resistance change is due to force only, at same temperature
excluding temperature effects.
ZERO
∆𝑅 ∆𝑅
= 𝑘𝜀 → 𝜀 = = 𝛼𝑔 ∆𝑇
R 𝑘𝑅
𝑽𝟏 𝚫𝑹𝟏 𝚫𝑹𝟐 𝑽𝟏
𝑽𝟐 = − = 𝒌𝜺𝟏 − 𝒌𝜺𝟐
𝟒 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 𝟒
 STRAIN GAUGE FORCE TRANSDUCER DESIGN
Strain gauge load cells are very popular and can be used for sensing
small and large, static and dynamic loads
Here are some structures designed to measure mechanical loads using strain gauges

Approx. strain gauge location represented by red strips

High-Accuracy Stainless Steel

Cantilever Beams
Omega Engineering

https://www.omega.co.uk/pptst/LC501.html
 STRAIN GAUGE FORCE TRANSDUCER DESIGN – CASE STUDY (2)
Coventry University, Student Individual Project
Project: The adoption of 3D printer hardware to produce accurate and repeatable scratch wear tests and holes via
the implementation of a rigid, tool modifiable spindle design and use of appropriate instrumentation
Student: Adam Doll
Supervisor: Dr. J Griffin, Dr. B Gashi
 OTHER FORCE TRANSDUCERS
Piezoelectric load cells
• Piezoelectric material exhibits a phenomenon known as the piezoelectric
effect.
• When elastic crystals in piezoelectric material are deformed by a force, an
electrical potential will be developed.

SOME PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS

• lead zirconate titanate (PZT), quartz, tourmaline, lithium sulfate, barium
titanate.
 OTHER FORCE TRANSDUCERS
Capacitive load cells
• When external force is applied on the This transducer works when capacitance
changes between the plates as a result of applied forces.

The following equation relate the applied

force to the output electrical signal

FURTHER READING
http://www.npl.co.uk/upload/pdf/forceguide.pdf

• http://www.loadstarsensors.com/force-measurement-capacitive-sensors.html
• http://web.stanford.edu/class/me220/data/lectures/lect08/lect_4.html
 FORCE MEASUREMENT USING BRIDGE CIRCUITS

For a quarter bridge we have:

We also know that:

Substitute (2) into (1) we get:

Eq. (3) relates input force F to output voltage V2

V2 / F is the sensitivity of the system
We measure force indirectly by measuring strain
We measure force indirectly by measuring strain

Eq 1 is all electrical elements

In the eq below, we are removing electrical elements by using relationships

We then simply substitute eq 2 into 1 to relate input force F to output voltage V2

 FORCE MEASUREMENT USING FOUR STRAIN GAUGES

R1 & R3 measure + strain while R2 & R4 measure - strain

Output from the bridge is:

Strain in x – direction:

Strain in y - direction

Hence:

Now we can relate input force F to output voltage V2 when using 4 strain gauges
 TORQUE MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
The following schematics show four techniques used for measuring torque.
(a) Torsional strain in the shaft (b) Twist of the torsion

(c) The permeability change (d) magnetization

https://www.kistler.com/?type=669&fid=53988&model=document&callee=frontend
 BRIDGE ELECTRICAL POWER
This is determined by two factors:
1) The maximum safe voltage in a circuit which may be touched.
2) The allowable (or permissible) power usage in the bridge elements. This
prevents the sensors from overheating due to excessive current flow.
Current flow through the left
side of the bridge (a to c) is:

For any value R1, the

electrical power in arm ‘ad’ is:

Substitute current into power

equation, yields:

When R1 = R4 at balanced
bridge, the maximum power in If R1 = R4 --> 2R
the bridge is:

• Further details can be found on my notes; tutorial questions and further problems
with applications
 FURTHER EXAMPLES AND APPLICATIONS
https://www.omega.co.uk/prodinfo/load-cells.html

https://www.hbm.com/en/3719/piezoelectric-or-strain-gauge-based-force-
transducers/

https://www.pcb.com/Resources/Technical-information/Tech_Force

https://www.kistler.com/?type=669&fid=66028&model=document&callee=fro
ntend
THE END!