2/10/2029, 00:29 Understancing @ Wheatstone Bridge Strain Gauge Circuit - Bestech Australia @x BESTECH (NTIPSUMWWWBESTECHCOMAU) > BLOGS (NTTASYIWWW.BESTECHCOMAU/BLOGS > UNDERSTANDING A WHEATSTONE BRIDGE STRAIN GAUGE CIRCUIT fy (nttpithawe seloogafet wheaehant bridgbridge ‘gauggauge circuenaat strain gauge (nttps:/wwnw.bestech.com au/products/sensors-instrumentation/strain- .gauges/) basically works on the principle ofa simple metal conductor wire that tends to have an Impact onits length, cross-sectional area and resistance due to applied stress. This is due to the fact that the length of the wire is directly proportional to the resistance ofthe wire and inversely proportional to its cross-sectional area, as per the following equation. L R= 95 Here, Reresistance of the wire, peresistivity Lelength of the wire and As area of the cross-section ofthe wire The value of strain caused by the stressis determined by measuring a change in resistance of the gauge, as a result ofthe change inthe dimensions of the object due to the apalied force. This change inresistance is smaller when compared to the resistance ofthe strain gauge and hence needs to be ‘measured accurately to determine the strain. To measure this small change in resistance, a Wheatstone Bridge Circuit is used. It enables relative changes of strain gauge inthe order of 10°*to 1070/0 to be measured with great accuracy. Atypical Wheatstone bridge circuit consists of a simple network of four resistors of equal resistances connected end to end to form a square as shown in the below figure. Across one pair of diagonal corners ofthe circut, an excitation voltage is applied and across the other pair, the output of the bridge is measured, The output of the bridge, Le the value of Vo depends on the ratio of resistances ofthe resistors i.e. Ry:Re and Ra‘Rs, ntps:ww-bestech.com aurblogslunderstancing-2-wneatstone-bridge-strain-gauge-clcut 152/10/2029, 00:29 Understancing @ Wheatstone Bridge Strain Gauge Circuit- Bestech Australia When the bridge is balanced and no strain is induced upon the strain gauge, the relationship between the four resistances can be expressed as R_ Re Ri RS Now.as Vo=V, -V- this implies Vo=0 Forms of Wheatstone Bridge Circuits Insome applications, depending on the measurement task, usually, only some of the bridge arms contain active strain gauges, the remainder consisting of bridge completion resistors. This includes bridge arrangements such as quarter bridge, half bridge, or diagonal bridge. For applications with very stringent accuracy requirements, a full bridge arrangement is preferred, Quarter Wheatstone Bridge Incase of anincrease inthe resistance of one of the resistors in the bridge due to the applied force, the bridge no longer stays balanced, This configuration is known as a quarter bridge strain gauge. Here, Ri (RAF AR) Now, using Voltage divider formula, we get RL Ve= Ta yVEX _ (R44 AR) VD = ame EX Also, voltage drop Va can be expressed as (R~ AR) R Tees Amy EX (R+R) vo= VEX [SinceR1 = R2 = R3 = RA= RI ntps:ww-bestech.com aurblogslunderstancing-2-wneatstone-bridge-strain-gauge-clcut 2152/10/2029, 00:29 Understancing @ Wheatstone Bridge Strain Gauge Circuit- Bestech Australa On further simplification, we get __(WexAR) V°= GR= IAB) Now, since R >> AR and 4R »> 2AR, we get the following final equation: — Ver AR 4 R Inthe above equation, AR/Ris the electrical strain and the gauge factor is termedas the ratio of the vo electrical strain and the mechanical strain, Therefore, the above equation can be re-written as Vex Vo=—F xkxe Where k= gauge factor and c= Mechanical strain Ina quarter bridge circuit, as the distance between the strain gauge and the other three resistances is unknown, there may be a substantial amount of wire resistance that can impact the measurement. In this case, the strain gauge resistance will not be the only resistance being measured, but the wire resistance will also contribute to the outgut voltage measurement. This undesired effect can be ‘minimised withthe addition ofa third wire connecting directly to the upper wire of the strain gauge. Half Wheatstone Bridge When we mount two active strain gauges on a bending beam, placed one at the fro back, we get a half-bridge arrangement, This is because half ofthe four resistors inthe circuit are now strain gauges. This arrangement will have both the strain gauges respond to the induced strain, thereby making the bridge more responsive to the applied force. As compared to the quarter bridge configuration, the half-bridge circuit yields twice the output voltage for agiven strain thereby Improving the sensitivity ofthe circuit by a factor of two. 1nd one at the Let's take an example ofa cantilever beam that is clamped to a lab bench, and a weights applied at the end of the beam, The setup has a strain gauge attached on the top surface of the beam, and another is attached at the bottom surface (see case 1), As the beam gets strained due to the applied force, the top strain gauge is stretched, while the bottom strain gauge is compressed. Hence, the output voltage, in this case, can be expressed as: Vex (AR3~ AR) 4 R ntps:ww-bestech.com aurblogslunderstancing-2-wneatstone-bridge-strain-gauge-clcut a82/10/2029, 00:29 Understancing @ Wheatstone Bridge Strain Gauge Circuit- Bestech Australa vo= ver xkx(B—A) (with =—-A=0 Vee Vo-—F xkxe If the strain gauges are connected diagonally opposite to each other as shown in the above figure (case 2), the output voltage willbe expressed 2s: Vex (AR2~AR4) ar R Vex Vo= xkx (ted) (withe2=t= 9) _ Vex Full Wheatstone Bridge (On substituting ll the resistors of the Wheatstone bridge circuit with four active strain gauges, we get.a full-bridge arrangement. This configuration enables large outputs of strain-gage transducers, improves temperature compensation and offers even greater sensitivity A full-bridge strain gauge Wheatstone bridge gives linear output than other configurations as the output voltage is directly proportional to an applied force, with no other approximation involved, unlike the quarter and half- bridge configurations. In this circuit, two of the diagonally attached strain gauges, which are mounted on the bottom of the cantilever beam are compressed, while the other two are stretched during the process. This induces both positive and negative changes in the resistances in the circuit. On applying force, the resistances of all the strain gauges change by the amount AR, thus giving the following equation: ARL AR2 AR3 AR4. “RI R2 ° R38 RA strain New Zein (5) 8540 S10 pebtBs40st0) pas. Ronen gnDRteeiem tio oddheoongennigleba tasgd — 4) News (httpsiwnbastach comauinews) Both half-bridge and otaege configuration aeknown prove rete snyder Stee ees incrsncton onsen ulema travseresteasintacom ac) ntps:ww-bestech.com aurblogslunderstancing-2-wneatstone-bridge-strain-gauge-clcut 462/10/2029, 00:29 Understancing @ Wheatstone Bridge Strain Gauge Circuit - Bestech Australia Asour us ‘Bestech Australia manufacture and supply industrial sensors, signal conditioner and data acquisition system from world lending company for test and ‘measurement applications in REO, process automation and monitoring, ane manufacturing, SITE LINKS About Us titpsifinwwbestech com aufsbout us) ‘Taining & support titpslmwwbestech comauhraining-suppert) Brands htipsewbestechcomaulbrands/ career httnsfiawvibestech com aucareers) Sales Terms httpsvwbestech comaulbales/) Industries (ntps:swnvubestech comau/industrios) Contact Us (htos:itww bestech.com.aulcontactus) blog (htpsdimww.nestechcomaufblogs) FAQ (ntps wn bestech.com aulcustomers-fac/) Stemap {ntpsiMvwn bestech comausiterapl) ‘SUBSCRIBE NOW Enter your emailid suemr F httosimww facebookcom/bestechaust) {httpsiimwwcbestech.com aulrss-feed/) in (httosiewo linkedin. com/companylbestech-australia?trk=top_nav_home) dB (httpsi/Awwwyoutube.comAiser/oestechau) (nttps:igatewayien org aulsupplierview/s0s68) © Copyright Bertech Australia ights Reserved | Lagal Statement (hitasewaibestechcomaufhemeegalstatemert) ‘ntps:www.bestech.com.aulblogslunderstanding-s-wheatstone-brdge-strain-gauge-citcul) 55