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Strain Gauges

BRIEF HISTORY
1856: Lo d Kel in fi epo ed on a ela ion hip be een ain and he e i ance of i e cond c o .

earl 1930s: Cha le Kea n made he fi no able e of bonded e i ance ain in high pe fo mance p opelle blade .

ain ga ge o mea

e ib a o

He ed ca bon compo i e e i o (a ed in anda d elec onic in men ) g o nd fla and mo n ed on an in la ing ip. The e e e hen cemen ed on o he p opelle blade , and e e able o indica e he d namic ain e pe ienced b he blade . Ho e e , he e ga ge e e no e acc a e, and d e o he e i ance abili i h a ia ion in ime and empe a e being poo , he ga ge e e nable o mea e lo l changing o a ic ain .

1937/8: A h R ge and Ed a d Simmon ( o king independen l of each o he ) bo h di co e ed ha mall diame e i e made of elec ical e i ance allo co ld be bonded o a c e o mea e face ain. Thi pe of ga ge had he ad an age of e ponding ell o a ic ain .

Follo ing hi b eak h o gh, ain ga ge mea p og amme d ing Wo ld Wa II. I

emen

e e adop ed fo

e in ai c af de elopmen ain ga ge

a d e o he demand of hi apidl g o ing ind a made.

ha he impo an ad ance in o foil

1952: The Sa nde -Roe Compan (UK) e e eeking imp o emen in he pe fo mance of he bonded i e ga ge o enable hei e in mo e demanding en i onmen . A hi ime, p in ed ci c i e e eme ging, and Sa nde -Roe de eloped he idea of making a ga ge b e ching he pa e n fo he ga ge f om a hin foil. ain .

The e foil ga ge had ome di inc ad an age , mo no abl a ed c ion in i e and p od c ion co

Thi allo ed m ch mo e e en i e pe in e oda .

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e of elec ical e i ance

ain ga ge , and he a e he mo common

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Strain Gauges

Semiconductor strain gauges are also in use toda , and these differ in man aspects from the metallic wire and foil strain gauges. Most importantl , the produce much greater sensitivit (10 to 50 times), which was at one time thought to herald the downfall of metallic gauges. But, semiconductor gauges are ver limited as a general purpose gauge, and so there is a place for both t pes in modern strain measurement.

THEOR
The use of strain gauges is based on the fact that the resistance of a conductor changes when the conductor is subjected to strain. Figure 1 shows a resistance wire in it's original state, and after subjected to a strain. The stretched wire has higher resistance as it is longer and thinner.

The electrical resistance of a conductor is given b :

The resistivit also changes as a result of the stresses within the material of the wire, but these variations are onl slight in normal conductors and so the vast majorit of the change results from the deformation. In semiconductive materials, this situation is reversed such that the change in resistivit prevails. The relationship between strain and resistance variation is almost linear, and the constant of proportionalit is known as the 'sensitivit factor', or the 'K factor', where:

For a strain gauge, this constant is known as the 'strain sensitivit ' of the gauge, or the 'gauge factor', and is given the s mbol 'F'. T pical values for K (and F) lie between 2 and 4, and depend on the material used.

GAUGE CONSTRUCTION
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Strain Gauges

Con c ion of elec ical e i ance ain ga ge in ol e b inging oge he he op im m combina ion of elec ical e i ance ma e ial and backing pla e. Fo a good ain ga ge, ome of he mo impo an fea e a e li ed belo :

Small i e and ma , Ea e of p od c ion o e a ange of i e , Rob ne , Good abili , epea abili and linea i o e la ge ain ange, Good en i i i F eedom f om (o abili o compen a e fo ) empe a e effec and o he en i onmen al condi ion , S i abili fo a ic and d namic mea emen and emo e eco ding Lo co

Wire ga ges can be di ided in o (Fig e 3).

o pe : flat ound (Fig e 2) and rap around

In fla o nd ga ge , he filamen i e i ig agged be een o piece of pape .

Wi h ap a o nd ga ge , he i e i apped a o nd a pape ppo . The ad an age of hi i he po ibili of malle g id dimen ion , he di ad an age i ha he do e pe ience highe le el of c eep.

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Strain Gauges

Foil ga ges (Figure 4) are made from ver thin metal strips (2-10 micrometers thick), and have ver fine grids. The are essentiall a printed circuit, and therefore require the best manufacturing techniques and careful handling to ensure good qualit measurements. It is possible to mass produce foil gauges, whereas wire gauges must still be largel manufactured b hand.

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