Strain Gages

Electrical resistance in material changes when the material is deformed

R
A
=

R Resistance
Resistivity
l Length
A Cross-sectional area
( ) log log log R A = +
( ) dR
R
d
d A
A
= +

Taking the differential

Change in resistance is
from change in shape as
well as change in
resistivity
For linear deformations
o
c
R
R
S
s
=

strain
S
s
sensitivity or gage factor
(2-6 for metals and 40 200 for semiconductor)
The change in resistance is measured using an electrical circuit
Many variables can be measured displacement, acceleration, pressure,
temperature, liquid level, stress, force and torque
Some variables (stress, force, torque) can be determined by measuring the strain
directly
Other variables can be measured by converting the measurand into stress using a
front-end device
Output
v
o

Direction of
Sensitivity
(Acceleration)
Strain
Gage
Housing
Seismic
Mass
m
Base
Mounting
Threads
Strain Member
Cantilever
Strain gage accelerometer
Direction of
Sensitivity
Foil
Grid
Backing
Film
Solder Tabs
(For Leads)
Single Element
Two-Element Rosette
Three-Element Rosettes
Nickle-Plated
Copper Ribbons
Welded
Gold Leads
Doped Silicon
Crystal
(P or N Type)
Phenolic
Glass
Backing
Plate
Strain gages are manufactured as metallic foil (copper-nickel alloy constantan)
Semiconductor (silicon with impurity)
Potentiometer or Ballast Circuit
v
o
Output

v
ref
(Supply)

Strain Gage


+
-

R
c
R

Ambient temperature changes will introduce error
Variations in supply voltage will affect the output
Electrical loading effect will be significant
Change in voltage due to strain is a very small percentage of the output
( )
ref
v
R R
R
v
c
o
+
=
Question: Show that errors due to ambient temperature changes will cancel if
the temperature coefficients of R and R
c
are the same
Wheatstone Bridge Circuit
v
ref

(Constant Voltage)
-
+
R
1

A
R
2

R
3

R
4

B

R
L

v
o

-
+
Load
(High)
Small i
1 3
1 4 2 3
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
( )
( ) ( ) ( )( )
ref ref
o ref
Rv R v
R R R R
v v
R R R R R R R R

= =
+ + + +
R
R
R
R
1
2
3
4
=
When the bridge is balanced
True for
any R
L
Null Balance Method
When the stain gage in the bridge deforms, the balance is upset.
Balance is restored by changing a variable resistor
The amount of change corresponds to the change in stain
Time consuming servo balancing can be used
Direct Measurement of Output Voltage
Measure the output voltage resulting from the imbalance
Determine the calibration constant
Bridge sensitivity
( )
( )
( )
( )
o
o o o o
v
v
R R R R
R R
R R R R
R R
o
ref
=

+


+
2 1 1 2
1 2
2
4 3 3 4
3 4
2
To compensate for temperature changes, temperature coefficients of adjacent pairs
should be the same
The Bridge Constant
More than one resistor in the bridge can be active
If all four resistors are active, best sensitivity can be obtained
R1 and R4 in tension and R2 and R3 in compression gives the largest
sensitivity
The bridge sensitivity can be expressed as
4
o
ref
v R
k
v R
o o
=
k =
bridge output in the general case
bridge output if only one strain gage is active
Bridge Constant
Example 4.4
A strain gage load cell (force sensor) consists of four identical strain gages,
forming a Wheatstone bridge, that are mounted on a rod that has square cross-
section. One opposite pair of strain gages is mounted axially and the other pair is
mounted in the transverse direction, as shown below. To maximize the bridge
sensitivity, the strain gages are connected to the bridge as shown. Determine
the bridge constant k in terms of Poissons ratio v of the rod material.
v
ref

+
+

v
o

1 2
3 4
1
Axial
Gage
2 Transverse
Gage
Cross Section
Of Sensing
Member
3
4
Transverse strain = (-v) x longitudinal strain
Calibration Constant
o
c
v
v
C
o
ref
=
C
k
S
s
=
4
4
o
ref
v R
k
v R
o o
=
o
c
R
R
S
s
=
k Bridge Constant
S
s
Sensitivity or gage factor
Example 4.5
A schematic diagram of a strain gage accelerometer is shown below. A point mass
of weight W is used as the acceleration sensing element, and a light cantilever with
rectangular cross-section, mounted inside the accelerometer casing, converts
the inertia force of the mass into a strain. The maximum bending strain at the root of
the cantilever is measured using four identical active semiconductor strain
gages. Two of the strain gages (A and B) are mounted axially on the top surface of
the cantilever, and the remaining two (C and D) are mounted on the bottom
surface. In order to maximize the sensitivity of the accelerometer, indicate the
manner in which the four strain gages A, B, C, and D should be connected to a
Wheatstone bridge circuit. What is the bridge constant of the resulting circuit?
v
ref

+
+

v
o

A
B
C
D

W
Strain Gages
A, B
C, D
l
b
h
A
B
C
D
Obtain an expression relating applied acceleration a (in units of g) to bridge output
(bridge balanced at zero acceleration) in terms of the following parameters:

W = Mg = weight of the seismic mass at the free end of the cantilever element
E = Youngs modulus of the cantilever
l = length of the cantilever
b = cross-section width of the cantilever
h = cross-section height of the cantilever
S
s
= gage factor (sensitivity) of each strain gage
v
ref
= supply voltage to the bridge.

If M = 5 gm, E = 5x10
10
N/m
2
, l = 1 cm, b = 1 mm, h = 0.5 mm, S
s
= 200, and v
ref
=
20 V, determine the sensitivity of the accelerometer in mV/g.
If the yield strength of the cantilever element is 5xl0
7
N/m2, what is the maximum
acceleration that could be measured using the accelerometer?
If the ADC which reads the strain signal into a process computer has the range 0 to
10 V, how much amplification (bridge amplifier gain) would be needed at the bridge
output so that this maximum acceleration corresponds to the upper limit of the ADC
(10 V)?
Is the cross-sensitivity (i.e., the sensitivity in the two directions orthogonal to the
direction of sensitivity small with this arrangement? Explain.
Hint: For a cantilever subjected to force F at the free end, the maximum stress
at the root is given by
o =
6
2
F
bh

Mechanical Structure
Signal Conditioning
MEMS Accelerometer
Applications: Airbag Deployment
Data Acquisition
AC
Bridge
Calibration
Constant
Oscillator Power Supply

Amplifier
Demodulator
And Filter

Dynamic
Strain
Strain
Reading
Supply frequency ~ 1kHz
Output Voltage ~ few micro volts 1 mV
Advantages Stability (less drift), low power consumption
Foil gages - 50 k
Power consumption decreases with resistance
Resolutions on the order of 1 m/m
Semiconductor Strain Gages
Single Crystal of
Semiconductor
Gold Leads
Conductor
Ribbons
Phenolic Glass
Backing Plate
Gage factor 40 200
Resitivity is higher reduced power consumption
Resistance 5k
Smaller and lighter
Material Composition Gage Factor
(Sensitivity)
Temperature
Coefficient of
Resistance (10
-6
/C)
Constantan 45% Ni, 55% Cu 2.0 15
Isoelastic 36% Ni, 52% Fe, 8%
Cr, 4% (Mn, Si, Mo)
3.5 200
Karma 74% Ni, 20% Cr, 3%
Fe, 3% Al
2.3 20
Monel 67% Ni, 33% Cu 1.9 2000
Silicon p-type 100 to 170 70 to 700
Silicon n-type -140 to 100 70 to 700
Properties of common strain gage material
Disadvantages of Semiconductor Strain Gages
The strain-resistance relationship is nonlinear
They are brittle and difficult to mount on curved surfaces.
The maximum strain that can be measured is an order of magnitude smaller
0.003 m/m (typically, less than 0.01 m/m)
They are more costly
They have a much larger temperature sensitivity.
3 2 1 1 2 3
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.3
Strain
10
3
c
Resistance
Change
c = 1 Microstrain
= Strain of 110
-6

3 2 1 1 2 3
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.3
Strain
10
3
c
Resistance
Change
R
R
o
R
R
o
P-type
N-type
For semiconductor strain gages
o
c c
R
R
S S = +
1 2
2
S
1
linear sensitivity
Positive for p-type gages
Negative for n-type gages
Magnitude is larger for p-type
S
2
nonlinearity
Positive for both types
Magnitude is smaller for p-type

Linear Approximation
Strain
c
Change in
Resistance

Quadratic
Curve
c
max

c
max

Linear
Approximation
0
R
R
o
o
c
R
R
S
L
s

(
=
Error
e
R
R
R
R
S S S
L
s
=

(
= +
o o
c c c
1 2
2
( )
2
1 2 s
S S S c c = +
( )
| |
J e d S S S d
s
= = +

} }
2
1 2
2
2
c c c c
c
c
c
c
max
max
max
max
Quadratic Error
Minimize Error
0.
s
J
S
c
c
=
( ) | |
}

+
max
max
2
2
2 1
) 2 (
c
c
c c c c d S S S
s
= 0
s
S S =
1
Maximum Error
e S
max max
=
2
2
c
Range change in resistance
( ) ( )
AR
R
S S S S
S
= + +
=
1 2
2
1 2
2
1
2
c c c c
c
max max max max
max
Percentage nonlinearity error
2
2 max
1 max
maxerror
100% 100%
range 2
p
S
N
S
c
c
= =
2 max 1
50 %
p
N S S c =
Temperature Compensation
Compensation
Feasible
Compensation
Not Feasible
Compensation
Feasible
()
Concentration of Trace Material (Atoms/cc)
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

c
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t
s

(
p
e
r

F
)

0
1
2
3
= Temperature Coefficient of Resistance
= Temperature Coefficient of Gage Factor

( )
1 .
o
R R T o = + A
( )
1 .
s so
S S T | = + A
Resistance
change due to
temperature
Sensitivity
change due to
temperature
R
4

R
1

R
2

R
3

v
o

+

Compensating
Resistor
R
c

v
ref

+
v
i

R R

v
ref

+

v
i

R R
+
R
c

Self Compensation with a Resistor
( )
v
R
R R
v
i
c
=
+
ref
( )
o
c
v
v
R
R R
kS
o
c
s
ref
=
+ 4
( )
( )
( )
( )
1 .
1 .
1 .
o
o
so so
o c o c
R T
R
S S T
R R R T R
o
|
o
+ A
= + A
+ ( + A +

For self compensation the output after the
temperature change must be the same
( )
R R R R T
o c o c
| o | o|A + + = + ( )
c o
R R
|
o |
(
=
(
+
Possible only for certain ranges