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Design and Construction of a Strain Gauge

Technical Report · February 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.36559.79525

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 Chapter I

1.1 Introduction

With today’s emphasis on product liability and energy efficiency, designs must not only
be lighter and stronger, but also more thoroughly tested than ever before. This places new
importance on the subject of experimental stress analysis and the techniques for
measuring strain. The main theme of this application note is aimed at strain. When a force
is applied to body, the body deforms. In the general case, the deformation is called strain.
But the definition is the ration of deformation to the actual length of the body.
Mathematically, it can be shown by:

Where,

= Strain
= Elongation
= Actual length

Fig.1.1 Elongation and compression due to axial force

The most widely used gauge is the bonded metallic strain gauge. The metallic strain
gauge consists of a very fine wire or more commonly, metallic foil arranged in grid
pattern. The grid pattern maximizes the amount of metallic wire or foil subject to strain in
the parallel direction. The cross sectional area of the grid is minimized to reduce the

1
effect of shear strain and Poisson strain. The grid is bonded to a thin backing, called
carrier which is attached directly to the test specimen.

Fig.1.2 Metallic foil strain gauge

Therefore, the strain experienced by the test specimen is transferred directly to the strain
gauge, which responds with a linear change in electrical resistance. Strain gauges are
available with the most common resistance values of 120 , 350Ω & 1,000Ω.

1.2 Objectives

 To design and construct a strain gauge.

 To test it’s performance.

2
 Chapter II

2.1 Literature Review

Lord Kelvin in 1856, first reported on the relationship between strain and the resistance of
wire conductors. It took 80 years to find commercial application. Simmons at California
Institute of Technology Ruge at MIT independently discovered in 1938 that small
diameter wires could be adhesively bonded to a structure to measure surface strain. The
strain gauges developed by them were known as SR-4 gauges. Metal foil gauges were
first developed by Senders and Roe in England in 1952. Semiconductor gauges were
developed in 1960’s by Bell Labs. Present development is towards better instrumentation
and data reduction. In 1936, Edward E. Simmons (EE) of California Institute of
Technology working under Donald S. Clark (Met) suggested the use of metallic wire
bonded to a surface of prismatic bar as a force measuring instrument. Gottfried Daetwyler
(AE), his associate in the impact research lab, bonded insulated constantan wire to the
four faces of a steel bar and measured dynamic forces in impact measurement. Prof. Ruge
(CE) of MIT conceived, developed and commercialized the strain gauge. In 1937, Hans
Meier (ME) joined Prof. Ruge for his doctorate to measure strain in a water tank
subjected to a seismic loading. In 1938, Prof. Ruge got the idea of bonding a fine wire to
the surface of his test specimen. Hans Meier made several specimens with Elinvar wire
(isoelastic) of 0.025 mm diameter and made tiny rosette strain gauges. Ruge and Hans
Meier had difficulties in their measuring system. They received some help from Prof. A.
V De Forest ( ME ) and got a very good galvanometer. However, they could not get a
proper amplifier. On the other hand, Simmons being an electrical engineer had developed
a very good amplifier when could give 64.3 millivolts per 1000 micro-strain.
Commercialization was done with the help of Baldwin Locomotive Works ( Later BLH
electronics ). Simmons initially thought that his invention was too simple and obvious to
patent. Baldwin-Southwark prepared the basic patent on behalf of Simmons. He got the
basic patent in 1940 and Prof. Ruge got four dozen-plus improvement, development and
application patents.

3
 Chapter III

3.1 Electrical Resistance Strain Gage Circuits

At first consideration, resistance measure appears to be a straightforward operation. It is a

basic electrical parameter and ohmmeters for its measure are a common electronic
instruments. In the present application, however, the accuracy and resolution needed for
the measure of strain at engineering levels is beyond the capabilities of all but the most
refined of these instruments. As a result, special circuitry and wiring procedures have
been developed to directly and accurately convert the resistance changes into proportional
voltage changes.

3.2 Mathematical Formulation

The fundamental formula for the resistance of a wire with uniform cross section, A, and
resistivity, ρ, can be expressed as:

Here, L is the wire length. This relation is generally accurate for common metals and
many

Fig.3.1 Material deflection due to axial load

nonmetals at room temperature when subjected to direct or low frequency currents. We

consider the gage to be formed from a length of uniform wire and subjected to an
elongation as shown: The change in resistance can be expressed as

4
Where, ∆ signifies a change in the quantity. This is a complicated expression in its
present form, however, it should be clear that for metallic wires subjected to engineering
strain levels that ∆L << L and ∆A << A. If ∆ρ<< ρ as well, then we can simplify the
expression by approximating ∆ with the infinitesimal differential change, d():

The differential expression on the right side is tedious to compute directly but can be
easily determined using “log derivatives” as follows. First taking the natural log (ln) of
the equation yielding:

and now taking the differential of this recalling that d(ln(x))=dx/x to get the simpler
result:

In general it can be written as

Where, D is a cross section dimension and C is some constant (e.g., D=R and C=π for a
circle). Using the “log derivative” method, it follows that:

At this point, it can be noted that the longitudinal strain can be written in differential form
as:

and the transverse or lateral strain as:

5
Also for linearly elastic and isotropic behavior of the wire:

Then, using these results:

Finally, the resistance change per unit resistance (∆R/R) can then be written:

This expresses the basic proportionality between resistance and strain in the gage element
material. A measure of the sensitivity of the material (or its resistance change per unit
applied strain) is defined as the Gage Factor:

From the above resistance calculations the Gage Factor can then be determined as

The Gage Factor as expressed above includes effects from two sources. The first term on
the right represents directly the Poisson effect, i.e., the tendency in an elastic material to
contract laterally in response to axial stretching. The second term represents the
contribution due to changes in resistivity of the material in response to applied strain. In
the absence of a direct resistivity change, then, the maximum and minimum values
expected for the Gage Factor would be

1 ≤ GF ≤ 2

corresponding to the theoretically allowable range for Poisson's Ratio. In practice

the Gage Factor is not nearly so well behaved. This is amply evident in Figure 3.1 which
is a plot of fractional resistance strain against strain for common gage materials. In this
figure the Gage Factor is simply the slope of the curve. The 10% Rhodium/Platinum alloy
exhibits a desirably high GF but this changes abruptly at about 0.4% strain - an

6
undesirable behavior in all but the most special cases. Pure nickel is also poorly behaved
and exhibits a negative GF for small strain! This material is seldom used alone but is
often employed as an element in other alloys. The most common material for static strain
measure at room temperatures is the relatively well behaved constantan alloy.

Fig.3.2 Change in Resistance with Strain for Various Strain Gage Element Materials

At this point a basic difficulty has appeared. The Gage Factor is only of order unity and
therefore the resistance changes in the gage must be of the same order as the strain
changes. In engineering materials this strain level is typically from 2 to 10,000
microstrain or 0.000002 to 0.01. Thus, changes in resistance in the gage of no more than
l% must be detected.

Table 3.1. Gage Factors for Various Grid Materials

7
3.3 Standard values related to strain gauge

1. Base resistance like 120 , 350 ,500 ,1000 are available.

2. Gauge length ranges from [0.2-100 mm] for particular cases.

3. Gauge factor is supplied by manufacturer and commonly it is 2.

3.4 Resistance Measuring Circuits

It is apparent thus far that quite small resistance changes must be measured if resistance
strain gages are to be used. Direct measurement of 0.001 Ohm out of 120 Ohms would
require a meter with a resolution of better than one part in 100,000, in other words, a 6
digit ohmmeter. Several measuring techniques are available for this purpose but the
Wheatstone Bridge circuit has proven the most useful for a number of important reasons.
This circuit will be described shortly but first several fundamental techniques will be
discussed.

3.4.1 Current Injection

This is a simple and common technique used to make measurements of resistance

accurate to about 0.1% at best. A constant known current is forced through the unknown
resistance, and according to Ohm’s Law the resulting voltage drop across it is directly
proportional to the resistance.

Fig.3.3 Current injection

This technique is generally used in portable ohmmeters and combination volt-ohm-

ammeters. A major drawback for the present application is that this circuit indicates the
total resistance and not the change in resistance, which what is really desired.

8
3.4.2 Ballast Circuit

This circuit shown below is similar to the current injection technique but avoids the need
for a constant current source. Instead, a simple voltage source is used and the gage is
placed in series with a ballast resistor. This makes the voltage source resemble a constant
current source.

Fig.3.4 Ballast circuit

The voltage output, e, is given as:

When used with strain gages, only very small changes in resistance, ∆Rg, are developed
and it is appropriate to make the assumption that ∆Rg so that the change in output voltage,
de, can be determined in terms of differentials as:

where use has been made of previous results for dRg /Rg. The only remaining question is
to determine an appropriate value for the ballast resistance, Rb, and this can be done by
asking for a value that will maximize the “sensitivity” of the circuit, or in other words,
provide the greatest output per unit change in strain. The sensitivity of this circuit can be
defined as:

9
and the maximum sensitivity is attained when Rb is adjusted so that:

This occurs when:

Then

and the total output voltage is the sum of the initial (e) and the change (de) as:

Again, as with the previous circuit, the major drawback is that the strain produces a
relatively small change in the output.

3.4.3 Wheatstone Bridge

The Wheatstone Bridge is the most basic of a number of useful electrical bridge circuits
that may be used to measure resistance, capacitance or inductance. It also finds
applications in a number of circuits designed to indicate resistance changes in transducers
such as resistance thermometers and moisture gages. In the circuit shown below it is
apparent that the bridge can be imagined as two ballast circuits (composed of R1, R2 and
R3, R4) connected so that the initial steady state voltages are cancelled in the
measurement of e.

10
 Fig.3.5 Wheatstone Bridge

The output voltage can be written as the difference between two ballast circuits as:

An initial steady state voltage exists unless the numerator above is zero. Such a
configuration with zero output voltage is termed a “Balanced Bridge” and is provided
when:

R2 R4 = R1 R3

This relationship is not of direct concern here but it is interesting to note that if any three
of the four resistances are known, the fourth can be determined by ratioing the values
obtained at balance. For the present, however, it is concerned with the output produced by
small changes in the resistance of the bridge arms. If infinitesimal changes occurs in each
resistor then Ri⇒ Ri + dRi and it can be computed the differential change in the output
voltage, e, as:

Or

If the bridge is balanced so that:

R = R1 = R2 = R3 = R4

11
then using this in the above equation for de yields:

It can be used to express de in terms of the strains as:

This is the basic equation relating the Wheatstone Bridge output voltage to strain in gages
placed in each arm. Several remarks are in order:

• The equation identifies the first order (differential) effects only, and so this
is the “linearized” form. It is valid only for small (infinitesimal) resistance
changes. Large resistance changes produce nonlinear effects where finite
changes in R (∆R) in a single arm are considered for an initially balanced
bridge.
• Output is directly proportional to the excitation voltage and to the Gage
Factor. Increasing either will improve measurement sensitivity.
• Equal strain in gages in adjacent arms in the circuit produce no output.
Equal strain in all gages produces no output either.
• Fixed resistors rather than strain gages may be used as bridge arms. In this
case the strain contribution is zero and the element is referred to as a
“dummy” element or gage.

The major intent here is not to suggest electrical measurement techniques but rather to
describe the behavior in enough detail so that the effect of changes in any parameter can
be directly assessed. While there are cases when the entire bridge circuit must be custom
assembled, as for example in a special transducer, a majority of typical strain gage
applications in structural testing involve measurement of strain in single gages, one at a
time, with commercial equipment. Since all presently available strain measuring
instruments employ the Wheatstone Bridge circuitry, the discussion on the relative effects
of Gage Factor and strain changes in individual arms on the output indication is directly
applicable.

12
Fig.3.6 Wheatstone Bridge Output for Initially Balanced Bridge with Single Active Arm

3.4.4 Wheatstone Bridge Circuit Considerations

The equation describing the basic electrical response of the Wheatstone Bridge circuit has
been developed in the preceding section. In the following discussions it will be examined
the effects of changes in various parameters and will consider several wiring
configurations that find application in strain measurement.

3.4.4.1 Temperature Effects in the Cage

Fluctuations in ambient and in operating temperatures produce the most severe effects
generally dealt with in strain measuring circuitry. The problems arise primarily from two
mechanisms: (1) changes in the gage resistivity with temperature and (2) temperature
induced strain in the gage element. Additionally, for certain bridge circuits in which the
elements are widely separated (~ 20-100 feet), the thermally induced resistance changes
in the lead wires may also be significant.

Temperature changes in the gages will obviously be produced by changes in ambient

temperature. In addition significant temperature changes may be produced directly in the
gage by resistive heating due to the electrical current flow. The magnitude of this effect is
a direct function of the power applied to the gage and the ability of the gage to dissipate
the resultant heat. Gages mounted on thin materials with poor thermal conductivity (such
as plastics or fiberglass or thin sheet metal) are most affected by this problem, while

13
conversely, gages attached to thick (compared to gage dimensions) material of high
thermal conductivity (such as copper or aluminum) are least susceptible.

Power generated within a gage in a Wheatstone Bridge is given as:

Pg = Eg ig

where Eg and ig are voltage across and current through a given gage (arm). Due to the
symmetry of the Wheatstone Bridge it is easy to show that one half of the total current
flows through any arm and that one half of the power supply voltage develops across it.
Thus with E and i defined as the Wheatstone Bridge supply voltage and total bridge
current:

but since the net bridge resistance as seen by the power supply is Rg (e.g., 2xRg in one half
in parallel with 2xRg in the other half) it follows (for the complete bridge) that:

Finally

Power density is given by

Where,

Lg=gage grid length

Wg=gage grid width

Pg=gage power dissipation.

Thus the maximum excitation voltage is given by:

14
In this case, ρ must be selected from the previous table and Lg, Wg, and Rg are determined
by the particular choice of gage. It should be noted that higher electric output per unit
strain (e.g., sensitivity) can be achieved by using higher excitation levels, subjected to the
above power limitations. Thus bridge output is increased, then, by increasing:

• Strain (ε)

• Gage Factor (GF)

• Gage resistance (Rg )

• Gage element area (Lg Wg)

3.4.4.2 Temperature Compensation in the Bridge Circuit

Temperature compensation of the strain gage alone does not generally eliminate thermal
problems entirely. Such compensation is rarely exact and the differences must usually be
eliminated by careful configuration of the Wheatstone Bridge circuit. The ability to make
such compensation is, in fact, one of the more desirable features of this circuit. This is
accomplished as follows. The extraneous effects of temperature and other factors
inducing a resistance change in the gage can effectively be considered as an additional
strain, so that the strain in the i-th arm becomes

Then the bridge equation can be written:

where the rightmost term represents the extraneous temperature effects. It should be clear
from this result that if the extraneous temperature effects, εiT, are all equal, they will
cancel out; in fact they will cancel out so long as equal effects occur in any pair of
adjacent arms (e.g., arms 1 and 2 or arms 2 and 3, etc). On the other hand, it should be
noted that if these same effects occurred in two opposite arms only (e.g., arm 1 and arm
3), the effect would be additive and would not cancel out.

15
When similar strain gages are used in all four arms of the bridge and when they are
mounted so that each experiences the same temperature change, then the bridge output
voltage will be a function of the material strain only. In this case the temperature induced
resistance changes will be the same for each gage and their contribution to the bridge
output will cancel. But at the same time, it also follows that an output will only be
produced when unequal changes in strain are produced in the gages. This may be difficult
to arrange in some applications and as a result two or three gages in the bridge must be
replaced with “dummy” fixed resistances. Then, the strain term for these arms vanishes
and the only contribution is the temperature effect. One way to overcome these problems
is to use as the “dummy” gages actual strain gages affixed to a piece of the same kind of
metal as that to which the 4th or “active” gage is applied. If these dummy gages
experience no strain but do experience the same temperature changes as the active gage
(e.g., by locating them in close proximity), they will properly compensate the bridge for
temperature.

There are a number of variations in the bridge wiring and the configuration of active and
dummy gages that can provide suitable performance for different applications. These are
described as follows:

Half Bridge Configuration

In this case two dummy resistances are provided in adjacent arms (#3 and #4) as shown
and the bridge output is then given by:

Fig.3.7 Half Bridge Configuration and it’s equation

16
since gages #3 and #4 are dummy resistances and therefor experience no strain or
temperature changes (if located together).

The bridge output is not sensitive to temperature so long as any temperature changes
occur equally in the two active arms #1 and #2 and provided the dummy elements are
temperature insensitive. An output is produced only when unequal resistance changes are
produced in gages #1 and #2. The most useful application of this circuit is in the measure
of bending strain in a thin plate or beam. In this case the two gages are mounted opposite
each other on opposite (top/bottom) surfaces so that a compressive strain (-εb) is
introduced in one and an equal tensile strain (εb) in the other. Then:

The output is twice that for a single active gage and if the two gages are close to each
other the temperature changes will be nearly identical and no temperature sensitivity will
be observed. Moreover, if a component of uniform stretching (or compression) is present
in addition to the bending, its effect would cancel since it would be the same for each
gage.

3.5 Calibration

The output from a strain gage bridge is proportional to changes in resistance of all of the
arms. In most situations, only one or two arms are active and it is desirable to be able to
provide some means of assurance that the circuit is working properly. The Wheatstone
Bridge circuit is ideally suited for this purpose because it is relatively easy to affect a
change in resistance in one or more arms that is proportional to a known physical
parameter. In order to change the resistance in one arm, two approaches are possible as
shown in Fig.3.8. A resistance may be added in series to increase the arm resistance or
else a resistance may be added in parallel to reduce the arm resistance. Of these two, the
parallel or shunt connection is preferred because it requires the least modification of the
bridge and utilizes a more practical resistance value. The series connection requires very
high quality switch contacts in order to maintain bridge continuity and thus preserve
accuracy. It also requires use of very small calibration resistances which are not easily
fabricated. On the other hand, the parallel connection requires a relatively large resistance
and the switch contacts are not a direct (internal) part of the bridge circuit.

17
 Fig.3.8 Strain Gage Bridge Calibration Circuits

An analysis of the calibration circuit in Fig.3.8(b) can easily be carried out by use of the
basic bridge equation and the parallel resistance equation. The new or altered arm
resistance in Fig.3.8(b) is given as:

and thus:

The change in resistance is equivalent to an imaginary strain whose magnitude can be

computed from the equation defining the gage factor as:

Normally, this is solved to yield the value of Rc required to produce an equivalent strain
output:

where the simplification is based on the fact that ε is a very small value (microstrain).

As a final note, it should be pointed out that at least one strain gage manufacturer makes
precision shunt calibration resistors especially for this purpose. The resistances are

18
available for specific combinations of gage resistances, GF values, and apparent or
induced “calibration” strains.

3.6 Voltage amplification and Galvanometer reading

The voltage gained from Wheatstone bridge circuit is very small as resistance change is
very negligible in the strain gauge sensor. But to show the strain in the display, voltage
should be amplified. It is done by using an amplifier unit. Here, LM741 IC has been used
to amplify the output voltage.

Fig.3.9 (a) Amplifier circuit (b) LM 741 Amplifier unit

In the Fig.3.9(a) & (b) basic amplifier circuit LM741 is shown where is the input
voltage that is gained from bridge circuit and has been got after amplification. So,
the gained voltage can be written as:

Voltage Gain,

Where,

19
 Fig.3.10 Wheatstone bridge and simplified circuit

Now, can be determined from bridge circuit applying thevnin theorem.

( )

( )

So,

From this calculation, relation between Gain Voltage and Gauge resistance change has
been got. By putting numerical values in this equation, graph can be got.

20
 Fig.3.11 Gain Voltage Vs Gauge resistance

This figure shows a graph between or (deflection in galvanometer) and strain

resistance change. From this relation, the voltage deflection due to the change in
resistance can be got. As voltage is created, galvanometer between A & C shows some
deflection ( ). From galvanometer theory,

( )

By solving this, it can be got :

As we know,

21
From this relation, strain can be shown in output circuit. As it is needed to show the result
in digital display unit in this project, so calibration of the values has to be found out.

Fig.3.12 Complete circuit of a digital strain gauge

This can be done through the deflection of the galvanometer reading with respect to the
strain sensor resistance. Then an empirical relation can be found from the data of
galvanometer.

3.7 Calculation

All the theories related to design a strain gauge has already been discussed above. Now, a
calculation can be done on the basis of assumed values. This is a rough calculation to
show the calculation procedure of strain gauge but the main thing is, this calculation
procedure has showed the way to do the program of the arduino to show the result output

in the LCD display. In the strain gauge, voltage has been made null in the wheatstone
bridge circuit. When elongation occurs, resistance changes. So, at first resistance change
has to be measured. This change due to load can be explained by an example. A gage
with GF = 2.0 and resistance 120 Ohms. It is subjected to a strain of 5 microstrain
(equivalent to about 50 psi in aluminum). Then

= 2(5e-6)(120)

22
 = 0.0012 ohms

= 0.001%

Here, resistance change is very small that deflects the galvanometer very less. It can be
taken as negligible. So, using amplifier circuit, it can be amplified to larger amount. Let,
It is desired to connect a shunt calibration resistance across a 120 Ohm gage with GF=2.0
to simulate a 2000 microstrain reading. The value of Rc (variable resistance) is then given
as:

= 28,588 ohms

This particular value of resistance is not commonly available. It is supposed instead that a
value for Rc is selected in advance to be Rc=20 kOhms. Now, the indicated strain will be:

= 2,854 micro-strain

= 0.002854

3.7.1 Longitudinal strain calculation of a cantilever beam under a normal load

Cantilever refers to the beam in which one end is fixed and other end is free. If load is
applied to the free end, then deflection occurred. As I have installed the strain gauge on a
cantilever beam, I have calculated the strain for it.

Fig.3.13 Cantilever beam before and after deflection

23
The beam material is stainless steel. Applied load has been increased gradually. This
calculation is for 1N load that is applied for a distance of 6.5cm from the strain sensor.
The actual gauge length is 7cm and width is 1cm.

Fig.3.14 Diagram of the experimental part.

The calculation has been done in four step.

Step 1:

Section modulus has to be found out at first. We know:

Section modulus(Z) =

Here,

W = Width

H = Height

Z=

24
Step 2:

Now, stress can be calculated from the following equation:

Here,

Stress (

Force (N)

L = Length (m)

Step 3:

Strain can be calculated from this following equation:

micro-strain

Step 4:

The bridge configuration has to be determined now. The available area that could be
strain-gaged is quite large, therefore, a variety of gage types could be applied to the beam.
BLH Electronics Type P7 gage is used, mainly because of availability.

The particular batch used had a resistance of 120.5ohm 2ohm and a gage factor of 1
.97 . By this configuration calculation has been done above already.

25
 Chapter IV

4.1 The installation of strain gauge

4.1.1 Duty and function of bonding agents

Strain gage was connected to the Bonding agents firmly to the surface of the specimen in
order to transfer the deformation of the specimen correctly to the gage. Various
conditions and influences as well as consideration of the applicability required different
bonding agents and installation methods. Bonding plays a most prominent role. Special
advantages afforded by this method of connection in view of its suitability for strain gage
installations are:

• Possibility of connecting various materials, even dissimilar ones.

Depending on the type of cement, the connection is carried out at room
temperature or at elevated temperatures.
• No reaction on the materials to be connected, restrictions only in the case
of plastic materials.
• Most chemically curing adhesives (only those are important for the strain
gage techniques) are distinguished by a low humidity absorption (except
cyanoacrylate).
• Control of the working speed by selection of different cement types or
curing conditions (cold or hot curing).
• High electrical resistivity contributes to a high insulation resistance
between the gage and the specimen.

The connection of bonded parts relied on the adhesion between the cement and the
surface of the specimen. Adhesion was primarily based on adhesion forces between
neighbouring molecules. The contribution from clamping action in the pores of the
roughened surface or from capillary action was only small. Any increase of the bonding
stability in moderately roughened surfaces was due to the increase of the effective
surfaces, and not on mechanical adhesion.

26
4.1.2 Kinds of adhesives

Various kinds of adhesives were offered depending on the working conditions at the place
of installation and the various requirements of the effectiveness of the adhesives,
especially, service temperature. The same conditions was applied to the strain gage itself.
Thus matching was achieved between certain strain gage and type of adhesives, which
offer optimum properties, in a limited range of applications. Other combinations with
dissimilar effectiveness mean that the component with the narrower limits determined the
range of installation. Furthermore, there were combinations of strain gages and adhesives,
which were excluded for technological reasons. In each case, the recommendations given
in the technical leaflets should be closely considered.

Depending on the installation technology, one can differentiate between:

• Cold curing adhesives

• Hot curing adhesives

• Spot welding

1. Cold curing adhesives

are easy to apply and require only little effort. One distinguishes between single
component adhesives that, for example, start curing when air is excluded (anaerobic
curing), and two component adhesives that have to be mixed before the installation. Their
preferred application is in experimental stress analysis or related installation areas.

2. Hot curing adhesives

are only installed if the specimen can be heated to the temperature required for curing.
Generally, this is only possible in the production of transducers, but is also possible in
cases where constructional parts can be gaged before mounting or can be removed for
gaging. Unlike cold curing adhesives, the hot curing ones offer a wider application range
at higher temperatures and meet higher requirements of accuracy usually in combination
with precision gages in the production of transducers.

27
3. Spot welding

is also a simple installation methods. It requires only little expenditure in equipment (a

small spot welder), little preparation and training. However, it is not commonly used
because: - Special gage types are necessary and only a few types are available. - Weldable
gages can only be manufactured down to certain sizes, which further limits their
application range. - The specimen must be made of a weldable material. This kind of
installation is prohibited for some specimens despite weldability because of the danger of
micro-corrosion, e.g. on highly stressed parts of vapour vessels, on austenitic steels and
such like. The specimen should be thick enough in order not to disturb the stress
distribution due to the relatively high reaction force of the weldable gage, i.e. there should
be no noticeable obstacle to the strain.

4.1.3 Preparation of bonding surfaces on metals

The kind and extent of preparation depended on state of the specimen, the amount and
type of dirt present, as well as the material type of the specimen. The following schematic
lists all the pretreatment of metallic objects. The aim was to provide a surface free from
pores, cracks and oxide layers, which was not too rough but easily wetted. The individual
steps that were to be undertaken when preparing the measuring point were shown in table
3.1 and described below. The measures that should be taken and the means that should be
used to depend on the actual state and size of the object as well as its susceptibility to
damage. The installation technician should be taken sensible decisions according to the
actual case.

Table 4.1: Preparation steps for the strain gage application

28
1. Coarse cleaning

Rust, scale, paints, thick layers of lubricants or dirt, other surface layers or pollutants
should be removed over an area much larger than the measurement point. Tools to be
used for this procedure are scrapers, spatulas, grinders or similar. For coarse cleaning,
scouring agents were recommended for removing grease or lubricant layers. Caustic soda
was also good for removing grease but should be applied with great care. It heavily
cauterises the skin therefore rubber gloves and protective glasses should always be worn
when using caustic soda.

2. Smoothing

Rust, scars and deep scratches produced notch strains in the surface of the specimen and
lead to incorrect measurements. Humps and other unevenness impair the bonding of the
gages. Therefore, the bonding area must be smoothed by grinding, filing or other suitable
methods. Grinding tools with exchangeable emery paper and rubber plates are best suited
for this.

Fig.4.1 Surface smoothing by emery paper

The rubber plate will follow the contour of the object and the emery grade can be selected
according to the task. Start with a coarse grade and proceed in steps towards finer grades.
To avoid any misunderstanding: The bonding surface does not need to be flat, a gage
might be bonded to curved surfaces but the surface must not be humped. Coatings of lead,
cadmium, tin, indium, bismuth and similar metals bind poorly or not at all to cements and
must be removed completely. Nickel coatings may peel off and should also be removed.

29
3. Cleaning

In this step dirt, grinding dust and grease were to be removed. Cleaning should be
thorough but need not be done extremely carefully because more steps were to follow.
Organic solvents were recommended as cleaning agents. Further details were given below
under “final cleaning”. Mineral oils, such as those that are used for rolling sheet metals or
boring liquids, were only partially removed by the usual organic solvents. In these cases
alkaline agents were better.

4. Roughening

Bonding forces between specimen and the cement were mostly of a chemical nature. It
was possible to increase the bonding forces by enlarging the contact surfaces.
Enlargement of the surfaces however was only possible by roughening. This was mostly
done mechanically and only seldom chemically by pickling.

Fig.4.2: Influence of surface roughness on efficient contact area

a) contact line with ideally even area

b) extended contact line by moderate roughening

5. Roughening by sandblasting

Sandblasting produces an ideal bonding surface. Basic requirements for flawless surfaces
are compressed air free of oil or water, clean, unused blasting media and completely
degreased surfaces, since grease particles hammered into the surface by the blasting
particles cannot be easily removed (ultrasonic cleaning equipment may be necessary).

6. Roughening by emery paper

Despite the obvious advantages of sandblasting its use was limited, sometimes because
the equipment was not available, sometimes because the object did not allow this
(thinking of bearings near to the bond). In that case, the well-proven emery paper can be

30
used. If properly used, the results were quite satisfactorily. The paper was rubbed in
circles over the surface. Circling was to avoid the privileged stress directions, which
would reduce the stability. Only new emery paper was used (or cloth) of a grade suitable
for the materials.

7. Roughening by other mechanical methods

Sometimes even emery is too coarse for very delicate objects and cannot be allowed. This
is particularly true for materials that are sensitive to notch stress, or for plated or surface-
hardened materials whose plating must be retained. The mildest form of mechanical pre-
treatment and removal of oxide layers is erosion by a glass fibre eraser (otherwise used
for China ink drawing). Another method is to use a typewriter eraser, an India rubber
filled with glass particles. Finally there are chemical methods, which are dealt with in
section “Pickling”.

8. Final cleaning

The efficiency of the bonding forces decreased with the third to sixth power of the
distance. Therefore, these forces should be limited to molecular layers. For that reason,
very careful final cleaning was required. Even the thinnest layers of grease will
considerably impaired the effectiveness of the bonding forces or will even neutralize
them. Silicon grease or oil was the most difficult to remove. This was widely used in
cosmetics (hand lotions, etc.) and the installation technician should therefore avoid them.

4.1.4 Bonding process

Strain gages are very small and sensitive sensor. If any mistake happens in handling this,
it will be damaged. So, it was handled very carefully. It is, in fact, very simple to transfer
the gage to the specimen and align the gage properly.

• Tweezers were used to take strain gage out of the protection.

• The gage was aligned at the installation position, which has been prepared
in such a way that the gage markings were aligned with the position
markings. Then the tape was pressed, fig.4.2, to produce a hinge-like
connection between gage and specimen.

31
 Fig.4.3: Fixing the strain gage to the measurement object

• In addition, a mask was produced from tape around the gage, leaving a
free space of about 3 to 5 mm. This was recommended particularly when
using rapid adhesive super glue because, when the gage was pressed down
, surplus cement was transferred onto the mask and was easily removed
after curing. The following steps were carried out according to the
instructions for use of the relevant cement.

Fig.4.4: Strain gage application with rapid adhesive Super Glue

The following steps were taken:

a) Gage was bent upwards, adhesive was applied generously with spatula

b) Gage was bent down and pressed lightly

32
c) Adhesive was pasted onto the gage and covered with separating foil

d) Surplus of adhesive was pressed out.

The installation was really quite simple and easy.

a) Gage was bent upwards,

b) One small drop of cement was put onto the specimen and immediately spread into thin,
even layer using the Teflon strip supplied with the package.

c) Gage was bent, covered immediately with Teflon separating foil and pressed evenly for
about 20 sec. For overhead work, the cement drop was put onto the Teflon strip and then
spread on the installation area.

d) The auxiliary adhesive tape was peeled off carefully with tweezers.

4.1.5 Protection of the installed strain gage

Installed strain gages must be protected against mechanical and chemical influences.
Even under ideal conditions, such as in a laboratory, the properties of the installed gage
will deteriorate with time if no suitable countermeasures are taken. The variety of such
countermeasures is as diverse as the influences on the gage. In the laboratory with
controlled low humidity it might well be sufficient to have just a light seal against
touching with fingers (perspiration), while in the rough ambient conditions of a rolling
mill, full protection against vapour, water, oil, heat, and mechanical influences will be
required. In the first case, a simple varnish seal will be appropriate, in the latter case one
has to build several layers from different protective covers to make a good barrier.

Absolute protection over long periods of time is only possible by hermetic sealing. This
level of protection is, therefore, used in commercially available transducers, provided the
function permits it. All other covering agents, even the very best, will only provide
protection for a limited period of time. The protection time will depend on the type of the
cover, its thickness and on the nature of the attacking medium. The period of proper
protection could last from a few hours up to several years, depending on the prevailing
conditions. The required duration of protection depends on the duration of the individual

33
measurements. Additional issues include the possibility of checking the zero point in
between measurements and the required accuracy.

Slight impairments of the bonded strain gage, e.g. by diffusion of humidity will mainly
result in changes of the zero point. If these can be controlled, e.g. by removing the load
from the specimen, and if they remain within acceptable limits (e.g. 100..200 µm/m) one
could go ahead with stress analysis measurements with sufficient accuracy. Another
indicator of the suitability of an installed strain gage is the insulation resistance. If the
insulation resistance reduces from 1000 Mȍ to 1ȍ, there will be a zero shift of -60 µm/m
in a 120 Ohm gage, of -175 µm/m in a 350 Ohm gage, and - 350 µm/m in a 700 Ohm
gage. This means that the lower limit of the insulation resistance is a function of the gage
resistance.

Any protection measure should be effective but must not change the mechanical
properties of the specimen. Thin objects should not be made so stiff that deformation
under load is prevented. Protection materials containing solvents or other aggressive
chemicals should not be used on plastic specimens.

4.2 Final construction

Strain gauge installation procedure has been discussed in the preceding section. After
installation of strain sensor on the material, resistance change due to the deflection was
determined from the galvanometer reading at first. For this case, Four resistance was put
in the bridge circuit in a way that galvanometer showed null point in the reading when
material was in initial position. When load was applied on the material, resistance
changed, that’s why deflection was created in the galvanometer.

Fig.4.5 A MEGA 2560 Arduino board

34
From these readings, empirical relation was made for further work in the arduino board.
The strain had to be shown in the LCD display through the programming in the arduino
board. In this project, MEGA 2560 arduino board was used.

Fig.4.6 Final construction

Aluminium metallic foil load cells were not available in our country. It took much time to
implement this only for this. But the provided product was not good enough. For this, a
flex sensor was used as an alternative of this. The arduino program used in this project is
included below.

int SG=A0;
int val=0;
int temp=0;
int contrast=4;
int refNorm=512;
int refUE=500;

35
//int refDE=;
int RED=A3;
int WHT=A4;
int GRN=A5;
#include<LiquidCrystal.h>
LiquidCrystal lcd(8,9,10,11,12,13);
void setup()
{
lcd.begin(16,2);
lcd.print("GAUGE READING:");
pinMode(SG,INPUT);
Serial.begin(9600);
}
void loop()
{
analogWrite(contrast,300);
val=analogRead(SG);
//temp=val*.707;
analogWrite(14,val);
Serial.println(val);
if (val>refNorm) // up word bending, RED led on, others off
{
digitalWrite(RED,HIGH);
digitalWrite(GRN,LOW);
digitalWrite(WHT,LOW);
}
lcd.setCursor(7,1);
lcd.print(val*8);

36
 lcd.setCursor(11,1);
lcd.print("xE-6");
delay(1000);
}
This program was arranged in a way that it shows red light if downward bending
happened, it shows white light if it remains in initial position and shows green light if
upward bending occurred. In spite of very less deviation, the showed values was
satisfactory.

4.3 Experimental Data

Data has been collected from the constructed strain gauge with applying 20 different
loads(0-10N). This data is shown in table.4.2 with respect to the loads.

Table.4.2: Strain output with respect to loads applied on the material.

Observation Load (N) Strain ( ) Bending Deflection

no.

1 0.0 4024 0.0

2 0.5 4032 0.89

3 1.0 4038 1.78

4 1.5 4047 2.67

5 2.0 4054 3.56

6 2.5 4061 4.45

7 3.0 4070 5.34

8 3.5 4078 6.23

9 4.0 4087 7.12

10 4.5 4095 8.01

37
 11 5.0 4103 8.9

12 5.5 4111 9.79

13 6.0 4119 10.6

14 6.5 4127 11.5

15 7.0 4136 12.46

16 7.5 4144 13.35

17 8.0 4166 14.24

18 8.5 4178 15.13

19 9.0 4196 16.02

20 9.5 4204 16.91

21 10.0 4212 17.80

4.4 Result and Discussion

From above data, a strain vs load graph can be plotted. A linear relationship between this

250

200

150
Strain

100

50

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10
Load (N)

Fig.4.7 Strain vs Load graph

38
 250

Bending deflection and Strain

200

150

strain
100
Bending deflection

50

0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21
Load

Fig.4.8 Bending deflection and strain vs load graph

two parameter is got that is matched with the theory. It is known to us that if load is
increased, resistance has been changed. So that, LCD display has showed the strain
deflection. As the equation of resistance change due to length is a one degree equation
and load is proportional to the strain, so the relationship between has to be linear. The
graph is also shown a linear relationship between strain and load. The slope is same upto
7.5N load but after that it has become slightly high because material is going towards the
yield point. Strain has been getting as load is increased. This project should not be
recommended for using in practical cases because it is not prefect enough to use. Strain
sensor should be handled in very careful way and basically expert is needed for this to
install. This sensor is not available and for that chances to be skilled in installing this was
very limited. Another thing was that, it should be bonded with material very strongly and
for this some bonding agent like X60, epoxy regin were needed that were not available
also. Inspite of some problem, it’s final result has showed satisfactory result. Further
development may be done on the basis of this project.

39
 Chapter V

5.1 Conclusion

Material elongates for tensile load and normal load and also compress for compressive
force. So, in sensitive instruments where material elongation after a certain limit will
cause a great damage to the whole instrument, strain gauge sensor is very much
applicable there. It can measure the strain of a point or critical edges. It is also used to
measure the stress of tablets in medical fields. Now, in automated machines, strain gauge
is used to measure the torque of rotating shafts. So, proper installment of strain sensor is
very necessary.

5.2 Scope of future work

Strain gauges face great problem in high temperature. In high temperature, it shows
nonlinearity that is not correct. It’s performance deteriorates also in moisture condition.
So, temperature compensation is very necessary. Further work may be done in
eliminating these noises.

40
 References

[1] Hoffmann, K: Fundamentals of the strain gage technique, Verminderung von

Messfehlern (1978) Publications of Hottinger Baldwin Messtechnik GmbH, Darmstadt

[2] VDI-Richtlinie 3821 (Sept. 1978): Kunststoffkleben, Beuth-Verlag GmbH, Berlin 30

und Köln 1.

[3] Merkblatt DVS 2204: Kleben von thermoplastischen Kunststoffen, Teil 2:

Polyolefine (Februar 1977).

[4] Hoffmann, K.: An Introduction to Measurements using Strain Gages Publisher:

Hottinger Baldwin Messtechnik GmbH

[5] “Strain gages and accessories” Hottinger Baldwin Messtechnik GmbH, Darmstadt

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