Strain Gage

Concept of Strain
gage
Wheatstone bridge
• The following unbalanced Wheatstone
Bridge is constructed. Calculate the
output voltage across points C and D and
the value of resistor R4 required to
balance the bridge circuit.
Introduction to strain gage
• Strain gauge (sometimes refered to as
a Strain gage) is a sensor whose
resistance varies with applied force
• It converts force, pressure, tension,
weight, etc., into a change in electrical
resistance which can then be
measured.
• When external forces are applied to a
stationary object, stress and strain are
the result. Stress is defined as the
object's internal resisting forces, and
strain is defined as the displacement
and deformation that occur.
• “Strain" consists of tensile and
compressive strain, distinguished by a
positive or negative sign. Thus, strain
gauges can be used to pick up
expansion as well as contraction.
Types of strain gage
• Mechanical strain gage
• String strain gage
• Optical strain gage
• Pneumatic strain gage
• Electric strain gage
Strain gage for stress/strain analysis
• Experimental stress analysis uses the

strain values measured on the surface of
a specimen, or structural part, to state
the stress in the material and also to
predict its safety and endurance.
Electrical strain gage
• It was Lord Kelvin who first reported in 1856 that metallic
conductors subjected to mechanical strain exhibit a change in
their electrical resistance. This phenomenon was first put to
practical use in the 1930s.
• All strain gauges are designed to convert mechanical motion into

an electronic signal.
• A change in capacitance, inductance, or resistance is proportional

to the strain experienced by the sensor.
• If a wire is held under tension, it gets slightly longer and its cross-
sectional area is reduced. This changes its resistance (R) in
proportion to the strain sensitivity (S) of the wire's resistance.
Types of electric strain
gages
• Three types of electric strain gauges are most commonly
used: tubular strain gauges, mesh strain gauges, foil
strain gauges, with which the foil is the most popular in
the industry.
Tubular strain gage Mesh strain gage Foil strain gage

Popular
Strain gage installation
• The strain gauge should be properly prepared by ideally gluing
the strain gauge to the material being tested.
• The glue used should be specially prepared for use in the strain
gauge. Its thickness should not exceed 10 micrometers.
• The operation of the glue should isolate the wires from the
material being tested. The glue should withstand high operating
temperatures without changing its physical and electrical
properties. After proper gluing of the strain gauge, the whole
system is covered with a protection layer, it may be a wax.
Strain gage
• The bonded resistance strain gage is by far the most widely used strain measurement
tool for today’s experimental stress analyst. It consists of a grid of very fine wire (or, more
recently, of thin metallic foil) bonded to a thin insulating backing called a carrier matrix.
The electrical resistance of this grid material varies linearly with strain. In use, the carrier
matrix is attached to the test specimen with an adhesive
• Figure below is a picture of a bonded resistance strain gage with a Constantan foil grid
and polyimide carrier material.
• The bonded resistance strain gage is low in cost, can be made with a short gage
length
• only moderately affected by temperature changes
• has small physical size and low mass
• It has fairly high sensitivity to strain. It is suitable for measuring both static and dynamic
strains.
https://www.omega.co.uk/techref/pdf/StrainGage_Measurement.pdf
Strain gage
• Strain gages are made with a printed circuit process
using conductive alloys rolled to a thin foil.
• The alloys are processed, including controlled-
atmosphere heat treating, to optimize their
mechanical properties and temperature coefficients
of resistance.
• A grid configuration for the strain sensitive element
is used to allow higher values of gage resistance
while maintaining short gage lengths.
Strain gage
• A wire strain gage is made by a resistor, usually in metal foil form, bonded
on an elastic backing. Its principle is based on fact that the resistance of a
wire increases with increasing strain and decreases with decreasing
strain,
• When the strain gage is attached and bonded well to the surface of an
object, the two are considered to deform together. The strain of the strain
gage wire along the longitudinal direction is the same as the strain on the
surface in the same direction.
Strain gage
• In a strain gage application, the carrier matrix and
the adhesive must work together to faithfully
transmit strain from the specimen to the grid.
• Three primary factors influencing gage selection are
• operating temperature;
• state of strain (including gradients, magnitude and time
dependence); and
• stability requirements for the gage installation.
• The importance of selecting the proper
combination of carrier material, grid alloy,
adhesive, and protective coating for the given
application cannot be overemphasized.
Strain gage
• Gage resistance values range from 30 to 3000 Ω, with 120 Ω and
350 Ω being the most commonly used values for stress analysis.
• Gage lengths from 0.008 inch to 4 inches are commercially
available. The conductor in a foil grid gage has a large surface
area for a given cross sectional area.
• This keeps the shear stress low in the adhesive and carrier
matrix as the strain is transmitted by them.
• This larger surface area also allows good heat transfer between
grid and specimen. Strain gages are small and light, operate over
a wide temperature range, and can respond to both static and
dynamic strains.
• They have wide application and acceptance in transducers as
well as in stress analysis.
Principle of operation of
strain gage
• When a metallic conductor is strained, it undergoes
a change in electrical resistance, and it is this
change that makes the strain gage a useful device.
The measure of this resistance change with strain is
GAGE FACTOR, GF
Another way of looking at this

• dR/R = S.ε
• Where R is resistance, S is sensitivity and
ε is strain
Measurement of strain
• Due to its outstanding sensitivity, the Wheatstone
bridge circuit is the most frequently used circuit for
static strain measurement
Principle of operation of
strain gage
• It should be noted that the change in resistance
with strain is not due solely to the dimensional
changes in the conductor, but that the resistivity of
the conductor material also changes with strain:
• The term gage factor applies to the strain gage as a
whole, complete with carrier matrix, not just to the
strain-sensitive conductor. The gage factor for
Constantan and nickel-chromium alloy strain gages
is nominally 2,
Transverse sensitivity
• if the strain gage were a single straight length of conductor of small
diameter with respect to its length, it would respond to strain along its
longitudinal axis and be essentially insensitive to strain applied
perpendicularly or transversely to this axis.
• For any reasonable value of gage resistance, it would also have a very
long gage length. When the conductor is in the form of a grid to reduce
the effective gage length, there are small amounts of strain sensitive
material in the end loops or turn-arounds that lie transverse to the gage
axis.
• This end loop material gives the gage a non-zero sensitivity to strain in
the transverse direction
Transverse sensitivity
• Transverse sensitivity factor
• To minimize this effect, extra material is added to

the conductor in the end loops, and the grid lines
are kept close together. This serves to minimize
resistance in the transverse direction
• An initial, unstrained gage resistance is used as the reference against
which strain is measured. Typically, the gage is mounted on the test
specimen and wired to the instrumentation while the specimen is
maintained in an unstrained state.
• A reading taken under these conditions is the unstrained reference
value, and applying a strain to the specimen will result in a resistance
change from this value. If we had an ohmmeter that was accurate and
sensitive enough to make the measurement, we would measure the
unstrained gage resistance and then subtract this unstrained value from
the subsequent strained values.
• Dividing the result by the unstrained value would give us the fractional
resistance change caused by strain in the specimen.
• A more sensitive way of measuring small changes in resistance is with
the use of a Wheatstone bridge circuit, and, in fact, most
instrumentation for measuring static strain uses this circuit
• A 1 ⁄4 bridge configuration exists when one arm of
the bridge is an active gage and the other arms are
fixed value resistors or unstrained gages, as is the
case in this circuit.
• Ideally, the strain gage, Rg, is the only resistor in the
circuit that varies, and then only due to a change in
strain on the surface of the specimen
When (R1/R2) = (Rg/R3), VOUT becomes zero and the bridge is balanced. If we
could adjust one of the resistor values (R2, for example), then we could
balance the bridge for varying values of the other resistors.
• If, when the gage is unstrained, we adjust R2 until the
bridge is balanced and then apply strain to the gage, the
change in Rg due to the strain will unbalance the bridge
and VOUT will become nonzero. If we adjust the value of R2
to once again balance the bridge, the amount of the
change required in resistance R2 will equal the change in
Rg due to the strain.
• Instead of rebalancing the bridge, we could also install an
indicator, calibrated in micro-strain, that responds to VOUT.
• The majority of commercial strain indicators use some
form of balanced bridge for measuring resistance strain
gages.
1
5
The sensitivity factor, S, is usually
provided by the strain gage vendor
7
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Principle of operation
• The strain gage is one of the most widely
used strain measurement sensors. It is a
resistive elastic unit whose change in
resistance is a function of applied strain.
• dR/R = S.ε
• Where R is resistance, S is sensitivity and
ε is strain
• Among strain gages, an electric resistance wire

strain gage has the advantages of lower cost and
being an established product. Thus it is the most
commonly used type of device. Other types of
strain gages are acoustic, capacitive, inductive,
mechanical, optical, piezo-resistive, and semi-
conductive.
• When a strain is introduced, the strain
sensitivity, which is also called the gauge
factor (GF), is given by:
The gauge factors for metals is usually over 2

• The ideal strain sensor would change resistance only due to the
deformations of the surface to which the sensor is attached.
• However, in real applications, temperature, material properties,

the adhesive that bonds the gauge to the surface, and the
stability of the metal all affect the detected resistance.
• Most materials do not have the same properties in all directions,

a knowledge of the axial strain alone is insufficient for a
complete analysis.
• Poisson, bending, and torsional strains also need to be measured.
Each requires a different strain gauge arrangement.
Sensor design
• The deformation of an object can be measured by mechanical,
optical, acoustical, pneumatic, and electrical means. The earliest
strain sensor were mechanical devices that measured strain by
measuring the change in length and comparing it to the original
length of the object
• Poor resolution with mechanical devices
• Optical sensors are sensitive and accurate, but are delicate and not very
popular in industrial applications. They use interference fringes produced
by optical flats to measure strain.
• Optical sensors operate best under laboratory conditions.

Strain Gage

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Concept of Strain

• Experimental stress analysis uses the

• All strain gauges are designed to convert mechanical motion into

• A change in capacitance, inductance, or resistance is proportional

Tubular strain gage Mesh strain gage Foil strain gage

Another way of looking at this

• To minimize this effect, extra material is added to

• Among strain gages, an electric resistance wire

The gauge factors for metals is usually over 2

• However, in real applications, temperature, material properties,

• Most materials do not have the same properties in all directions,

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