Strain Measurements

Engineering calculations are often based on stress. If we want to do

experiments to confirm our theory, we need to measure the result of
stress rather than stress directly. Stress results in the deformation of
material, which is called strain. For most engineering materials, there
is a rather simple relationship between stress and strain.

o
a
= Ec
a

c
a
=
dL
L
~
L
2
L
1
L
1
=
AL
L
1
Lateral Strain, Poissons Ratio
If we stress a rod by pulling on it,
and is stretches axially as a result, it
will also get thinner. This behavior
is quantified by Poissons ratio:


v =
lateral strain
axial strain
=
c
L
c
a
This is a property of the material.
General Stress States

c
y
=
o
y
E
v
o
x
E
c
x
=
o
x
E
v
o
y
E
o
x
=
E c
x
+vc
y
( )
1v
2
o
y
=
E c
y
+v c
x
( )
1v
2
These equations relate the 2-D stress field to the
2-D strain field. I will assume that you already
know this.
We measure strain in one or more directions and infer the stress state
from that. In general, in order to know the 3-D stress state, we
would need 3 components of strain. In some cases (like pure axial
stress) we may be able to reduce the number of required
components. I will teach you more about the instrumentation side of
this topic, and it will be left to you to figure out how to get the stress
state from the measurements.
12.3 Electrical Resistance Strain Gage
Ruge, 1940s
Rosettes
Installation
The gauge length limits the spatial
resolution of the sensor.
Connection to the bridge is made
at the solder tabs.
The backing material needs to be
made of something that can:
Withstand the temperatures
encountered
Transmit strain but electrically
insulate
Accept the bonding adhesive
12.4 Metallic Gauges

R =
L
A
=
L
CD
2
If you have a conductor of resistivity , the resistance across that
conductor is

If you strain this conductor axially, its length will increase while its
cross sectional area will decrease. Taking the total differential of R,


dR =
cR
c
d +
cR
cL
dL +
cR
c CD
2
( )
d CD
2
( )
=
1
CD
2
Ld + dL 2L
dD
D
|
\

|
.
|
dR
R
=
dL
L
2
dD
D
+
d

Metallic Gauges

dR/ R
dL/ L
=12
dD/ D
dL/ L
+
d/
dL/ L

dR
R
=
dL
L
2
dD
D
+
d

c
a
=
dL
L
c
L
=
dD
D
v =
c
L
c
a

F
dR/ R
dL/ L
=
dR/ R
c
a
=1+ 2v +
d/
dL/ L
For most strain gauges, v = 0.3. If the resistivity is not a function of
strain, then F only depends on poissons ratio, and F ~ 1.6.
Gage factor

dR
R
=
dL
L
1+v
( )
+
d

t
1
=
1
E
d/
dL
1
/ L
dR/ R
dL/ L
=1+ 2v + t
1
E
Piezoresistance
Coefficient
Gage Factor

c =
1
F
AR
R

F
dR/ R
dL/ L
=
dR/ R
c
a
=1+ 2v +
d/
dL/ L
F and R are supplied by the
manufacturer, and we measure
AR.
Example
A typical strain gauge uses constantan (55% copper, 45% nickel)
which has a resistivity of 49 X 10
-8
Om. The strain gauge must be
120O nominally (why?). If the diameter is 0.025 mm, how long
does it need to be?

R =

e
L
A
c
L = 12 cm
12.5 Selection and Installation
Read on your own
12.6 Circuitry for Metallic Strain Gage
Most commercial strain gages are 120 O, have a gage factor near 2, and
can measure 1 microstrain (1 part in a million).

c =
1
F
AR
R
AR =12021E 6 = 0.00024O
Clearly, our work is cut out for us in terms of the measurement.
12.8 The Strain Gage Bridge Circuit

Ae
o
e
i
=
AR
1
/ R
4 + 2 AR
1
/ R
( )

c =
1
F
AR
R

Ae
o
=
e
i
Fc
4 + 2Fc

Ae
o
=
e
i
Fc
4 + 2Fc
If we assume some typical values for the excitation voltage (8V) and the
gage factor (2), then we can see that the second term in the denominator
is not significant:

Ae
o
=
16c
4 + 4c

Ae
o
=
e
i
Fc
4
so
12.8.1 Bridges with 2 and 4 strain gages
The bending strain on the top gage is equal
and opposite of the one on the bottom.

e
o
= e
i
R
2
R
1
+ R
2

R
4
R
3
+ R
4
|
\

|
.
|
make R
2
= R
4
= R

e
o
= e
i
R
R
1
+ R

R
R
3
+ R
|
\

|
.
|
e
o
= e
i
R
R
1
+1
R
R
3
1
|
\

|
.
|
e
o
e
i
= R
1
R
1

1
R
3
|
\

|
.
|
Multiple Gauge Bridge
Most strain gauge measurement systems allow us to make 1, 2, 3 or all 4
legs of the bridge strain gauges. There are many reasons to do this that
we will talk about now.
Going back to our fundamental bridge equations from chapter 6,

E
o
= E
i
R
1
R
1
+ R
2

R
3
R
3
+ R
4
|
\

|
.
|
Say that unstrained, all of these have the
same value. If they are then strained,
the resultant change is E
o
is

dE
o
=
cE
o
cR
i i=1
4

dR
i
E
o

Multiple Gauges
Make the following assumptions:
All gauges have the same nominal resistance (generally true)
All gauges have matched gauge factors (must be purchased as set)

Then:


AE
o
E
i
=
F
4
c
1
c
2
+c
4
c
3
( )
E
o

Apparent Strain and Compensation
Things like temperature can change the resistance of a gauge and our
system may interpret this as strain. Sometimes our gauge may be
subject to strains other than the one we are interested in.
Compensation is removing these effects by using multiple gauges. As
an example, say you have a beam under axial stress and a bending
moment, and you are interested in the axial stress only:

o
x
=12My/bh
3
+ F
N
/bh
The two gauges see the
same axial strain but
opposite bending
strains

Ae
o
e
i
=
F
4
c
1
+ c
4
( )
c
1
= c
a1
+ c
b1
c
4
= c
a4
c
b 4
Ae
o
e
i
=
F
2
c
a
( )
Temperature Compensation
The resistance of a strain gauge changes with temperature. In addition,
changing its temperature may cause strain in the gauge making it even
more sensitive to temperature.
Compensation
12.8.2 Bridge Constant

k =
A
B
k = the bridge constant
A = the actual bridge output
B = the output you would get with a single gage.
12.8.3 Lead-wire Error
Since we are looking at very small changes in resistance, the lead wires
can create significant errors. We handle this the same way we discussed
for RTDs.
We have wire especially made for strain gage
measurements which has three conductors
12.10 Temperature Compensation

R
1
R
2
=
R
3
R
4

R
1
+ AR
t
R
2
+ AR
t
=
R
3
R
4
If the temperature of the
specimen changes, then
both gages will change their
resistance similarly
12.11 Calibration

AR =
R
g
R
s
R
g
+ R
s
( )
R
g
=
R
g
2
R
g
+ R
s
( )

c =
1
F
AR
g
R
g

c
e
=
1
F
R
g
R
g
+ R
s
|
\


|
.
|
|
12.16.1
Multiple gages in series
12.17.1 Cross Sensitivity

e
L
=
K
t
c
L
/c
a
+v
po
( )
1v
po
K
t
100
Semiconductor Strain Gauges
The gauges we have been talking about are made of metal. We can
also make them out of semiconductors, which is how the strain
gauges in our pressure sensors are made. These are dominated by the
piezoresistive component of the change in resistance and have
several advantages and disadvantages:
Pros:
Very high gauge factors (up to 200)
Higher resistance
Longer fatigue life
Lower Hysteresis
Smaller
High frequency response

Cons:
Temperature sensitivity
Nonlinear output
More limited on maximum strain
Mostly used for construction of
transducers
Hysteresis of Strain Gauges