CHAPTER 4 : MEASURING DEVICES (SENSORS &

TRANSDUCERS)

4.4 Strain Measurement

4.4.1 Introduction

Strain is a result of application of the forces to solid objects. The forces are defined in a
special way described by the general term stress.

A special case exists for the relation between force applied and the resulting deformation
of the object. Solids are assemblages of atoms which the atomic spacing has been
adjusted to render the solid in equilibrium with all external forces acting to the object.
This spacing determines the physical dimensions of the solid. If the applied forces are
changed, the object atoms rearrange themselves to come into equilibrium with the new
forces. This rearrangement results in a change in physical dimension that is referred as
deformation of the solid.

The applied force is referred to as stress and the resulting deformation as a strain.

4.4.2 Types of Stress-Strain Relationships

There are three commons types of stress-strain relationships that are

1) Tensile stress-strain
2) Compressional stress-strain
3) Shear stress-strain

1) Tensile stress-strain

Figure 4.20 shows the nature of a tensile force is shown as a force applied to sample of
material so as to elongate or to pull apart the sample. In this case, the stress is defined as

F
Tensile stress = (13)
A
Where F = applied force in Newton (N)
A = cross-sectional area of the sample in m2

Figure 4.20: Tensile stress applied to a rod

The strain in this case is defined as the fractional change in length of the sample.

l
Tensile strain = (14)
l

Where Δl = change in length in m (in.)

l = original length in m (in.)

Strain is unitless.

2) Compressional stress-strain

The differences between compressional and tensile are the direction of the applied force
and the polarity of the change in length. In compressional the force is applied on the
sample as shown in figure 4.21.

Figure 4.21: Compressional stress applied to a rod

The compressional stress is defined as

F
Compressional stress = (15)
A

The resulting strain is also defined as the fractional change in length as in equation (14),
but the sample will now decrease in length.
l
Compressional strain = (16)
l

3) Shear stress-strain

Figure 4.22(a) shows the nature of the shear stress. In this case, the force is applied as a
couple (that is not along the same line), tending to shear off the solid object that separates
the force arm. In this case, the stress is again

F
Shear stress = (17)
A
 Figure 4.22: Shear stress-strain

The strain is defined as the fractional change in dimension of the sheared member as
shown in figure 4.22(b).

x
Shear strain = (18)
l

4.4.3 Stress-Strain Curve

If a specific sample is exposed to a range of applied stress and the resulting strain is
measured, a graph similar to figure 4.23 results. The graph shoes the relationship between
stress and strain is linear over some range of stress. If the stress is kept within the linear
region, the material is essentially elastic in that if the stress is removed, the deformation
is also gone. But if the elastic limit is exceeded, permanent deformation results. The
material may be begin to ‘neck’ at some location and finally break. Within the linear
region, a specific type of material always follow the same curves, despite different
physical dimensions. Thus we say that the linearity and slope are constant of the type
material only.

Figure 4.23: The typical stress-strain curve

In tensile and compressional stress, this constant is called the modulus of elasticity or
Young’s modulus, as given by
 F
stress
E  A (19)
strain l
l
Where stress = F/A in N/m2 (or lb/in.2)
strain = Δl/l unitless
E = modulus of elasticity in N/m2

In an exact similar fashion, the shear modulus is defined for shear stress-strain as
F
stress
M  A (20)
strain x
l
Table 4.1 shows the modulus of elasticity of several materials.

Material Modulus of elasticity

Aluminium 6.89 x 1010
Copper 11.73 x 1010
Steel 20.70 x 1010
Polyethylene (plastic) 3.45 x 108
Table 4.1: Modulus of elasticity of several materials

Strain unit although strain is a unitless quantity, it is common practice to express the
strain as the ratio of two length units, for example, as m/m or in./in. Because of strain is a
very small number, a micro (μ) prefix is often included. In this sense, a strain of 0.001
would be expressed as 1000 μin./in or 1000 μm/m.

Example 4.5: Find the strain that results from a tensile force of 1000N applied to a 10m
aluminium beam having a 4 x 10-4 m2 cross-sectional area.

Solution:

4.4.4 Principles Strain Gauge

The deformation of an object can be measured by mechanical, optical, acoustical,

pneumatic, and electrical means. The earliest strain gages were mechanical devices that
measured strain by measuring the change in length and comparing it to the original length
of the object. For example, the extension meter (extensiometer) uses a series of levers to
amplify strain to a readable value. In general, however, mechanical devices tend to
provide low resolutions, and are bulky and difficult to use.

The electrical-resistance strain gauge is the most widely used device for strain
measurement. Its operation is based on the principle that electrical resistance of the
conductor changes when it is subjected to mechanical deformation. Typically, an electric
conductor is bonded to the specimen with an insulating cement under no-load conditions.
A load is then applied, which prudes a deformation in both the specimen and resistance
element. The deformation is indicated through a measurement of the change in resistance
of the element and a calculation procedure is shown below.

Later we will discuss on three types of strain gauges that are;

1) Metal strain gauge
2) Semiconductor strain gauge
3) Load cell

Under no-load condition

lo
Ro   (21)
Ao

Where Ro = sample resistance Ω

ρ = sample resistivity Ω.m
lo = length in m
Ao = cross-sectional area in m2

Then the tensile force is applied to the sample, the material elongates by some
amount ,Δl, so the new length is

New length = l + Δl (22)

It is also true that in such stress-strain condition, although the sample lengthens, its
volume will remain nearly constant. Because the volume unstressed is V = loAo, it ollows
that if the volume remains constant and the length increases, then the area must decrease
by some amount, ΔA:

V = loAo = (lo + Δl)(Ao – ΔA) (23)

Because both length and area have changed, we find that the resistance of the sampke
will have also changed:

(l o  l )
R (24)
( A  A)
Using both equations (23) and (24), we can verify that the new resistance is
approximately given by
 lo  l 
R 1  2  (25)
Ao  lo 

Therefore we can conclude that that change in resistance is

l
R  2 Ro (26)
lo

Example 4.6: Find a change in a nominal wire resistance of 120Ω that results from strain
of 1000 μm/m.

Solution:

Example 4.7: A round copper bar, 0.05 m in diameter and 0.80 m in length, is subjected
to a tensile force of 20 000N. Calculate the elongation Δl in meters.

Solution:

4.4.5 Metal Strain Gauges

Metal strain gauges (SGs) are devices that operate on the principles discussed ealier. The
following items are important to understand SG applications

1) Gauge Factor (GF)

The relation between strain and resistance change [equation (26)] is only approximately
true. Impurities in the metal, the type of metal, and other factors lead to slight corrections.
An SG specification always indicates the correct relation through statement of gauge
factor (GF), which is defined as

R
GF  R (27)
strain
Where ΔR/R = fractional change in gauge resistance because of strain
Strain = Δl/l = fractional change in length.
For metal gauges, GF is always close to 2. For some special alloys and carbon gauges,
the GF may be as large as 10. A high GF is desirable because it indicates a larger change
in resistance for a given strain and is easier to measure.

Construction: Strain gauges are used in two forms, wire and foil as shown in figure 4.24.
The basic characteristics of each type are the same in terms of resistance change for a
given strain. The design of the SG itself is such as to make it very long in order to give a
large enough nominal resistance (to be practical), and to make the gauge of sufficiently
fine wire or foil so as not to resist strain effects. Finally, the gauge sensitivity is often
made unidirectional; that is, it responds to strain in only one direction. Figure 4.25 shows
the common pattern of SGs that provides these characteristics. By folding the material
back and forth as shown, we achieve a long length to provide high resistance. Further, if a
strain is applied transversely(diagonally) to the SG length, the pattern will tend to unfold
rather than stretch, with no change in resistance. These gauges are normally mounted on a
paper backing that is bonded (using epoxy) to element whose strain to be measured. The
nominal SG resistance (no strain) available are typically 60, 120, 240, 350, 500 and
1000Ω. The most common value is 120 Ω.

Figure 4.24 Two types of metal SG a) Wire type, b) Fold type

 Figure 4.25: Direction of strain applied to SG

Signal conditioning: Two effects are critical in signal conditioning techniques used for
[Link] first is the small fractional changes in resistance that require carefully designed
resistance circuits. A good SG system might require a resolution of 2μm/m strain. From
equation (26), this would result in a ΔR of only 4.8 x 10-4 Ω for a nominal gauge
resistance of 120 Ω.

The second effect is the need to provide some compensation for temperature effects to
eliminate masking changes strain. The bride circuit provides the answer to both effects.
The sensitivity of the bridge circuit for detecting small changes in resistance is well
known. Furthermore by using a dummy SG, can provide the required temperature
compensation. The analysis of the bridge will be discussed later in chapter 5.

Example 4.8: A metal strain gauge with a gauge factor of 5.13 is fastened to a steel
member, which is subjected to a strain of 2 x 10-6 m/m. If original value of gauge
resistance is 240 Ω, calculate the change in resistance.

Solution:

4.4.6 Semiconductor Strain Gauges

The use of semiconductor material, especially silicon, for SG application has increased
over the past few years.
Principles: As in metal SGs, the basic effect is a change of resistance with strain. In the
case of semiconductor, the resistivity also changes with strain, along with physical
dimension. This is due to changes in electron and hole mobility with changes in crystal
structure as strain is applied. The net result is much larger gauge factor than is possible
with metal gauges.

Gauge Factor (GF): The semiconductor device gauge factor (GF) is still given by
equation (27):
R
GF  R
strain
For semiconductor strain gauges, the GF is often negative, which means the resistance
decreases when a tensile (stretching) stress is applied. Furthermore, the GF can be much
larger that for metal SGs, in some cases as large as -200 with no strain. It must also
noted, however these devices are highly nonlinear in resistance versus strain. In other
words, the GF is not constant as strain takes place. Therefore to use semiconductor SG to
measure strain, we must have a curve or table of values of GF versus resistance.

Construction: The semiconductor SG physically appears as a band or strip of material

with electrical connection, as shown in figure 4.26. The gauge either bonded directly onto
the test element, or if encapsulated, is attached by the encapsulation material. These SGs
also appears as IC assemblies in configurations used for other measurements.

Figure 4.26: Typical semiconductor SG structure

Signal conditioning: The signal conditioning is still typically a bridge circuit with
temperature compensation.

strain in the assembly that is measured by the gauges. A common application uses one of
these devices in support of a hopper or feed of dry or liquid materials. A measure of the
weight through the load cell yields a measure of the quantity of material in the hopper.
Generally these devices are calibrated so that the force (weight) is directly related to the
resistance change. Forces a high as 5MN (approximately 106 lb) can be measured with
appropriate load cell. Example of load cell is shown in figure 4.27

Figure 4.27: Example of load cell