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MeasuringStrainwithStrainGagesNationalInstruments

MeasuringStrainwithStrainGages
PublishDate:May25,2016

Overview

Thisdocumentprovidesinformationtohelpyouunderstandbasicstrainconcepts,howstrain
gageswork,andhowtoselecttherightconfigurationtype.
Inadditiontothecharacteristicsofthedifferentstraingageconfigurations,youmust
considertherequiredhardwaretoproperlyconditionandacquirestrainmeasurements.For
example,straingagesrequirevoltageexcitation,whichisonlyavailableincertain
conditionedmeasurementhardware.Tobetterfamiliarizeyourselfwiththemeasurement
hardwarenecessaryforstrainmeasurements,downloadtheEngineer'sGuidetoAccurate
SensorMeasurements(http://www.ni.com/gate/gb/GB_EKITENGGUIDEASM/US).
TableofContents

1.Whatisstrain?
2.Howdoyoumeasurestrain?
3.Typesofstraingages
4.HowdoIchoosetherightstraingage?
5.Signalconditioningforstraingages
1.Whatisstrain?

Inmechanicaltestingandmeasurement,youneedtounderstandhowanobjectreactsto
variousforces.Theamountofdeformationamaterialexperiencesduetoanappliedforceis
calledstrain.Strainisdefinedastheratioofthechangeinlengthofamaterialtotheoriginal,
unaffectedlength,asshowninFigure1.Straincanbepositive(tensile),duetoelongation,or
negative(compressive),duetocontraction.Whenamaterialiscompressedinonedirection,
thetendencytoexpandintheothertwodirectionsperpendiculartothisforceisknownasthe
Poissoneffect.Poissonsratio(v),isthemeasureofthiseffectandisdefinedasthe
negativeratioofstraininthetransversedirectiontothestrainintheaxialdirection.Although
dimensionless,strainissometimesexpressedinunitssuchasin./in.ormm/mm.Inpractice,
themagnitudeofmeasuredstrainisverysmall,soitisoftenexpressedasmicrostrain(),
whichisx106.

Figure1.Strainistheratioofthechangeinlengthofamaterialtothe
original,unaffectedlength.

Thefourdifferenttypesofstrainareaxial,bending,shear,andtorsional.Axialandbending
strainarethemostcommon(seeFigure2).Axialstrainmeasureshowamaterialstretches
orcompressesasaresultofalinearforceinthehorizontaldirection.Bendingstrain
measuresastretchononesideofamaterialandthecontractionontheoppositesidedueto
thelinearforceappliedintheverticaldirection.Shearstrainmeasurestheamountof
deformationthatoccursfromalinearforcewithcomponentsinboththehorizontaland
verticaldirections.Torsionalstrainmeasuresacircularforcewithcomponentsinboththe
verticalandhorizontaldirections.

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Figure2.Axialstrainmeasureshowamaterialstretchesorpullsapart.
Bendingstrainmeasuresastretchononesideandacontractiononthe
otherside.
2.Howdoyoumeasurestrain?

Youcanmeasurestrainusingseveralmethods,butthemostcommoniswithastraingage.
Astraingageselectricalresistancevariesinproportiontotheamountofstraininthe
device.Themostwidelyusedstraingageisthebondedmetallicstraingage.Themetallic
straingageconsistsofaveryfinewireor,morecommonly,metallicfoilarrangedinagrid
pattern.Thegridpatternmaximizestheamountofmetallicwireorfoilsubjecttostraininthe
paralleldirection.Thegridisbondedtoathinbackingcalledthecarrier,whichisattached
directlytothetestspecimen.Therefore,thestrainexperiencedbythetestspecimenis
transferreddirectlytothestraingage,whichrespondswithalinearchangeinelectrical
resistance.

Figure3.Theelectricalresistanceofmetallicgridchangesinproportion
totheamountofstrainexperiencedbythetestspecimen.

Afundamentalparameterofthestraingageisitssensitivitytostrain,expressed
quantitativelyasthegagefactor(GF).GFistheratioofthefractionalchangeinelectrical
resistancetothefractionalchangeinlength,orstrain:

TheGFformetallicstraingagesisusuallyaround2.YoucanobtaintheactualGFofa
particularstraingagefromthesensorvendororsensordocumentation.
Inpractice,strainmeasurementsrarelyinvolvequantitieslargerthanafewmillistrain(ex10
3
).Therefore,tomeasurethestrain,youhavetoaccuratelymeasureverysmallchangesin
resistance.Forexample,supposeatestspecimenundergoesastrainof500me.Astrain
gagewithaGFof2exhibitsachangeinelectricalresistanceofonly2(500x106)=0.1%.
Fora120gage,thisisachangeofonly0.12.
Tomeasuresuchsmallchangesinresistance,straingageconfigurationsarebasedonthe
conceptofaWheatstonebridge.ThegeneralWheatstonebridge,illustratedinFigure4,isa
networkoffourresistivearmswithanexcitationvoltage,VEX,thatisappliedacrossthe
bridge.

Figure4.StraingagesareconfiguredinWheatstonebridgecircuitsto
detectsmallchangesinresistance.

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TheWheatstonebridgeistheelectricalequivalentoftwoparallelvoltagedividercircuits.
R1andR2composeonevoltagedividercircuit,andR4andR3composethesecondvoltage
dividercircuit.TheoutputofaWheatstonebridge,Vo,ismeasuredbetweenthemiddle
nodesofthetwovoltagedividers.

Fromthisequation,youcanseethatwhenR1/R2=R4/R3,thevoltageoutputVOiszero.
Undertheseconditions,thebridgeissaidtobebalanced.Anychangeinresistanceinany
armofthebridgeresultsinanonzerooutputvoltage.Therefore,ifyoureplaceR4inFigure4
withanactivestraingage,anychangesinthestraingageresistanceunbalancethebridge
andproduceanonzerooutputvoltagethatisafunctionofstrain.

3.Typesofstraingages

Thethreetypesofstraingageconfigurations,quarter,half,andfullbridge,aredetermined
bythenumberofactiveelementsintheWheatstonebridge,theorientationofthestrain
gages,andthetypeofstrainbeingmeasured.

QuarterBridgeStrainGage
ConfigurationTypeI
Measuresaxialorbendingstrain
Requiresapassivequarterbridgecompletionresistorknownasadummyresistor
RequireshalfbridgecompletionresistorstocompletetheWheatstonebridge
R4isanactivestraingagemeasuringthetensilestrain(+)

Figure5.QuarterBridgeStrainGageConfigurations

ConfigurationTypeII
Ideally,theresistanceofthestraingageshouldchangeonlyinresponsetoappliedstrain.
However,straingagematerial,aswellasthespecimenmaterialtowhichthegageis
applied,alsorespondstochangesintemperature.Thequarterbridgestraingage
configurationtypeIIhelpsfurtherminimizetheeffectoftemperaturebyusingtwostrain
gagesinthebridge.AsshowninFigure6,typicallyonestraingage(R4)isactiveanda
secondstraingage(R3)ismountedinclosethermalcontact,butnotbondedtothespecimen
andplacedtransversetotheprincipalaxisofstrain.Thereforethestrainhaslittleeffecton
thisdummygage,butanytemperaturechangesaffectbothgagesinthesameway.Because
thetemperaturechangesareidenticalinthetwostraingages,theratiooftheirresistance
doesnotchange,theoutputvoltage(Vo)doesnotchange,andtheeffectsoftemperature
areminimized.

Figure6.Dummystraingageseliminateeffectsoftemperatureonthe
strainmeasurement.

HalfBridgeStrainGage
Youcandoublethebridgessensitivitytostrainbymakingbothstraingagesactiveinahalf
bridgeconfiguration.
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ConfigurationI

ConfigurationIIBendingStrainOnly

Figure7.Halfbridgestraingagesaretwotimesmoresensitivethan
quarterbridgestraingages.

ConfigurationTypeI
Measuresaxialorbendingstrain
RequireshalfbridgecompletionresistorstocompletetheWheatstonebridge
R4isanactivestraingagemeasuringthetensilestrain(+)
R3isanactivestraingagecompensatingforPoissonseffect()
ThisconfigurationiscommonlyconfusedwiththequarterbridgetypeIIconfiguration,but
typeIhasanactiveR3elementthatisbondedtothestrainspecimen.
ConfigurationTypeII
Measuresbendingstrainonly
RequireshalfbridgecompletionresistorstocompletetheWheatstonebridge
R4isanactivestraingagemeasuringthetensilestrain(+)
R3isanactivestraingagemeasuringthecompressivestrain()

FullBridgeStrainGage
Afullbridgestraingageconfigurationhasfouractivestraingagesandisavailableinthree
differenttypes.Types1and2measurebendingstrainandtype3measuresaxialstrain.
Onlytypes2and3compensateforthePoissoneffect,butallthreetypesminimizethe
effectsoftemperature.

ConfigurationIOnly
BendingStrain

ConfigurationIIOnly
Bendingstrain

ConfigurationIIIOnlyAxial
Strain

Figure8.FullBridgeStrainGageConfigurations

ConfigurationTypeI
Highlysensitivetobendingstrainonly
R1andR3areactivestraingagesmeasuringcompressivestrain(e)
R2andR4areactivestraingagesmeasuringtensilestrain(+e)
ConfigurationTypeII
Sensitivetobendingstrainonly
R1isanactivestraingagemeasuringthecompressivePoissoneffect(e)
R2isanactivestraingagemeasuringthetensilePoissoneffect(+e)
R3isanactivestraingagemeasuringthecompressivestrain(e)
R4isanactivestraingagemeasuringthetensilestrain(+e)
ConfigurationTypeIII
Measuresaxialstrain
R1andR3areactivestraingagesmeasuringthecompressivePoissoneffect(e)
R2andR4areactivestraingagesmeasuringthetensilestrain(+e)

4.HowdoIchoosetherightstraingage?
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4.HowdoIchoosetherightstraingage?

Onceyouhavedecidedthetypeofstrainyouintendtomeasure(axialorbending),other
considerationsincludesensitivity,cost,andoperatingconditions.Forthesamestraingage,
changingthebridgeconfigurationcanimproveitssensitivitytostrain.Forexample,thefull
bridgetypeIconfigurationisfourtimesmoresensitivethanthequarterbridgetypeI
configuration.However,fullbridgetypeIrequiresthreemorestraingagesthanquarter
bridgetypeI.Italsorequiresaccesstobothsidesofthegagedstructure.Additionally,full
bridgestraingagesaresignificantlymoreexpensivethanhalfbridgeandquarterbridge
gages.Forasummaryofthevarioustypesofstraingages,refertothefollowingtable.

Measurement
Type

Quarter
Bridge
TypeI TypeII

HalfBridge

FullBridge

TypeI

TypeII

TypeI

TypeII

TypeIII

AxialStrain

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

BendingStrain

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Compensation

Transverse
Sensitivity

No

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Temperature

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

~0.5
mV/V

~0.5
mV/V

~0.65
mV/V

~1.0
mV/V

~2.0
mV/V

~1.3
mV/V

~1.3
mV/V

Installation

NumberofBonded
Gages

1*

MountingLocation

Single
Side

Single
Side

Single
Side

NumberofWires

2or3

Sensitivity
Sensitivityat1000

BridgeCompletion
Resistors

Opposite Opposite Opposite Opposite

Sides
Sides
Sides
Sides

*Asecondstraingageisplacedinclosethermalcontactwithstructurebutisnotbonded.

GridWidth
Usingawidergrid,ifnotlimitedbytheinstallationsite,improvesheatdissipationand
enhancesstraingagestability.However,ifthetestspecimenhasseverestraingradients
perpendiculartotheprimaryaxisofstrain,considerusinganarrowgridtominimizeerror
fromtheeffectofshearstrainandPoissonstrain.
NominalGageResistance
Nominalgageresistanceistheresistanceofastraingageinanunstrainedposition.Youcan
obtainthenominalgageresistanceofaparticulargagefromthesensorvendororsensor
documentation.Themostcommonnominalresistancevaluesofcommercialstraingages
are120,350,and1,000.Considerahighernominalresistancetoreducetheamount
ofheatgeneratedbytheexcitationvoltage.Highernominalresistancealsohelpsreduce
signalvariationscausedbyleadwirechangesinresistanceduetotemperaturefluctuations.
TemperatureCompensation
Ideally,straingageresistanceshouldchangeinresponsetostrainonly.However,astrain
gagesresistivityandsensitivityalsochangewithtemperature,whichleadstomeasurement
errors.Straingagemanufacturersattempttominimizesensitivitytotemperatureby
processingthegagematerialtocompensateforthethermalexpansionofthespecimen
materialforwhichthegageisintended.Thesetemperaturecompensatedbridge
configurationsaremoreimmunetotemperatureeffects.Alsoconsiderusingaconfiguration
typethathelpscompensatefortheeffectsoftemperaturefluctuations.
Installation
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Installingstraingagescantakeasignificantamountoftimeandresources,andtheamount
variesgreatlydependingonthebridgeconfiguration.Thenumberofbondedgages,number
ofwires,andmountinglocationallcanaffectthelevelofeffortrequiredforinstallation.
Certainbridgeconfigurationsevenrequiregageinstallationonoppositesidesofastructure,
whichcanbedifficultorevenimpossible.QuarterbridgetypeIisthesimplestbecauseit
requiresonlyonegageinstallationandtwoorthreewires.

5.Signalconditioningforstraingages

Straingagemeasurementsarecomplexandseveralfactorscanaffectmeasurement
performance.Therefore,youneedtoproperlyselectandusethebridge,signalconditioning,
wiring,andDAQcomponentstogeneratereliablemeasurements.Forexample,resistance
tolerancesandstraininducedbytheapplicationofthegagegeneratesomeinitialoffset
voltagewhennostrainisapplied.Similarly,longleadwirescanaddresistancetothearmof
thebridge,whichaddsanoffseterroranddesensitizestheoutputofthebridge.Toensure
accuratestrainmeasurements,considerthefollowing:
Bridgecompletiontocompletetherequiredcircuitryforquarterandhalfbridgestrain
gages
ExcitationtopowertheWheatstonebridgecircuitry
Remotesensingtocompensateforerrorsinexcitationvoltagefromlongleadwires
Amplificationtoincreasemeasurementresolutionandimprovesignaltonoiseratio
Filteringtoremoveexternal,highfrequencynoise
Offsetnullingtobalancethebridgetooutput0Vwhennostrainisapplied
Shuntcalibrationtoverifytheoutputofthebridgetoaknown,expectedvalue

Tolearnhowtocompensatefortheseerrorsandreviewotherhardwareconsiderationsfor
strainmeasurements,downloadtheEngineer'sGuidetoAccurateSensorMeasurements
(http://www.ni.com/gate/gb/GB_EKITENGGUIDEASM/US).
Downloadtheguide

(http://www.ni.com/gate/gb/GB_EKITENGGUIDEASM/US)

ShopNIstrainmeasurementhardware

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