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What is a Load Cell

The Elastic Force Transducer

In the same meaning
load cell is a transducer that is
used to convert a force to
deformation and then into
.electrical signal. Fig(1)
Fig(1) Single-point load cell

the member that called load cell , it is an elastic member

that used to convert the mechanical quantity to a
.deflection or strain
A deflection sensor (for example strain gage) is used to
. give an electric signal proportional to the quantity
Range of the linearity and sensitivity are determined by
the size and shape of elastic
member that material used and the sensor

Type of load cell sensor

Load cells can be classified according to the following
operational principles:
1. Load cells that utilize liquid pressure or air pressure
2. Load cells that utilize elasticity
Load cells that utilize piezoelectricity effect .3

Type of load cell that utilize elasticity

Load cells that utilize elasticity have many different type
depend on the shape of spring material but the most
important type is :
1- Column Type
Figure 2 shows a conventional column load
cell.
When the column is compressed by a force
strain gauge 1 contracts while strain gauge
2 stretches. Now, when the strain of strain
gauge 1 is 1
and that of strain gauge 2 is 2, the
relationship
between the two gauges is expressed as 2 = 1
(: Poisson ratio).
Since
1=/E
and

(: Stress, E : Young's modulus)

fig(2)

(F),

=F/A=F/R2
that mean
1=F/ R2E
and
1= F/ R2E
The column structure is simple and this makes it possible
to downsize the load cell even
when the capacity is large. On the other hand, this
structure is not suitable for a small
Figure 2.7 Column load cell
capacity. Generally, the measurement range for the
structure is between 2t and 300t. It
can be used for both tension and compression
measurements.

2-Roberval Type (beam

Type)
Figure 3 shows a conventional
Roberval-type load cell.
When
When a force (F) is applied to the Roberval-type load cell,
strain gauge 1 contracts while
the strain gauge 2 stretches.
Fig(3)
Since
1=/E
=M/Z
MW*X

where,
X Distance from the position "W" to the strain gage
center.
M/Z
MZ* 1*E
where,
Z Modulus of section
Modulus of section of rectangular section is calculated to
Z b*h2/6, therefore
W b*h2*E* 1/6*X
where,
b width of beam
h height of beam

Electrical principle of the load cell

A load cell is made by
using an elastic member
(with very highly
repeatable deflection
pattern) to which a
number
of strain
gauges
are
attached.

In this particular load cell

shown to the right, there
are a total of four strain
gauges that are bonded
to the upper and lower
surfaces of the load cell.
When the load is applied to the body of a resistive load
cell as shown above, the elastic member, deflects as
shown and creates a strain at those locations due to the
stress applied. As a result, two of the strain gauges are
in compression, whereas the other two are in tension.

Wheatstone Bridge Circuit

The four strain gauges are configured in a Wheatstone
Bridge configuration with four separate resistors
connected as shown in what is called a Wheatstone
Bridge Network. An excitation voltage - usually 10V is
applied to one set of corners and the voltage difference is
measured between the other two
corners. At equilibrium with no
applied load, the voltage output
is zero or very close to zero when
the four resistors are closely
matched in value. That is why it
is referred to as a balanced
bridge circuit.
When the metallic member to
which the strain gauges are
attached, is stressed by the application of a force, the
resulting strain - leads to a change in resistance in one (or
more) of the resistors. This change in resistance results in
a change in output voltage. This small change in output
voltage (usually about 20 mVolt of total change in
response to full load) can be measured and digitized after
careful amplification of the small milli-volt level signals to
a higher amplitude 0-5V or 0-10V signal.
These load cells have been in use for many decades now,
and can provide very accurate readings but require many
tedious steps during the
manufacturing process

Amplifying load cell signal to get a high level

voltage output (0-5 VDC)
The millivolt output is not large enough to be measured
accurately by an average voltmeter or DMM. One needs
to amplify the signal carefully to obtain a signal large
enough to be measured with a voltmeter or to be input
into a typical PLC or Micro-controller that has a Analog to
Digital Converter.
In order to amplify the signal, we offer an analog load cell
signal conditioner called AI-1000.