AM 2540: STRENGTH OF MATERIALS LABORATORY

CODE: G
GROUP 25

2. MEASUREMENT OF BENDING STRESS USING STRAIN GAUGE

AIM
To measure the tensile bending stress at the root of a cantilever beam using a strain gauge, subjected to
transverse loading.

APPARATUS REQUIRED
strain gauge
a strain gauge indicator (model P 3500)
an aluminium specimen bar
a bar holder with a provision for loading (transverse pin)
multimeter

THEORY
STRAIN GUAGE
A strain gauge is a device used to measure the strain on an object. The most common type of strain gauge
consists of an insulating flexible backing supporting a metallic foil pattern. As the object undergoes strain
the foil is deformed, causing its electrical resistance to change. This resistance change, usually measured
using a Wheatstone bridge, is related to the strain by the gauge factor.
When an electrical conductor is stretched longitudinally within the limits of its elasticity, the gauge strains
as well-it becomes narrower and longer, increasing its electrical resistance. Conversely, when a conductor
is compressed such that it does not buckle, it will broaden and shorten, decreasing its electrical resistance.

SETUP
An aluminium beam specimen is attached to the bar holder by clamping it tightly at one end. A strain
gauge is attached to the beam specimen on the top surface, near the clamped end of the beam. The wires
from the strain gauge are connected to the strain gage indicator P-3500, which displays the bending strain
measured by the strain gauge. A micrometer is attached towards the free end of the cantilever beam. By
rotating the micrometer, a deflection is induced on the free end of the cantilever beam.

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP OF APPARATUS

FORMULAE USED
1) Experimental Calculations
Estimate the strain in a deformed body by measuring the changes in resistance, and from a knowledge of
the
gauge factor.
SG = (R/R)/xx
Where R is the resistance of the gauge in the undeformed state,
R is the change in the resistance in the gauge due to deformation,
SG is the strain gauge factor,
xx is the strain.

Stress can be calculated using- xx = Exxxx

Where xx is the stress and E is Youngs modulus of elasticity.

2) Analytical Calculations
Flexure relation is given by- Mb/Izz = -xx/y = E/p
Here,
Mb is the bending moment developed at the strain gauge due to deformation,
Izz is the moment of inertia of the beam cross-section due to flexure,
xx is the normal bending stress acting on the plane x and in the direction x,
y is the distance of the fibre from the centroidal axis,
p is the radius of curvature of the beam under flexure.

By measuring the deflection at the free end of the cantilever beam, an estimate of the tip load can be
obtained from the well-known load-deflection relation of a cantilever beam given by
=PL03/3EIzz
and the bending moment at the gauge location is given by
Mb = -PL1
Here, the dimensions L0 and L1 are shown in the schematic diagram.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS:

L0 = 25 cm
L1 = 24.5 cm
b = 2.5 cm
h = 0.6 cm
EAl = 7 * 1010
= 2700 kg/m3
OBSERVATION TABLE AND GRAPH

Sl. Deflection Display Strain (10-6) Strain (based on Stress (106) Stress (based on %
No. (mm) Value beam theory) beam theory)
(experimental) (experimental) difference

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 0.5 55 55 70 3.85 4.90 27.27

3 1.0 112 112 141 7.84 9.87 25.89

4 1.5 166 166 211 11.62 14.77 27.10

5 2.0 222 222 282 15.54 19.74 27.02

6 2.5 279 279 352 19.53 24.64 26.16

7 3.0 336 336 423 23.52 29.61 25.89

8 3.5 395 395 493 27.65 34.51 24.81

9 4.0 455 455 564 31.85 39.48 23.95

10 4.5 517 517 635 36.19 44.45 22.82

11 5.0 579 579 705 40.53 49.35 21.76

STRESS vs STRAIN
700

600
y = 14.286x + 2E-13
500
STRAIN

400

300

200

100

0
0 10 20 30 40 50
STRESS

CALCULATIONS

Izz = bh3/12 = 0.025*(0.006)3/12 = 4.5*10-10

The values of stress and strain can be found as follows-

Using relations =PL03/3EIzz and Mb = -PL1 we find Mb = -3EIzz/L03

Hence by the flexure relation, the bending stress xx = Mb*y/Izz (where y = h/2)
Thus, the strain is xx = xx/Exx

INFERENCE
From the given experiment, we can infer that the stress varies linearly with the strain within the limits. This
is verified by both experimental data and theoretical calculations. Also we infer that though experimental
and theoretical data are almost similar in graphs, theoretical value is usually higher than the corresponding
experimental reading.

CONCLUSION
The experiment was conducted with the error limits. The plotted graph shows a linear relation between
bending stress and strain for the Aluminium beam. The readings taken from the experiment were further
verified by their similarity to the theoretical values which were based on the beam theory.

SOURCES OF ERROR
o The pitch of the screw gauge or scaling of Vernier callipers may be faulty
o The connections may be loose
o Human errors while taking readings or parallax error may be present.