Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F

R. Verrinder (2008)
EEE4093F
Design Project

2008
Cantilever Force Transducer used as a
Digital Scale to Measure Mass

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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Deadlines for Project
Design Proposal 10 March (Monday)
Mechanical System 20 March (Thursday)
Sensor 11 April (Friday)
Digitizer 30 April (Wednesday)
Integrated System 12 May (Monday)
Demonstration 16 May (Friday)

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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Overview
Description of the design requirements
Overview of general design considerations
A look at how strain gauges work
What is a cantilever?
Resources
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Design Requirements
To construct a working cantilever force
transducer which can be used as a digital scale,
using strain gauges

The scale must be capable of measuring mass
of up to 1kg and must have a minimum
resolution of 10g.

The result must be displayed digitally


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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Design Considerations
User requirements
Simplicity
Availability of materials
Reliability
Accuracy
Ease of use
Cost

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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
What is Mechanical Strain?
If a material receives a tensile
force P, a stress o will be
produced relative to that force

The materials cross section
contracts and the its length
elongates by AL from the
original length L

This ratio is known as the
tensile strain and is expressed
as
Kyowa Electronic Instruments Co. Ltd. (2007)
| | c
A
c
L
L
=
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
What is Relationship Between
Stress and Strain?
Stress is related to strain by Hookes Law


Where E is the Youngs Modulus of the material

The ratio of longitudinal strain (elongation in the axial direction) and
transverse strain (contraction in the transverse direction) is known
as Poissons Ratio

Where c
1
is the longitudinal strain and c
2
is the transverse strain
c o E =
1
2
c
c
v =
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Strain Gauges
Many physical variables can be determined from the
amount of strain on a system

A strain gauge, in its simplest form is a piece of wire
which is attached to the object under strain. If the object
changes its dimensions so will the piece of wire This will
change the resistance of the wire

Strain gauges are made in three main types foil strain
gauges, wire strain gauges and semiconductor strain
gauges

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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Strain Gauges
Many physical variables can
be translated into strain

Therefore if we measure the
strain in a system, we can
measure those variables

For example we can measure
the pressure in a pressure
vessel by attaching strain
gauges to the vessel walls
KGD Industrial Services (2007)
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
What is a Strain Gauge?
It is a form of resistive
transducer

The primary measurand in a
resistive transducer either
directly or indirectly causes a
change in ohmic resistance of
an electrical element

In its simplest form it is a wire
attached to the object under
test

If the object changes its
dimensions, so with the strain
gauge
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
The Resistivity Equation
The resistance of a substance is defined by its length (l),
cross sectional area (A) and resistivity ()




Resistivity is a property of a material

A change in any one of these factors will result in a
change the resistance of the material


A
l
R

=
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
The Sensitivity Factor
If we stretch a wire, its length will increase, the resistivity will alter
slightly depending on the material and the cross sectional area will
be reduced
The change in resistance is


So that
A
ld
A
ldA
A
dl
dR

+ =
2

d
A
dA
l
dl
R
dR
+ =
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
The Sensitivity Factor Cont.
How much does the area change by?

The change in the length and area are related by Poisson's Ratio. If
we consider a wire with a radius of r then



The rate of change of cross sectional area is related to the square of
the linear change in the radius


l
dl
r
v vc c = =
1
( )
( )
l
dl
A
dA
r r r A A dA
r r r r
v c c c c
t A t
2 2 2 1 1
2
2
2
2
0
= ~ + = + =
+ = =
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
The Sensitivity Factor Cont.
We can then rewrite the change in resistance as



This means that we can define a gauge factor or sensitivity factor for
any type any type of strain gauge where



We can then calculate the strain using the sensitivity factor of the
strain gauge

( )

c v

v
d d
l
dl
l
dl
R
dR
+ + = + + =
1
2 1 2
1 1
2 1
c

v
c
/ d R / dR
S + + = =
SR
R A
c =
1
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Types of Strain Gauges: Bonded
Strain Gauges
These are the most common types of
strain gauges

They consist of either of foil or wire
which has been stuck on to a bonding
material

The gauge is stuck onto a material to
which stress is applied. The resulting
strain is communicated to the gauge
via the bonding material

Examples of bonded strain gauges
are: foil gauges, wire gauges and
semiconductor strain gauges

Mansfield, P.H. (1973) Electrical Transducers for Industrial
Measurement
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Types of Strain Gauges: Unbonded
Strain Gauges
This consists of a wire
stretched between two points
in an insulating medium such
as air

This is not a very common
arrangement

It is usually wired in a Full
Wheatstone Bridge
arrangement so that two of the
gauges will be lengthened
while the other two will be
shortened by the displacement
of the movable part
Mansfield, P.H. (1973) Electrical Transducers for Industrial
Measurement
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Typical Gauge Patterns: Uniaxial
Strain Gauge
The gauge pattern refers
to layout and number of
the grid

Select a uniaxial strain
gauge if:

Only one direction of
strain needs to be
measured
Cost is an issue
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Typical Gauge Patterns: Bi-axial and
Tri-Axial Strain Rosettes
Select a bi-axial strain rosette (0 -90 Tee
Rosette) if:

The principle stresses need to be
investigated and the principle axes are
known

Select a tri-axial strain rosette (0 -45- 90
or 0-60-120 Delta Rosette) if:

The principle stresses need to be
investigated and the principle axes are
unknown


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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Typical Gauge Patterns: Planer
Rosette Strain Gauges
There are two main layouts in multi-
axial strain rosettes:
Planer
Stacked

Select a strain rosette with a planer
layout if :
Heat dissipation is an issue
Accuracy and stability are critical

Planer layout allows each gauge to be
closer to the measurement surface and
there is no interference between them
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Typical Gauge Patterns: Stacked
Rosette Strain Gauges
Select a strain rosette with a
stacked layout if :

The strain gradient is very
large. Stacked layouts
measure at the same point

Space for mounting the
gauge is limited

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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
The Wheatstone Bridge
Contains four resistive
elements

Used widely in
instrumentation to
balance out effects such
as thermal changes in
resistivity

Used as a differential
measurement system
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Wheatstone Bridge Equations
( ) ( )
( )( )
( )( )
( )( )
(

+ +

=
(

+ +
+
=
(

+ +
+ +
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
+

|
|
.
|

\
|
+
=
=
+
=
+
=
4 3 2 1
1 4 3 2
4 3 2 1
2 4 1 4 4 2 3 2
4 3 2 1
2 1 4 4 3 2
4 3
4
2 1
2
2 1
4 3
4
2
2 1
2
1
R R R R
R R R R
V
R R R R
R R R R R R R R
V
R R R R
R R R R R R
V
R R
R
V
R R
R
V
V V V
R R
R
V V
R R
R
V V
i
i
i
i i
o
i i





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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Strain Gauges in a Wheatstone
Bridge Arrangement
Kyowa Electronic Instruments Co. Ltd. (2007)
( )( )
( )
( )( )
( )
( )
( )
(

+
=
(

+
=
(

+
+
=
= = =
(

+ + +
+
=
(

+ +

=
R R
R
V
R R R
R R
V
R R R
R R R R
V V
R R R R If
R R R R R
R R R R R
V
R R R R
R R R R
V V
i
i
i o
i
i o
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
2 4
2 4
2 2
2
2 2
4 3 2 1
4 3 2 1
1 4 3 2
4 3 2 1
1 4 3 2




c
A
A
S
V
V
R
R
V
R R
i
i o
4 4
1
= =
>>
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Strain Gauge Arrangements
Kyowa Electronic Instruments Co. Ltd. (2007)
QUARTER BRIDGE
HALF BRIDGE
FULL BRIDGE
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
What is a Cantilever?

A cantilever is a beam which is anchored at
one end and free to move at the other
Kyowa Electronic Instruments Co. Ltd. (2007)
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Cantilever Dynamics
If a force W is exerted on the cantilever beam it will create a bending
moment M at a distance L from the end of the beam



This creates a surface stress o on the strain gauge



The amount of strain c on the beam can be calculated using this
equation if it has a rectangular cross section
WL M =
Modulus Section
Moment Bending
E


= =
0
c o
2
0
6
Ebh
M
= c
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Process Control & Instrumentation EEE4093F
R. Verrinder (2008)
Workshops & Contacts
Electrical Engineering Workshop (Rm 332)
Mr. Wozniak

Mechanical Workshop (Rm 201)
Mr. Newins

White Lab
Mr. Schrire