WALLAGA
UNIVERSITY
Dep’t:
Mechanical Engineering
Course: Instrumentation and Measurement
CHAPTER-4
Stress strain Measurement
Objective
◦ Define the strain and its gauge
◦ Explain the classification of stain gauge
◦ Understand the application area
11/26/2023 3
Measuring Strain (Strain Gages)
What is Strain?
◦ Strain is the amount of deformation of a body due to an applied force.
◦ More specifically, strain is defined as the fractional change in length.
◦ When a force is applied to a structure, the components of the structure change slightly
in their dimensions and are said to be strained.
◦ Devices to measure these small changes in dimensions are called strain gages.
11/26/2023 4
Continued..
What is Strain Gage?
◦ A strain gauge, a device whose electrical resistance varies in proportion to the amount of strain in the
device.
◦ The most widely used gage is the bonded metallic strain gage.
Figure-Gage dimension 11/26/2023 5
Continued..
A devices used to measure strain
Electrical Resistance Strain Gage
◦ The ideal sensor for the measurement of strain would
- Have good spatial resolution, implying that the sensor would measure strain at a
point
- Be unaffected by changes in ambient conditions
- Have a high-frequency response for dynamic strain measurements.
◦ A device that closely meets these characteristics is the resistance strain gage
11/26/2023 6
Continued..
◦ It is an extremely common device used to measure strain in structures and also as a
sensing element in a wide variety of transducers, including those used to measure
force, acceleration and pressure.
◦ Electrical-resistance strain gages and associated signal conditioners are simple,
inexpensive and quite reliable.
◦ To understand the function of a strain gage, consider the measurement of strain in a
simple structure shown below.
11/26/2023 7
Continued..
Figure-strain stress beam deflection
11/26/2023 8
Continued..
◦ Strain has units of inches per inch or millimeters per millimeter and hence it is
dimensionless.
◦ In most structures the values of strain are usually very small. For example, low-
strength steel will yield (take a permanent deform) at a strain about 0.0014.
◦ Therefore, usually the strain is expressed in units of micro strain (µstrain).
◦ Thus, 0.0014 strain = 0.0014 × 10^6 µstrain = 1400 µstrain.
◦ In the engineering design process, it is often necessary to determine the stresses in a
structure experimentally to determine if the structure is sound.
11/26/2023 9
Continued..
◦ It is difficult to measure the stress directly, but a strain gage can be used to measure the
strain,
◦ Then, the can be determined using the Hooke’s law.
σ = E.ε
◦ where, σ is the normal stress and E is the modulus of elasticity (also called Young’s
modulus) which is a material property.
◦ For a wire to work as a strain gage, the relationship between the change in resistance
and the strain must be known.
11/26/2023 10
Continued..
◦ The resistance of a wire is given by
where,
◦ R is the resistance,
◦ ρ is the resistivity of wire which is a function of the wire material,
◦ L is the length of wire, and
◦ A is the cross-sectional area of the wire.
11/26/2023 11
Continued..
◦ Taking logarithms of both sides, separating the terms and differentiating each term, we
get
◦ The above equation relates a small change in resistance to changes in resistivity, length
and cross-sectional area.
The term
◦ dL/Lis the axial strain, εa.
◦ dA/A can be evaluated from the equation of the cross-sectional area
A=π/4.
11/26/2023 12
Continued..
◦ Taking the logarithm and differentiating the above equation we get
◦ Solid mechanics provides the following relationship between the axial and transverse strain
The term
◦ dD/D is known as the transverse strain, εt.
◦ V is known as Poisson’s ratio and it is the property of material.
◦ The negative sign indicates that as the wire becomes longer, the transverse dimension
decreases.
11/26/2023 13
Continued..
◦ Combining the above equations we get
◦ The above equation shows the relationship between the change in resistance of the
wire, strain, and the change in resistivity of the wire.
◦ The strain gage factor, S, is defined as
◦ Combining the above two equations we get
11/26/2023 14
Continued..
◦ If the temperature is held constant, the change in resistivity is proportional to the strain.
◦ The strain gage factor is approximately constant, although it is sensitive to the temperature
change.
◦ In summary, we have following equations:
Figure-Transverse dimension 11/26/2023 15
Continued..
Thereby
11/26/2023 16
Continued..
Example:
◦ Given: A 2.8 cm × 5.0 cm rectangular copper rod is stretched from its initial length of
0.4000 m to a length of 0.4005m with a strain gage factor of 2.10. The modulus of
elasticity of the rod material is 95.0 GPa (gigapascals). Poisson’s ratio of the rod
material is 0.333 and 0.0171 m.
◦ Calculate the axial stress in units of MPa.
◦ Calculate the transverse strain in units of micro strain.
11/26/2023 17
Continued..
◦ In addition to the strain gages constructed in the form of straight wires, another
common type of strain gages are constructed by etching them from thin foil metal
sheets that are bounded to a plastic backing, as shown.
◦ This backing is glued to the structure whose strain needs to be measured.
◦ The dimensions of strain gages vary. They can be as small as 200 µm.
◦ Strains as high as 200,000 µε can be measured.
◦ Strain gages can also be constructed from semiconductor materials.
11/26/2023 18
Continued..
◦ The semiconductor strain gages are commonly used as sensing elements in pressure
and acceleration transducers. However, they cannot measure very high strain.
Figure-Foil strain gage
11/26/2023 19
Continued..
◦ If a structure is loaded in a single direction, there exists a transverse strain but no
transverse stress.
◦ The transverse sensitivity effects are usually neglected in the strain measurements.
◦ To define the strain on a surface, it is necessary to specify two orthogonal linear strains
εx and εy, and a third strain called the shear strain, γxy, the change in angle between
two originally orthogonal lines when the solid is strained.
◦ These strains can be determined by three suitably placed strain gages in an
arrangement called a strain rosette.
11/26/2023 20
Continued..
◦ A strain gauge rosette is a term for an arrangement of two or more strain gauges that are
positioned closely to measure strains along different directions of the component under
evaluation.
Figure-Strain gage Rosset 11/26/2023 21
Continued..
◦ This strain can be measured as
◦ This effect is included when manufacturers determine strain gage factors.
◦ In many situations, the surface of a structure is stressed simultaneously in more than
one direction, leading to the so-called biaxial stress.
◦ In biaxial stress there is a transverse strain that results from the transverse stress.
◦ This transverse strain affects the strain gage output and be described with a transverse
gage factor, St, defined as
11/26/2023 22
Continued..
◦ The transverse sensitivity effects are usually neglected in the strain measurements.
◦ To define the strain on a surface, it is necessary to specify two orthogonal linear strains
εx and εy, and a third strain called the shear strain, γxy, the change in angle between
two originally orthogonal lines when the solid is strained.
◦ These strains can be determined by three suitably placed strain gages in an
arrangement called a strain-rosette.
11/26/2023 23
Continued..
◦ Two common arrangements of the three strain gages are:
- Rectangular rosette
- Equiangular rosette
◦ In rectangular rosette, the gages are placed at angles of 0, 45 and 90 degrees.
◦ In equiangular rosette, the gages are arranged at 0, 60 and 120 degrees.
11/26/2023 24
Continued..
Figure- Rectangular rosette(a) and Equiangular rosette (b)
11/26/2023 25
Continued..
◦ Each of gages measure the linear strain in the direction of the axis of gage.
◦ For rectangular rosette For equiangular rosette
11/26/2023 26
Continued..
Potentiometer
◦ Potentiometers are very common devices used to measure displacement.
It will is:
1. A linear potentiometer
2. An angular potentiometer
A linear potentiometer
◦ It is used for linear measurements
◦ It is a device in which the resistance varies as a function of the position of a slider.
11/26/2023 27
Continued..
◦ With the supply voltage (Vs), the output voltage (Vo) will vary between zero and the
supply voltage.
◦ For linear potentiometer, the output is a simple linear function of the slider position.
That is
◦ It should be noted that the device measuring Vo must have a high impedance to
maintain a linear response and avoid loading error.
◦ Linear potentiometers can be used to measure displacements as small as 0.1 to 0.2 in.
(2.5 to 5 mm) up to displacements of more than 1 ft.
11/26/2023 28
Continued..
An angular potentiometer
• It is used for angular measurements..
Issues of measurement
• Noise
• Linearity
• Resolution Figure-Potentiometer
• Measurement range
• Lifetime
• Discrete steps
11/26/2023 29
Continued..
a. b.
Figure-Linear and Angular potentio-meter
11/26/2023 30
Continued..
Sling Psychrometer
• A sling psychrometer, which uses thermometers attached to a handle or length of rope
and spun in the air for about one minute, is sometimes used for field measurements,
but is being replaced by more convenient electronic sensors.
• A whirling psychrometer uses the same principle, but the two thermometers are fitted
into a device that resembles a ratchet or football rattle.
11/26/2023 31
Continued..
Figure- Sling Psychrometer
11/26/2023 32
Continued..
Principle
◦ In order to measure the dry bulb and wet bulb temperature, the Psychrometer frame – glass
covering – thermometer arrangement is rotated at 5 m/s to 10 m/s to get the necessary air
motion.
◦ The thermometer whose bulb is bare contacts the air indicates the dry bulb temperature.
◦ At the same time, the thermometer whose bulb is covered with the wet wick comes in contact
with the air and when this pass on the wet wick present on the bulb of the thermometer, the
moisture present in the wick starts evaporating and a cooling effect is produced at bulb.
11/26/2023 33
Continued..
◦ Now the temperature indicated by the thermometer is the wet bulb thermometer which
will naturally be lesser than the dry bulb temperature
Precautions
◦ If the Psychrometer is rotated for a short period, then the wet bulb temperature recorded
will not be proper.
◦ If the Psychrometer is rotated for a longer period, the wick will get dried soon and the
wet bulb temperature
will not be at its minimum value.
11/26/2023 34
Continued..
Application
◦ It is used for checking humidity level in air- conditioned rooms and installations.
◦ It is used to set and check hair hygrometer.
◦ It is used in the measurement range of 0 to 100% RH.
◦ It is used for measuring wet bulb temperature between 0’C to 180’C.
11/26/2023 35
11/26/2023
End
36
