ENME 2711

Experiment 4: Installation and Measurement with the Strain Gauge

Performed: 10/18/2013 10/25/2013

Johan Dreher

OBJECTIVES 1. Use the Strain Gauge Application Kit to mount the strain gauge on an aluminum bar. 2. Use the bending system of the Strain Gauge Trainer to measure the strain where the strain gauge is attached.

THEORY Strain gauges are electrical sensors (transducers) that measure strains. Their electrical resistance changes by a small amount when an external force stretches or compresses them. The change in the resistance is directly proportional to the strain. Strain gauges are small sheets of metal foil cut in a zigzag patter as shown in the figure. They are only a few microns thick so, for mechanical stability and electrical insulation, they are normally mounted on a backing sheet. Strain gauges measure only local deformations and can be manufactured small enough to allow a "finite element" like analysis of the stresses to which the specimen is subject. This can be positively used in fatigue studies of materials, in sensors measuring deformation (for example, across a bridge by loading positions and effects) in engineering, in other calculations of all sorts of physical distortions proportional to loading or thermal environments. The strain gauge works correctly when it measures the strain in line with the elements of the gauge as shown in the figure. To give a direct reading of strain, instruments multiply the reading from strain gauge by a constant called the gauge factor. The gauge factor is a measure of the sensitivity of strain gauges to strain and varies slightly between different batches of the foil used to make gauges. The gauge factor for standard metallic foil gauges usually varies between 1.9 and 2.3 for each batch. Temperature also is a factor that alters the resistance in strain gauges. Normally, the resistance increases as temperature rises. Therefore, engineers add temperature compensation to any circuit that includes the strain gauge. The Strain Display uses the following standard equation to calculate the strain from the dc voltage across the bridge.

Where,

( )

( ) ( )

APPARATUS Strain Gauge Application kit Strain Gauge Trainer Versatile Data Acquisition System (VDAS)

PROCEDURES 1. Installation Clean the surface of the mount location of the aluminum bar. Use adhesive to mount the strain gauge. Wield the wires on the strain gauge. Consider the protection treatment to the strain gauge. 2. Measurement Create four blank results tables, each similar to Table 1. If you are to use VDAS, select the Bending System Experiment. The software will create the table as you do the experiment. Connect the strain connection cable to the output socket of the Bending System. Connect only the red gauge (red wire) and plug to the strain display as a quarter bridge connection. Fit dummy plugs to the other three sockets. Switch on the power to the strain display. Adjust the configuration control to 1 (1 active alarm). Adjust the gauge factor to be the same as written on the back plate near the bending system.

In your results table, note the gauge factor and active arms setting. If you are to use VDAS, the software will automatically record this for you. Carefully slide a knife-edge hanger onto the beam to the 420 mm position. Leave the equipment to stabilize for approximately one minute, then press and hold zero button until the display readings become zero. Note that the output voltage and strain readings into your table. If you are to use VDAS, click on Record Data Values button. Hook a small weight hanger to the knife-edge hanger. The small weight hanger is 10 g. Add 4x10 g weight due to the weight hanger to give a total weight (load) of 50 g. Note the output voltage and strain reading into your table. If you are to use VDAS, adjust the load setting then click on the Record Data Values button. In increments of 50 g, add more weights to the weight hanger until you reach 500 g. At each increment, note the output voltage and strain readings into your table If you are to use VDAS, remember to adjust the load setting at each increment, then click on the Record Data Values button.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 1: Results of the measured and calculated strain for each load.
Bridge Connection; Load Position: 420 mm Load (g) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 Strain Reading () 0 12 25 41 54 68 81 94 107 120 131 Active Arms: 1 Gauge factor: 2.11 Output (V) 0 34 68 110 144 180 214 249 283 319 346 Calculated Strain () 0 11.516087 23.0321739 34.5482609 46.0643478 57.5804348 69.0965217 80.6126087 92.1286957 103.644783 115.16087

The results show that, in general, the calculated strain was fairly approximate to the strain reading, which indicated that the installation of the strain gauge was relatively well performed. We can see that the voltage output increases along with the load and strain magnitude. This was predictable according to the theory.

QUESTIONS 1. Why the cleanness is the most important thing when you mount the strain gauge? The cleanness of the material where the strain gauge is going to be installed is critical, because a perfect bonding in required to achieve precise results. If the strain gauge is not well bonded to the material, it would slip and therefore give wrong strain readings. 2. Fill out the Table 1, when load position is 420 mm. Plot the strain vs. weight curve. Figure 1: Strain Reading vs. Load graph.
140 120

Strain Reading ()

100 80 60 40 20 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Load (g)

3. Calculate the theoretical strains for 100 g, 200 g, and 300 g load. Compare theoretical strains with the strains measured from the experiments. I am going to show the procedure to calculate the theoretical strain for the 100 g load. The same procedure can be repeated to calculate the strain for every load value. The theoretical strain can be calculated from the following formula:

To calculate the stress we need to compute the moment of inertia of the beam.

( ) The distance to the neutral axis is The moment can be computed as: ( ( Then, ( Finally, ( ) ) ) )( )

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Bridge Conection; Load Position: 420 mm Load (g) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 Strain Reading () 0 12 25 41 54 68 81 94 107 120 131

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Active Arms: 1 Gauge factor: 2.11 Output (V) 0 34 68 110 144 180 214 249 283 319 346 F (N)

M (N-mm) 0 198.6525 397.305 595.9575 794.61 993.2625 1191.915 1390.5675 1589.22 1787.8725 1986.525

(Mpa) 0 2.38383 4.76766 7.15149 9.53532 11.91915 14.30298 16.68681 19.07064 21.45447 23.8383

0 0.4905 0.981 1.4715 1.962 2.4525 2.943 3.4335 3.924 4.4145 4.905

Calculated Strain () 0 11.516087 23.0321739 34.5482609 46.0643478 57.5804348 69.0965217 80.6126087 92.1286957 103.644783 115.16087

%Error 0.00% 4.20% 8.54% 18.67% 17.23% 18.10% 17.23% 16.61% 16.14% 15.78% 13.75%

CONCLUSIONS We were able to install successfully a strain gauge on an aluminum bar. After carefully preparing the surface of the bar, the strain was firmly adhered to it and ready to measure strain. We used successfully the bending system of the Strain Gauge Trainer to measure the strain using a strain gauge. The results of the measured strain are pretty close to the theoretical strain. We can conclude that the resistance in the strain gauge increases with tensile loads, and decreases with compressive loads.