156 SENSING EL E M EN T S

Figure 8.5
Stress and strain:
(a) Effect of tensile stress
(b) Effect of compressive
stress.

8.1.3 Metal and semiconductor resistive strain gauges

Before discussing strain gauges we must first briefly explain the concepts of stress,
strain, elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio.
Stress is defined by force/area, so that in Figure 8.5(a) the stress experienced by
the body is +F/A, the positive sign indicating a tensile stress which tends to increase
the length of the body. In Figure 8.5(b) the stress is −F/A, the negative sign indicat-
ing a compressive stress which tends to reduce the length of the body. The effect of
the applied stress is to produce a strain in the body which is defined by (change
in length)/(original unstressed length). Thus in Figure 8.5(a) the strain is e = +∆l/l
(tensile), and in 8.5(b) the strain is e = −∆l /l (compressive); in both cases the strain
is longitudinal, i.e. along the direction of the applied stress. The relationship
between strain and stress is linear for a given body over a certain range of values;
the slope of the straight line is termed the elastic modulus of the body:

Elastic modulus
stress
Elastic modulus = [8.8]
strain

For linear tensile or compressive stress the elastic modulus is called Young’s
modulus E; for shear stress the relevant elastic modulus is shear modulus S. Return-
ing to Figure 8.5(a) we note that the increase in length of the body is accompanied
by a decrease in cross-sectional area, i.e. a reduction in width and thickness. Thus in
Figure 8.5(a) the longitudinal tensile strain is accompanied by a transverse compressive
strain, and in Figure 8.5(b) the longitudinal compressive strain is accompanied by a
transverse tensile strain. The relation between longitudinal strain eL and accompany-
ing transverse strain eT is:
eT = −νeL [8.9]
where ν is Poisson’s ratio, which has a value between 0.25 and 0.4 for most materials.
A strain gauge is a metal or semiconductor element whose resistance changes when
under strain. We can derive the relationship between changes in resistance and strain
by considering the factors which influence the resistance of the element. The resis-
tance of an element of length l, cross-sectional area A and resistivity ρ (Figure 8.6)
is given by:
ρl
R= [8.10]
A
 8.1 RESISTIVE SENSING ELEMENTS 157

Figure 8.6 Strain gauges.

In general with strain gauges ρ, l and A can change if the element is strained, so that
the change in resistance ∆R is given by:
A ∂R D A ∂R D A ∂R D
∆R = ∆l + ∆A + ∆ρ [8.11]
C ∂l F C ∂A F C ∂ρ F

i.e.
ρ ρl l
∆R = ∆l − 2 ∆A + ∆ρ
A A A
Dividing throughout by R = ρl/A yields
∆ R ∆l ∆ A ∆ ρ
= − + [8.12]
R l A ρ
The ratio ∆l/l is the longitudinal strain eL in the element. Since cross-sectional area
A = wt (Figure 8.6),
∆A ∆w ∆t
= + = 2eT
A w t
where eT is the transverse strain in the element. From [8.9] and [8.12] we have:
∆R ∆ρ
= eL − 2(−νeL ) +
R ρ
∆ρ
= (1 + 2ν)eL + [8.13]
ρ
We now define the gauge factor G of a strain gauge by the ratio (fractional change
in resistance)/(strain), i.e.
∆R/R 0
G=
e
158 SENSING EL E M EN T S

Hence
Resistance/strain
∆R
relationship for = Ge [8.14]
a strain gauge R0

where R0 is the unstrained resistance of the gauge. From [8.13] the gauge factor is
given by:
Gauge factor of
1 ∆ρ
a strain gauge G = 1 + 2ν + [8.15]
e ρ

For most metals ν ≈ 0.3, and the term (1/e) (∆ ρ /ρ) representing strain-induced
changes in resistivity (piezoresistive effect) is small (around 0.4), so that the over-
all gauge factor G is around 2.0. A popular metal for strain gauges is the alloy
‘Advance’; this is 54% copper, 44% nickel and 1% manganese. This alloy has a
low temperature coefficient of resistance (2 × 10−5 °C −1) and a low temperature
coefficient of linear expansion. Temperature is both an interfering and a modifying
input (Section 2.2), and the above properties ensure that temperature effects on zero
values and sensitivity are small.
The most common strain gauges are of the bonded type, where the gauge consists
of metal foil, cut into a grid structure by a photoetching process, and mounted on a
resin film base. The film backing is then attached to the structure to be measured with
a suitable adhesive. The gauge should be positioned so that its active axis is along
the direction of the measured strain: the change in resistance, due to a given strain,
along the passive axis is very small compared with that produced by the same strain
along the active axis. A typical gauge has:

• Gauge factor 2.0 to 2.2

• Unstrained resistance 120 ± 1 Ω
• Linearity within ±0.3%
• Maximum tensile strain +2 × 10−2
• Maximum compressive strain −1 × 10−2
• Maximum operating temperature 150 °C.
The change in resistance at maximum tensile strain is ∆R = +4.8 Ω, and ∆R = −2.4 Ω
at maximum compressive strain. A maximum gauge current between 15 mA
and 100 mA, depending on area, is specified in order to avoid self-heating effects.
Unbonded strain gauges consisting of fine metal wire stretched over pillars are used
in some applications.
In semiconductor gauges the piezoresistive term (1/e) (∆ ρ /ρ) can be large, giving
large gauge factors. The most common material is silicon doped with small amounts
of p-type or n-type material. Gauge factors of between +100 and +175 are common
for p-type silicon, and between −100 and −140 for n-type silicon. A negative gauge
factor means a decrease in resistance for a tensile strain. Thus semiconductor gauges
have the advantage of greater sensitivity to strain than metal ones, but have the dis-
advantage of greater sensitivity to temperature changes. Typically a rise in ambient
temperature from 0 to 40 °C causes a fall in gauge factor from 135 to 120. Also the
temperature coefficient of resistance is larger, so that the resistance of a typical
unstrained gauge will increase from 120 Ω at 20 °C to 125 Ω at 60 °C. Strain gauge
elements are incorporated in deflection bridge circuits (Section 9.1).