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Base Strain Effects on Force Measurements

by P. Cappa and K. G. McConnell
ABSTRACT -Force transducers directly interact with their
environment. In this study, a force transducer is attached
to the midpoint of a free-free beam and is used to measure
the force on a rigid mass that vibrates with the beam. The
ratio of force to mass times acceleration is measured for
several different masses over a frequency range that in-
cludes the first four odd natural frequencies of the beam.
Then the force transducer is mounted so that the beam's
strain is isolated from the transducer. The tests are repeated.
The results dramatically illustrate the effects of base strain
on the force measurements. A simple theoretical model is
developed that explains the vertical axis shift in the cali-
bration curve.
KEY WORDS-force transducer, dynamic calibration, base
strain, environmental effects
Nomenclature
a: acce1eration
A: a constant [see eq. (9)]
b: beam widtb
B: a constant [see eq.(13)]
BS: base strain test cases
C: charge amplifier feedback capacitance
d: deptb of beam
Ea: acce1erometer output vo1tage
Er. force transducer output vo1tage
F: force
El: beam's bending stiffness
Kn: constant dependent on nth mode of vibrati an
g: acce1eration due to gravity
h: beam depth d/2
IS: iso1ated test cases (by using iso1ation a mass)
1: beam 1ength
m: ca1ibration mass
man: apparent seismic mass of nth mode
mb: beam mass
men: excess seismic mass for nth mode
m5: transducer's seismic mass
Nl: iso1ated test cases (by using iso1ation a mass and a nut)
S: straight-line slope through data of voltage ratio vs
calibration mass
Sa: accelerometer's vo1tage sensitivity (V/g)
Sr. force transducer's vo1tage sensitivity (V/unit force)
Sq: force transducer's charge sensitivity (pC/unit force)
Se: force transducer's base strain sensitivity
Y o: v erti ca! axis intercept
P. Cappa is Associate Professar (SEM member), Department of Meclumics
and Aeronautics, University of Rome "La Sapienza," Via Eudossiana 18,
00184 Roma, Italy. K. G. McConnell is Professar (SEM Fellow), Depan-
ment of Aerospace and Engineering Meclumics, Iowa State University,
Ames, IA 50011, USA.
Paper was presented at SEM 1994 Spring Conference and Exhibits.
284 Vol. 36, No. 3, September 1996
Yon: vertical intercept far nth mode
13n 1: nth eigenvalue mu1tip1ying factor
E: base strain
(!>n: second spatial derivative of nth mode shape at transducer's
1ocation
<Pn: nth mode shape at transducer's 1ocation
lntroduction
A force transducer directly interacts with the environ-
ment in which it is used. When a force transducer is
mounted on a large steel block and impacted by another
force transducer mounted on a hamrner, the ratio of the two
signals in the frequency domain is a constant over a broad
range of frequencies. This indicates that the calibrati an pro-
cedure for impact hamrners is adequate only for operating
frequencies well below the mounted natural frequency of
either transducer. At higher operating frequencies, where
stress-wave-propagation effects become important, the cali-
bration data made with such procedure may exhibit con-
siderable errar. McConnell
1
has shown three distinct types
of environments that affect transducer performance. The
three environments are (l) mounted on a rigid type foun-
dation, (2) mounted on an impact hamrner, and (3) mounted
to a structure that is driven by a vibration exciter. The
transducer's metrological characteristics are influenced by
these different environments.
We can also calibrate a force transducer by mounting it
onto a vibration exciter and measuring the input sinusoidal
acceleration of the exciter head and the output sinusoidal
force signal while using various masses, as outlined in Dally,
Riley and McConnell.
2
A consistent calibration result is ob-
tained over a broad range of frequencies using this method
so long as we stay away from any transducer resonances.
Such calibrations or tests as the two described briefly
in the above paragraphs give a false sense of security re-
garding the transducer's performance in other environ-
ments. The objective of this paper is to create a test
environment where the force transducer's base stran is a
significant factor. This experiment is one of a series of ex-
periments that are being conducted in order to identify the
factors that affect overall dynamic testing. An earlier study
by McConnell and Varoto
3
shows that reciproca! of the fre-
quency response function (FRF) data cannot be obtained in
the case of a free-free beam. The overall basic question is,
What parameters and/or phenomena cause these problems?
Theoretical Model of Test Environment
The test environment is shown in Fig. l(a). The force
transducer base is attached to an isolation mass, while the
transducer's seismic end is attached to calibration mass. An
(a)
callbratlon mass
A
(b)
Callbratlon mau m
Fig. 1-Description of test setup along with typical calibra-
tion results: (a) schematic of test set-up, (b) typical output
as a function of calibration mass m
accelerometer is attached to the free end of the calibration
mass and its mass is included in the value of m. The iso-
Iation mass is used to isolate the force transducer base from
the beam's bending strain.
The following is a brief description of the way the ex-
periment is set up. The test method is similar to that de-
scribed in Dally, Riley and McConnel1.
2
The force trans-
ducer has a time-history output voltage given by:
Be = Se F = Se (m + m.) a (l)
where ms is the transducer's seismic mass and a is the ac-
celeration of the calibration mass m. The force transducer's
voltage sensitivity Se is related to its charge sensitivity Sq
and the charge amplifier's feedback capacitance C by (see
Dally, Riley and McConnell).
2
S- Sq
c- C
(2)
The transducer's charge and voltage sensitivities should re-
main constant for a wide range of frequencies.
The accelerometer has a time-history output voltage that
is given by
E=S!.
a a g
(3)
where s. is the voltage sensitivity. Solving for a in eq (3)
and substituting into eq (l) we can sol ve for the output
voltage ratio as
TABLE 1-CALIBRATION MASSES
Masses Used
Name Symbol Mass (gms)
MassA mA 245
MassB ma 243
Masse
mc 244
Accelerometer
maccel
20
Bolts
mbon
1.5 ave
Total Mass for Each Test
Name Symbol Mass (gms)
Mass 1 m, 268
Mass2
m2 512.5
Mass3 ma 758
(4)
which gives a straight-line relationship between the vol-
tage ratio and the calibration mass m. The slope of this
line is S and is given by
Se g
S=--
s.
(5)
The value of S should be a constant value if we are sig-
nificantly below the transducer's resonance. A plot of eq
(4) is shown in Fig. l(b) where the abscissa is the cali-
bration mass m. We see that the horizontal intercept of the
plot is the negative of the seismic mass m.. The vertical
intercept Y
0
is given by
Y0 = S m. (6)
Experimental Setup
The experimental setup used a cold-rolled steel beam
that was 93 in. (2362 mm) long with a rectangular cross
section of 1.0 x 1.25 in. (25.4 x 31.75 mm). A Kistler
model 912 force transducer was connected to a Kistler
model 5040 dual mode charge amplifier that was set with
a l 000 pF feedback capacitor and the standardization po-
tentiometer position of unity so that eq (2) was valid. The
manufacturer has no specific instructions for the appli-
cation of this force transducer as far as environments are
concemed. This force-transducer charge amplifier was con-
nected to the A input channel of the Bruel and Kjaer dual-
channel signal analyzer. A Kistler model 808A
accelerometer was connected to a Kistler mode! 504 charge
amplifier that was adjusted to bave a voltage sensitivity of
10.0 m V/g. This sensitivity was established by using back-
to-back calibration with a Kistler mode! 808T acceleration
calibration standard. The accelerometer's charge amplifier
was connected to the B input channel of the Bruel and
Kjaer 2032 dual-channel signal analyzer.
Three different tests were conducted using this experi-
mental setup. In the first test sequence, the force transducer
was connected directly to the free-free beam so that beam
bending was directly applied to the transducer base and is
referred to as the bending strain (BS) configuration. Either
Experimental Mechanics 285
force transducer N
bea m
E
s
Fig. 2-0rientation of force transducer
one, two or three calibration masses were used. The indi-
viduai masses and their sums are given in Table l for each
test case.
In the second test sequence, the force transducer was iso-
lated from beam bending strains by an isolation body con-
sisting of a steel disk that was 1.500 in. (38.1 mm) in
diameter and 1.00 in. (25.4 mm) in height. This is referred
to as the isolation case and is designated by the IS symbol.
The three calibration masses were attached and tested in
order as before.
In the third test sequence, a nut was placed between the
isolation mass and the beam in order to reduce the beam's
bending moment effects even further. This is referred to as
the nut isolation case and is designated by NI. The results
showed no significant improvement over the second test se-
quence data results. Consequently, little effort was ex-
pended on this test.
The force-transducer orientation relative to the beam is
shown in Fig. 2. The beam was mounted horizontally in
the east-west direction. The transducer-cable connector po-
sitions are called north, south, east and west when aligned
with these directions. The transducer is viewed head-on
from the seismic side in order to define these directions.
The seismic side is the end connected to the calibration
masses in this experiment.
Experimental Test Results
The frequency analyzer was set in broadband measure-
ment condition to cover a frequency range of O to 800 Hz
with a resolution of 1.0 Hz while using rectangular a win-
dow function for measuring transient vibrations.
Since the force transducer, the accelerometer, the cali-
bration mass and the isolation masses, in the IS and NI
TABLE 2-FREE-FREE BEAM NATURAL FREQUENCIES (Hz)
cases, were attached to the midpoint of the free-free beam,
as shown in Fig. l(a), only the odd natural frequencies are
present. The even natura} frequencies should not be pre-
sent, because both excitation and instrument location are
at an even frequency node point. However, due to some
cross-axis sensitivity to either acceleration or bending mo-
ments, the frequency spectra of each signal showed a weak
resonant peak when compared to the odd natura} frequen-
cies. Hence only odd frequency data are used as being rep-
resentative of the phenomenon being measured. It should
be observed that the peak acceleration responses at each
frequency were nearly equal for each odd mode of vibra-
tion, increasing slightly with frequency.
The test procedure was straightforward for each calibra-
tion mass used. First, the beam was impacted at its rnidpoint
along the longitudinal symmetric axis of the transducers
and the masses using a PCB model 086B09 electromag-
netic impact hammer in order to produce a consistent im-
pulsive input. The transient impulse response signals from
the accelerometer and force transducers were recorded by
the B & K analyzer, and their respective frequency spectra
were averaged. This impact was repeated about five
times in order to obtain a good estimate of the voltage
ratio Er lE.. Second, the acceleration autospectral density
was examined to determine the four odd harmonic frequen-
cies f1, f3, etc. Third, the input-output frequency spectra ra-
tio was read for each frequency f
1
, f
3
, etc., to obtain the
voltage ratio EriE. as defined in eq (4). This experiment
was repeated three or four times in order to obtain an av-
erage set of data. Then either the calibration mass was
changed, or the mounting method was changed (force
transducer directly applied to the beam, case BS; force
transducer isolated from the beam's bending strain by the
isolation mass, case IS; force transducer isolated from the
beam's bending strain by the isolation mass and a nut, case
NI), or the direction of the force transducer mounting was
changed.
The experimental data was reduced using the statistica}
and plotting capability of the MathCAD software. The
force transducer was more sensitive to base strains when
the connector was mounted in either the north or the south
directions and less sensitive to base strains in the east and
west directions. The north data is shown in Fig. 3 as plot
of voltage ratio Er lE. vs the calibration mass m for the case
where the transducer base was attached directly to the
beam (case BS); the standard deviation values were always
less than 0.5 percent. Figure 4 shows the same plot (north
direction) for the case where the transducer base was iso-
Mode Number Calcul.
1
Low Calcul. High Meas.
2
Low Meas. High ModeType
24.0 30.0 24.0 odd mode
2 66.3 82.9 even mode
3 130 163 125-128 163-168 odd mode
4 215 269 272-273 even mode
5 321 401 309-316

odd mode
6 449 562 even mode
7 597 747 575-585 738-747 odd mode
1. Natura! in bending about 1.0 in. (25.4 mm) dimension for low and 1.25 in. (31.75 mm) dimension for high.
2. Range measured smce dependent on masses attached.
286 Vol. 36, No. 3, September 1996

13
12
u
iO
g
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
0
o D
-1st vlbretlon 111d1
3rd v lbretlon 111d1
-- 5th vlbretlon 111de
7th vlbretlon lOde
600 700 600
Mass (gli)
Fig. 3-Voltage ratio vs calibration mass m for base strain
BS case while orientated in north direction
lated from the beam's bending strain by the isolation mass
(case IS); the standard deviation values were always less
than 0.1 percent. There is a significant difference between
these two plots. According to eq (4}, these plots sbould be
the same, but they are clearly different in that the vertical
axis intercept Y
0
is significantly different. Now let us ex-
amine the results more carefully.
Table 3 sbows the measured slope in eacb case. The
numbers must be multiplied by l x w-
2
and bave units
of 1/gms. The slope varies from 1.040 to 1.205, a 15.9-
percent variation. The average slope in tbe BS case is
(1.085 0.0489) x w-
2
(1/gm). The average slope in the
IS case is (1.055 0.0167) x 10-
2
(1/gm). The standard
derivation in the BS case is about 4.5 percent while it is
1.58 percent for the IS cases. The slope in the BS case
is 2.84 percent bigber than in the IS case. Thus it appears
that base strains cause about three times more dispersion
in the slope as well as approximately 3.0 percent bigber
slope value on the average.

13
12
11
10
g
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
o o 100 200 300
- 1st vibretlon 111de
3rd vibretlon Mdi
-- 5th vibretlon Ede
7th vibretlon Ede
400 500 600 700 800
Mass (gli)
Fig. 4-Voltage ratio vs calibration mass m for isolated
base strain IS case while orientated in north direction
Table 4 sbows tbe effective cbarge sensitivity of the
that is given with units of pC/kg. The cbarge
sensttlVlty ranges from 47.2 to 54.6 pC/lb (104.19 to
120.53 pC/kg}, a variation of 15.6 percent. The average
cbarge sensitivity in tbe BS case is 49.2 2.21 pC/lb
(108.61 4.88 pC/kg), wbile it is 47.9 0.69 pC/Ib
(105.74 1.52 pC/kg) for the IS case. The dispersion for
the BS case is about 3.2 times that for the IS case. 1t is
seen that the average cbarge sensitivity is about 2.7 percent
larger than that obtained in the isolated case. This is a result
that we would anticipate from eqs (2) and (4) and the re-
sults in Table 3.
The seismic mass can be estimated by using eq (6) with
results tabulated in Table 5. These values are seen to bave
a large range wben the anticipated value sbould be around
5 gms. However, a quick review of the average values for
eacb test case sbows that the BS case is significantly af-
fected compared to the IS case. These results suggest that
base strain causes significant intercept cbanges. Now let us
TABLE 3-MEASURED SLOPE (1/gms x 10-
2
) VOLTAGE RATIO VS CALIBRATION MASS
VIB North North South East East East W est W est
Mode BS Case IS Case BSCase BS Case IS Case Nl Case BS Case ISCase
1st 1.205 1.098 1.094 1.157 1.081 1.069 1.152 1.052
3rd 1.101 1.058 1.070 1.088 1.055 1.057 1.019 1.055
5th 1.073 1.059 1.067 1.056 1.057 1.053 1.081 1.046
7th 1.041 1.044 1.050 1.045 1.044 1.044 1.060 1.040
Experimental Mechanics 287
TABLE 4-TRANSDUCER'S MEASURED CHARGE SENSITIVITY (pC/kg)
VIB North North South East East East W est W est
Mode BS Case ISCase BSCase BSCase IS Case Nl Case BS Case IS Case
1st 120.53 109.93 109.49 115.89 108.17 106.84 115.23 106.40
3d 110.15 105.96 107.06 108.83 105.52 105.74 101.99 105.52
5th 106.40 105.96 106.84 105.74 105.74 105.30 108.17 104.64
7th 104.19 104.42 105.08 104.64 104.42 104.42 105.96 104.19
see if we can develop a theoretical model to define the vari-
ables that cause these changes.
Theoretical Model to
Explain Shifting lntercept
Let us return to eq (l) and assume that the force trans-
ducer voltage is given by
(7)
where Se is the strain sensitivity and E is the base strain.
In addition, we can use the Euler model of a vibrating free-
free beam, see Rao,
4
to show that the strain is given by
w h ere
(9)
is a constant for a given beam and
(lO)
depends on the mode of vibration. In eqs (8}, (9) and (10},
h is half of the thickness in the direction of vibration, cp.
is the second spatial derivative of the nth-mode shape
where the transducer is attached, cp. is the nth mode shape
deflection where the transducer is attached, IIlt. is the beam's
mass, El is the beam's bending stiffness in the direction
of vibration, and l) is the nth eigenvalue multi-
plier. Equation (8) shows that the base strain is proportional
to the beam's acceleration where the force transducer is
attached.
Now we can combine eq (8) with eq (7) to obtain the
force signal that is directly proportional to the beam's ac-
celeration. When this definition of Er is used in the voltage
ratio in eq (4), we obtain
TABLE 5---MEASURED SEISMIC MASS (gms)
VIB North North South
Ec (Scg)
-= -- (m+m,)
E. s.
(Il)
(
A Se g)
+ s. K. = S m + y On
where the vertical intercept for the nth mode is given by
(12}
It is clear from eq (12) that if base strain sensitivity occurs
in the force transducer while in this test environment, the
vertical intercept will be different for each odd resonant
frequency because K. is mode dependent.
The values of cp,/cp K. and KlK. ratio are shown
in Table 6 for the frrst four, odd, natural frequencies. The
values of K. are calculated for the beam's midpoint. The
ratio of cp,/cp. quickly takes on a unity value as we move
up to third and higher odd modes. The ratio of KlK. shows
that the base strain effects drop off rapidly with increasing
odd modes. If we solve for the apparent seismic mass in
eq (12) for each mode, we obtain
[
A Se g]
m .. = m, + S s. K. = m, + B K.
(13)
w h ere
(14)
so that the excess seismic mass for the nth mode becomes
(15)
We can estimate the ratio K
1
1K,. from eq (14) if we know
the excess seismic mass for each mode of vibration. We
know from the transducer's stiffness and bare natural-fre-
quency specification that the seismic mass is about 5.0
gms. Then, if we average the north-south apparent seismic
mass for each mode under the BS test condition and then
subtract 5.0 gms, we obtain the north/south ratio given in
Table 6. Repeating for the east/west data, we obtain the
east/west ratio column in Table 6.
East East East W est
Mode BS Case IS Case BS Case BS Case IS Case Nl Case BSCase IS Case
1st 363 -o.031 471 238 -1.37 11.43 266 4.44
3rd 56.2 0.424 78.6 34.1 3.30 4.26 67.8 3.12
5th 30.4 0.0143 35.5 22.0 2.67 2.86 14.1 5.51
7th 24.9 0.0679 25.6 15.2 5.74 7.42 10.83 7.97
288 Vol. 36, No. 3, September 1996
TABLE 6-THE EFFECT OF STRAIN ON SEISMIC MASS MEASUREMENT
VIB Mode
Pnl <Pr/<Pn
Kn x 10-3
K11Kn
North East
AVE
South W est
1st 4.73 -0.763 34.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
3rd 11.00 -0.987 8.15 4.18 6.6 5.4 6.0
5th 17.28 -1.00 3.34 10.2
7th 23.57 -1.00 1.80 19.0
The north/south ratios are better than the east/west ratios.
This is mostly due to the fact that the force transducer was
significantly more sensitive to bending strains about the
north/south axis compared to the east/west axis. Thus the
measured apparent seismic masses were larger, and there is
Iess relative error in the values reported in Table 5. In ad-
dition, the accuracy of both the slope and intercept values
would be increased if additional mass combinations (such
as five) were used, compared to three that were utilized.
Conclusions
To show the dependance of force transducer output on base
strain, the base of a mono-axial load cell was mounted
at the midpoint of a free-free beam while the sensing
(seismic) end was attached to one of several calibration
masses; force transducer was impacted using an electro-
magnetic impact hammer. The resulting data clearly show
that significantly different results are obtained that depend
on the mode of vibration measured. The measured charge
sensitivity is high, while the measured seismic masses are
excessive.
Then the force transducer was mounted on a fairly rigid
isolation mass and the tests were repeated. The resulting
data show a highly consistent charge sensitivity and a seis-
mic mass that is close to the anticipated value.
A theoretical model is proposed that assumes the force
transducer output voltage is proportional to the sum of the
effective force applied and the load celi base strain. When
this model is combined with beam-vibration theory, an
equation results that shows that the apparent seismic mass
depends on the mode of vibration. The theoretical decrease
and measured decrease in apparent seismic mass are rea-
sonably correlated.
Thus it is demonstrated further that force transducers are
dependent on their environment, in the case bere investi-
14.7 19.0 16.9
20.4 30.9 25.7
gated, base strain caused significant measurement errors.
These measurement errors depend on the orientation of the
transducer relative to the direction of bending.
Disclaimer
There is no intent to discredit the Kistler Model 912
force transducer in this paper. A PCB model 208A03 force
transducer of similar design showed the same strain-sen-
sitivity trends. The design of these devices should bave lit-
tle sensitivity, but manufacturing imperfections cause these
characteristics to exist, and as users, we need to be aware
of their existence.
Acknowledgement
Professar Paolo Cappa wishes to thank the Italian Na-
tional Research Council for financial support under NATO-
CNR Senior Fellowship No. 217.26. Both authors
appreciate the support of both the Department of Aerospace
Engineering and Engineering Mechanics and the Engineer-
ing Research Institute at Iowa State University for the ex-
perimental facilities provided.
References
l. McConnell, K.G. "The lnteraction of Force Transducers with Their
Test Environment," Modal Analysis: Intemat. J. Analytical and Experi-
mental Modal Analysis, 8 (2), 137-150 (1993).
2. Dally, J. W., Riley, W.F. and K.G. Instrumentation for En-
gineering Measurements, 2d ed., John Wiley &: Sons, New York, 323-325
(1993).
3. K.G. and lflroto, P., "Force Transducer Bending Moment
Sensitivity Can Affect the Measured Frequency Response Functions, "
Proc. 11th Intemat. Modal Analysis Conference, Kissimmee, FL (Feb.
1993).
4. Rao, S.S. Mechanical Vibrations, 2d ed., Reading, MA, 394-408
(1990).
Experimental Mechanics 289