Strain Gages

Electrical resistance in material changes when the material is deformed

R
A

R Resistance
Resistivity
l Length
A Cross-sectional area

log R log log A

Taking the differential

dR d d A

A
For linear deformations

R
Ss
R

Change in resistance is
from change in shape as
well as change in
resistivity

strain
Ss sensitivity or gage factor
(2-6 for metals and 40 200 for
semiconductor)

 The change in resistance is measured using an electrical circuit

Many variables can be measured displacement, acceleration, pressure,
temperature, liquid level, stress, force and torque
Some variables (stress, force, torque) can be determined by measuring the strain
directly
Other variables can be measured by converting the measurand into stress using a
front-end device
Housing
Output
vo

Strain
Gage
m
Seismic
Mass

Strain Member
Cantilever

Base

Mounting
Threads

Strain gage accelerometer

Direction of
Sensitivity
(Acceleration)

Strain gages are manufactured as metallic foil (copper-nickel alloy constantan)

Direction of
Sensitivity
Foil
Grid

Single Element
Two-Element Rosette

Backing
Film

Solder Tabs
(For Leads)

Three-Element Rosettes

Semiconductor (silicon with impurity)

Doped Silicon
Crystal
(P or N Type)

Phenolic
Glass
Backing
Plate

Welded
Gold Leads

Nickle-Plated
Copper Ribbons

Potentiometer or Ballast Circuit

+
vo
Output

Strain Gage

vref
(Supply
)

R
Rc

R
vo
vref
R Rc

Ambient temperature changes will introduce error

Variations in supply voltage will affect the output
Electrical loading effect will be significant
Change in voltage due to strain is a very small percentage of the output
Question: Show that errors due to ambient temperature changes will cancel if the
temperature coefficients of R and Rc are the same

Wheatstone Bridge Circuit

A

Small i

R1

R2

RL
R4

R3

vo
Load
(High)

vref

(Constant Voltage)

vo

R1vref
(R1 R2 )

R3vref
(R3 R4 )

(R1 R4 R2 R3 )
vref
(R1 R2 )(R3 R4 )

When the bridge is balanced

R1 R3

R2 R4

True for
any RL

Null Balance Method

When the stain gage in the bridge deforms, the balance is upset.
Balance is restored by changing a variable resistor
The amount of change corresponds to the change in stain
Time consuming servo balancing can be used

Direct Measurement of Output Voltage

Measure the output voltage resulting from the imbalance
Determine the calibration constant
Bridge sensitivity

v o R2 R1 R1R2 R4 R3 R3 R4

2
v ref
R1 R2
R3 R4 2
To compensate for temperature changes, temperature coefficients of adjacent pairs
should be the same

The Bridge Constant

More than one resistor in the bridge can be active
If all four resistors are active, best sensitivity can be obtained
R1 and R4 in tension and R2 and R3 in compression gives the largest
sensitivity
The bridge sensitivity can be expressed as

vo
R
k
vref
4R
Bridge Constant k

bridge output in the general case

bridge output if only one strain gage is active

Example 4.4
A strain gage load cell (force sensor) consists of four identical strain gages, forming
a Wheatstone bridge, that are mounted on a rod that has square cross-section.
One opposite pair of strain gages is mounted axially and the other pair is mounted
in the transverse direction, as shown below. To maximize the bridge
sensitivity, the strain gages are connected to the bridge as shown. Determine
the bridge constant k in terms of Poissons ratio v of the rod material.
Axial
Gage

1
2

3
Cross Section
Of Sensing
Member

+
vo

Transverse
Gage

Transverse strain = (-v) x longitudinal strain

vref

Calibration Constant

v o
C
v ref

R
Ss
R

k
C Ss
4

vo
R
k
vref
4R

k Bridge Constant
Ss Sensitivity or gage factor

Example 4.5
A schematic diagram of a strain gage accelerometer is shown below. A point mass
of weight W is used as the acceleration sensing element, and a light cantilever with
rectangular cross-section, mounted inside the accelerometer casing, converts
the inertia force of the mass into a strain. The maximum bending strain at the root of
the cantilever is measured using four identical active semiconductor strain
gages. Two of the strain gages (A and B) are mounted axially on the top surface of
the cantilever, and the remaining two (C and D) are mounted on the bottom
surface. In order to maximize the sensitivity of the accelerometer, indicate the
manner in which the four strain gages A, B, C, and D should be connected to a
Wheatstone bridge circuit. What is the bridge constant of the resulting circuit?
A

Strain Gages
A, B

C
+
vo

C, D

l
b
h

A
B
C
D

vref

Obtain an expression relating applied acceleration a (in units of g) to bridge output

(bridge balanced at zero acceleration) in terms of the following parameters:
W = Mg = weight of the seismic mass at the free end of the cantilever element
E = Youngs modulus of the cantilever
l = length of the cantilever
b = cross-section width of the cantilever
h = cross-section height of the cantilever
Ss = gage factor (sensitivity) of each strain gage
vref = supply voltage to the bridge.

If M = 5 gm, E = 5x1010 N/m2, l = 1 cm, b = 1 mm, h = 0.5 mm, Ss = 200, and vref =
20 V, determine the sensitivity of the accelerometer in mV/g.
If the yield strength of the cantilever element is 5xl07 N/m2, what is the maximum
acceleration that could be measured using the accelerometer?
If the ADC which reads the strain signal into a process computer has the range 0 to
10 V, how much amplification (bridge amplifier gain) would be needed at the bridge
output so that this maximum acceleration corresponds to the upper limit of the ADC
(10 V)?
Is the cross-sensitivity (i.e., the sensitivity in the two directions orthogonal to the
direction of sensitivity small with this arrangement? Explain.
Hint: For a cantilever subjected to force F at the free end, the maximum stress
at the root is given by 6 F
2
bh

MEMS Accelerometer

Signal Conditioning

Mechanical Structure

Applications: Airbag Deployment

Data Acquisition
Dynamic
Strain

AC
Bridge

Amplifier

Oscillator

Power Supply

Demodulator
And Filter

Calibration
Constant

Supply frequency ~ 1kHz

Output Voltage ~ few micro volts 1 mV
Advantages Stability (less drift), low power consumption

Foil gages - 50 k
Power consumption decreases with resistance
Resolutions on the order of 1 m/m

Strain
Reading

Semiconductor Strain Gages

Conductor
Ribbons

Single Crystal of
Semiconductor

Gold Leads

Phenolic Glass
Backing Plate

Gage factor 40 200

Resitivity is higher reduced power consumption
Resistance 5k
Smaller and lighter

Properties of common strain gage

material
Material

Composition

Gage Factor
(Sensitivity)

Temperature
Coefficient of
Resistance (10-6/C)

Constantan

45% Ni, 55% Cu

2.0

15

Isoelastic

36% Ni, 52% Fe, 8%

Cr, 4% (Mn, Si, Mo)

3.5

200

Karma

74% Ni, 20% Cr, 3%

Fe, 3% Al

2.3

20

Monel

67% Ni, 33% Cu

1.9

2000

Silicon

p-type

100 to 170

70 to 700

Silicon

n-type

-140 to 100

70 to 700

Disadvantages of Semiconductor Strain Gages

The strain-resistance relationship is nonlinear
They are brittle and difficult to mount on curved surfaces.
The maximum strain that can be measured is an order of magnitude smaller
0.003 m/m (typically, less than 0.01 m/m)
They are more costly
They have a much larger temperature sensitivity.
Resistance
Change

R
R

Resistance
Change

P-type

R
R 0.4

0.4

= 1 Microstrain
= Strain of 110-6

0.3
0.2

0.3
0.2
0.1

0.1
3

1
0.1

N-type

Strain

3 103

1
0.1

0.2

0.2

0.3

0.3

3 103

Strain

For semiconductor strain gages

R
S1 S2 2
R
S1 linear sensitivity
Positive for p-type gages
Negative for n-type gages
Magnitude is larger for p-type
S2 nonlinearity
Positive for both types
Magnitude is smaller for p-type

Linear Approximation
R
R
Change in
Resistance

R
R

Quadratic
Curve

max
0

Linear
Approximation
max
Strain

Error e

Ss

R R

R R

S1 S2 2 Ss

S1 S s S2 2
Quadratic Error

J
0.
Minimize Error
Ss
max

max

(2 ) S1 S s S 2 2 d = 0
S1 S s

max

e d

max

S1 Ss S2
max

max

Maximum Error

e max S2 2max

2 2

Range change in resistance

R
S1 max S2 2max S1 max S2 2max
R
2 S1 max

Percentage nonlinearity error

2
S 2 max
max error
Np
100%
100%
range
2 S1 max

N p 50 S 2 max S1 %

Temperature coefficients (per F)

Temperature Compensation
= Temperature Coefficient of Resistance
= Temperature Coefficient of Gage Factor

Compensation
Feasible
()

Compensation
Not Feasible

Compensation
Feasible

0
Concentration of Trace Material (Atoms/cc)

Sensitivity
change due to
temperature

R Ro 1 .T
S s Sso 1 .T

Resistance
change due to
temperature

Self Compensation with a Resistor

R1

R2
+
vo

R4

R3
vi

vi
+

Compensating
Resistor
Rc

vref

vi

R
vref
R Rc

v o
kSs
R

v ref R Rc 4
Possible only for certain ranges

vref

+
Rc

For self compensation the output after the

temperature change must be the same
Ro 1 .T
Ro
S so
S so 1 .T
R

o c
Ro 1 .T Rc

Ro Rc ( ) Ro Rc T

Rc
Ro