Experimental Methods

MEC3045F

Force, Torque and Strain
Measurement
Force Basics
Newtons second law of motion:
For a particle of constant mass, force is proportional to the
product of mass and acceleration

What is weight?
The weight of a body is the force exerted on the body by the
acceleration of gravity at sea level

Weight mass (eg, what about the moon)
Mass represents a quantity of matter and is related to
force through F = ma
It is not a physical property that is measured directly. It is
determined by force measurements or by comparing to
mass standards
ma F =
mg W F = =
Mass balance measurements
An analytical balance rotates about
fulcrum O.
Unbalanced position indicated by
Centre of gravity of arm given by G
d
G
is the distance from O to G
W
B
is the weight of balance arm
and the pointer
When W
1
= W
2
= 0 and weight
of balance arms has no influence
Sensitivity of the balance is a measure of the angular
displacement, , per unit unbalance
in the two weights W
1
and W
2

W W W
S
A
=

=

2 1
Sensitivity of the balance
How does the sensitivity of the balance depend on the
size and mass of the balance itself?

W
1
(cos)
W
1
(sin)

+ve
sin sin cos sin cos
2 2 1 1 G B B B
d W d W L W d W L W + + =
sin ) sin cos ( ) sin cos (
2 1 G B B B
d W d L W d L W + + =
For small deflection angles, sin ; cos 1

G B B B
d W d L W d L W + + = ) ( ) (
2 1

G B B B
d W d W L W d W L W + + =
2 2 1 1

G B B B
d W d W d W L W L W + + =
2 1 2 1
) ( ) (
2 1 2 1 G B B B
d W d W d W W W L + + =
G B B G B B B
d W W W d
L
d W d W d W
L
W + +
=
+ +
=
A ) (
2 1 2 1

Near equilibrium, W
1
W
2
G B B
d W Wd
L
W
S
+
=
A
=
2

If constructed so that d
B
= 0

G B
d W
L
S =
Independent of
the loads!!!

0
M
Accounting for buoyancy forces
Assume we measure a mass against known brass weights
Archimedes's principle: When a rigid object is submerged
in a fluid (completely or partially), there exits an upward
force on the object that is equal to the weight of the fluid
that is displaced by the object
We are not measuring the weight forces of the unknown
mass, but the weight forces less the buoyancy forces
acting on each mass
If we measure in a vacuum or if the brass weights and
unknown mass have the same volume, the buoyancy
forces will cancel out
Accounting for buoyancy forces
The true weights of the unknown and standard weights are


The forces exerted on the balance arms are
where

u
= density of the unknown

s
= density of the standard weights

a
= density of the surrounding air
V
u
, V
s
= volumes of the unknown and standard weights

At equilibrium

s a s
u a u
V W
V W
) (
) (
2
1


=
=
s s s u u u
V W V W = = ;
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
a s s u
a u s u
s u
W W


Example
An analytical balance like that
alongside is used to weigh a
15-oz (troy) quantity of
platinum in air at 1atm and
20C. The density of platinum
is 21 380 kg/m
3
and that of the
standard brass weights is 8
490 kg/m
3
. If the price of
platinum is R5373.61 per oz,
calculate the Rand value of the
buoyancy error in weight
determination.
Using Elastic elements for N
We can get an indication of the magnitude of an applied
force by measuring a displacement
Simple spring Bar element Cantilever element
y
L
AE
F = y
L
EI
F
3
3
=
y k F =
Example
A farmer decides to build a crude weighing device to
weigh bags of grain up to 68kg. For this purpose he
employs a section of 25mm steel pipe (24.3mm OD,
33.4mm ID) as a cantilever beam. He intends to
measure the deflection of the beam with a metal
carpenter's scale having graduations of 1mm. He feels
that an error of 1% at the maximum deflection would
be acceptable. On the basis of these data, what length
of pipe would you recommend for the farmer's
application?
Torque measurements
Angular deformation of a bar or hollow cylinder



= angular deflection
G = shear modulus of elasticity



= Poissons ratio ( 0.3)
( )

t
L
r r G
M
i
2
4 4
0

=
( ) +
=
1 2
E
G
Torque measurements
The Prony brake






Dynamometer
TN Power t 2 =
T is the torque
N is the rotational speed
Example
A model airplane engine develops 750W at
10000 rpm. Calculate the torque produced at
these conditions. Suppose this torque acts at a
moment arm of 150mm and is to be measured
with the deflection of a cantilever beam having a
nominal deflection of 10mm. Specify suitable
design dimensions for a beam to accomplish this
measurement.
Stress () and strain ()
Elastic deformation vs plastic deformation
Elastic deformation: area reduces for + L
Plastic deformation: area constant for + L

a
= axial strain
T = axial load
A = cross-sectional area

a
= axial stress
Unit axial strain
a
= dL/L

Ratio of unit strain in transverse direction to unit strain in
axial direction called Poissons ratio
3 . 0
/
/
~ = =
L dL
D dD
a
t
c
c

E E
A T
a
a
o
c = =
/
Strain basics
We are aiming to get the unit strain at a point
Strain measurements must be made over a finite length
As L 0, measurement approaches unit strain
Length over which average stain measurement is taken
called the base length
Deformation sensitivity is the minimum deformation that
can be indicated by an appropriate gauge
Strain sensitivity is the minimum deformation that can be
indicated per unit base length

So, we need to be able to measure deformation:
But how?
Electrical resistance strain gauges
Operation based on the principle that a conductors
electrical resistance changes when it is mechanically
deformed.





Bond the conductor to the specimen
Apply a load
The specimen and the resistance element deform
Deformation indicated by a change in resistance
Wire gauge (12-25m)
Foil gauge (<25m)
Semiconductor gauge
Basic strain gauge relationship
The resistance of the conductor is
= resistivity of the material (assume constant)

Differentiating gives

The area can be related to the diameter (D)


Substituting for axial strain and Poissons ratio

a
= dL/L;
t
= dD/D; = -
t
/
a
A
L
R =
A
dA
L
dL
R
dR
=
D
dD
A
dA
D A 2
4
2
= =
t
( ) c 2 1+ =
a
R
dR
Calculating strain
A gauge factor can be defined as
and

We can now express local strain in terms of:
The gauge factor (F)
The resistance of the gauge (R)
The change in resistance (R)

The gauge factor (-140<F<175) and the resistance of the
gauge is given by the manufacturer
A high gauge factor is desirable in practice because a
larger change in R is produced for a given strain input
This requires a less sensitive readout
R
R
F
A
=
1
c
a
R dR
F
c
/
=
2 1+ = F
Temperature compensation
Compensation done experimentally
Functional layouts
Functional layouts
Strain-gauge rosettes
We have been measuring a principle strain only
Normally more than one strain present
AND we dont know the orientation of the
principle strain axes

Rectangular rosette Delta rosette
Example
A strip of steel sheet 1.6 x 50 x 500 mm, is available for
use as a force measuring elastic element. The strip is to
be used by cementing strain gauge to its flat surfaces
and measuring the deformation under load. The strain
gauges have a maximum strain of 2000 m/m and a
gage factor of 1.90. Calculate the force for which the
measurement system is applicable.
An electrical-resistance strain gauge records a strain of
400 m/m on a steel tension member. What is the axial
stress?
A rectangular rosette is mounted on a steel plate having
E = 29x10
6
psi and = 0.3. The three strains are
measured as
1 = +500 in/in , 2 = +400 in/in, 3 = -100 in/in
Calculate the principal strains and stresses and the
maximum shear stress. Locate the axis of the principal
stress.