Measurement of Strain

Introduction:
If a metal conductor is stretched or compresssed, its resistance changes on account
of the fact that both the length and the diameter of conductor change. Also, there is
a change in the resistivity of the conductor when it is strained and this is called
piezoresistive effect. Therefore resistive strain guages are also called Piezoresistive
guages. The strain gauge has been in use for many years and is the
fundamentalsensing element for many types of sensors, including pressure
sensors,load cells, torque sensors, position sensors, etc.
Operating Principle:
On calculation of the guage factor, and having the knowlegdge about the
piezoresistive effect, one can calculate the Poission's ratio (measure of strain). The
guage factor is defined as:
Guage factor=Resistance change due to change of length+ resistance change due to
change in
area+ resistance change due to piezoresistive effect
Types of strain guages:
Unbonded metal strain guages,Bonded metal foil dtrain guages,Bonded
metal foil strain guages,Vacuum deposited thin metal strain guages,Sputter
deposited thin metal strain guages,Bonded semionductor strain
guages,Diffuesed metal strain guages.
The guage:


Measuring Circuit:
In order to measure strain with a bonded resistance strain gage, it must be
connected to an electric circuit that is capable of measuring the minute changes in
resistance corresponding to strain. Strain gage transducers usually employ four
strain gage elements electrically connected to form a Wheatstone bridge circuit
(Figure 1). A Wheatstone bridge is a divided bridge circuit used for the
measurement of static or dynamic electrical resistance. The output voltage of the
Wheatstone bridge is expressed in millivolts output per volt input. The Wheatstone
circuit is also well suited for temperature compensation. The number of active
strain gages that should be connected to the bridge depends on the application.
THe figure below shows the wheatstone bridge circuit applied in this operation.

Structure of rosette:
Generally a combination of strain guages are available. They are called rosettes.
The figures below illustrate the same:

Materials Used:
The basic materials used for strain guages are Nichrome, Constantan, Isoelastic,
Nickel, Platinum. Several types of base or carrier materials are used to support the
wires. Impregnated paper is used for room temperature applications. Proper
adhesives are used because the adhesives act as bonding materials.
Evaporation deposited thin film metal strain guages are mostly used for fabrication
of transducers. They are of sputter deposited variety. Semiconductor strain guages
are used where a very high guage factor and a very small envelope is required.
Semiconducting materials Silicon and Germanium are used for this purpose.
Diffused strain guages are primarily used in transducers. The diffusion process
used in IC manufacture is employed.