UNIVERSITY OF PERADENIYA

Faculty of Engineering
MID SEMESTER EXAMINATION (SUPPLEMENTARY) – NOVEMBER 2022
ME 515 MECHATRONICS
(one hour)
(Answer BOTH Questions. Marks for each question are shown in parenthesis)

1.
a. Show that the axial strain (𝜖 ) measured using a strain gauge can be expressed as follows, if the
resistivity of the strain gauge remains unchanged during the measurement:

𝑑𝑅/𝑅
𝜖=
(1 + 2𝜈)
where,
𝑅 is the resistance of the strain gauge
𝜈 is the poison’s ratio of the material being measured
[5 marks]

b. A strain gauge and a bridge circuit are used to measure the tensile force in a bar of steel that
has a cross-sectional area of 13 cm2 as shown in Figure Q1. The strain gauge has a nominal
resistance of 120  and a Gauge Factor of 2. The bridge is supplied with 10 V. When the bar
is unloaded, the bridge is balanced, so the output is 0 V. Then force is applied to the bar, and
the bridge voltage goes to 0.0005 V. Find the force applied on the bar.

[5 marks]
Figure Q1

2.
a. The driving system of a X-Y plotter, consists of two stepper motors, each coupled to a lead
screw through a gear box. Each gear box is a speed reducer with a gear ratio of 4 to 1 and each
lead screw has a pitch of 6 mm. The maximum permissible linear speed of the plotter is 1 cm/s
and the required resolution is 0.1 mm.
i. What is the minimum resolution required for the stepper motor?
ii. What step rate is required to achieve the maximum speed at this resolution?
[5 marks]
b. Complete the timing diagram of the circuit shown in Figure Q2. You may assume the digital
outputs of D, E, and F are low at the beginning. Write down your answer for this part in the
space provided in the question paper and return it with the other answers.
[5 marks]
 Figure Q2
Note the following:

J-K Flip-flop T Flip-flop S-R Flip-flop