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Figure 8.5
Stress and strain:
(a) Effect of tensile stress
(b) Effect of compressive
stress.
Elastic modulus
stress
Elastic modulus = [8.8]
strain
For linear tensile or compressive stress the elastic modulus is called Young’s
modulus E; for shear stress the relevant elastic modulus is shear modulus S. Return-
ing to Figure 8.5(a) we note that the increase in length of the body is accompanied
by a decrease in cross-sectional area, i.e. a reduction in width and thickness. Thus in
Figure 8.5(a) the longitudinal tensile strain is accompanied by a transverse compressive
strain, and in Figure 8.5(b) the longitudinal compressive strain is accompanied by a
transverse tensile strain. The relation between longitudinal strain eL and accompany-
ing transverse strain eT is:
eT = −νeL [8.9]
where ν is Poisson’s ratio, which has a value between 0.25 and 0.4 for most materials.
A strain gauge is a metal or semiconductor element whose resistance changes when
under strain. We can derive the relationship between changes in resistance and strain
by considering the factors which influence the resistance of the element. The resis-
tance of an element of length l, cross-sectional area A and resistivity ρ (Figure 8.6)
is given by:
ρl
R= [8.10]
A
8.1 RESISTIVE SENSING ELEMENTS 157
In general with strain gauges ρ, l and A can change if the element is strained, so that
the change in resistance ∆R is given by:
A ∂R D A ∂R D A ∂R D
∆R = ∆l + ∆A + ∆ρ [8.11]
C ∂l F C ∂A F C ∂ρ F
i.e.
ρ ρl l
∆R = ∆l − 2 ∆A + ∆ρ
A A A
Dividing throughout by R = ρl/A yields
∆ R ∆l ∆ A ∆ ρ
= − + [8.12]
R l A ρ
The ratio ∆l/l is the longitudinal strain eL in the element. Since cross-sectional area
A = wt (Figure 8.6),
∆A ∆w ∆t
= + = 2eT
A w t
where eT is the transverse strain in the element. From [8.9] and [8.12] we have:
∆R ∆ρ
= eL − 2(−νeL ) +
R ρ
∆ρ
= (1 + 2ν)eL + [8.13]
ρ
We now define the gauge factor G of a strain gauge by the ratio (fractional change
in resistance)/(strain), i.e.
∆R/R 0
G=
e
158 SENSING EL E M EN T S
Hence
Resistance/strain
∆R
relationship for = Ge [8.14]
a strain gauge R0
where R0 is the unstrained resistance of the gauge. From [8.13] the gauge factor is
given by:
Gauge factor of
1 ∆ρ
a strain gauge G = 1 + 2ν + [8.15]
e ρ
For most metals ν ≈ 0.3, and the term (1/e) (∆ ρ /ρ) representing strain-induced
changes in resistivity (piezoresistive effect) is small (around 0.4), so that the over-
all gauge factor G is around 2.0. A popular metal for strain gauges is the alloy
‘Advance’; this is 54% copper, 44% nickel and 1% manganese. This alloy has a
low temperature coefficient of resistance (2 × 10−5 °C −1) and a low temperature
coefficient of linear expansion. Temperature is both an interfering and a modifying
input (Section 2.2), and the above properties ensure that temperature effects on zero
values and sensitivity are small.
The most common strain gauges are of the bonded type, where the gauge consists
of metal foil, cut into a grid structure by a photoetching process, and mounted on a
resin film base. The film backing is then attached to the structure to be measured with
a suitable adhesive. The gauge should be positioned so that its active axis is along
the direction of the measured strain: the change in resistance, due to a given strain,
along the passive axis is very small compared with that produced by the same strain
along the active axis. A typical gauge has: