DETERMINATION OF STRAINS IN ALUMINIUM RING

By Group M3
Date of Experiment: 5th August 2016
Date of Report Submission: 9th August 2016
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Table of Contents
Sr. No.

Title

Page

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Objective
Apparatus
Loading Arrangement
Theory
Observation
Calculation
Result
Conclusion

3
3
3
5
13
13
15
16

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1. Objective
Determine the strains in circular rings under diametrical tension.

2. Apparatus

1 Aluminium ring
Vernier scale
5 Weights - 1 kg each
4 Strain gauges
Strain measuring quarter bridge circuit apparatus

3. Loading Arrangement
A thin ring of radius
below.

subjected to a diametrical pull

is shown in figure

B
C

Figure 1 - Aluminium ring under diametrical pull P

The bending moment at an angle is given as follows
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M =

PR
2
cos
2

Also the strain at an angle is given by

=

MY
EAe ( RY )

Where, R = neutral radius of ring and is given by

R=

R out R
ln

R out
R

( )

Y = height of the tube from the neutral axis

Y =RR
Y out =R out R

E = modulus of elasticity
Ravg

= average radius
Ravg=

R + Rout
2

e = eccentricity
e=Ravg R

A = area of cross section

4. Theory

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4.1 Strain
Strain is the amount of deformation of a body due to an applied force. More
specifically, strain
figure below

is defined as the fractional change in length as shown in

Figure 2 - Body under load F

=

L
L

Strain can be positive (tensile) or negative (compressive). In practice, the

magnitude of measured strain is very small. Therefore, strain is often expressed
as micro strain (), which is

10-6.

4.2 Strain Gauge

A strain gauge (or strain gage) is a device used to measure strain on an object.
Invented by Edward E. Simmons and Arthur C. Ruge in 1938, the most
common type of strain gauge consists of an insulating flexible backing which
supports a metallic foil pattern. The gauge is attached to the object by a suitable
adhesive, such as cyanoacrylate. As the object is deformed, the foil is deformed,
causing its electrical resistance to change. This resistance change, usually
measured using a Wheatstone bridge, is related to the strain by the quantity
known as the gauge factor.

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A strain-sensitive material is one whose electrical resistance is proportional to

the instantaneous spatial-average strain over its surface. Such materials are of
two types: metallic (foil or wire) or semiconductor. When such a material is
stretched, its length increases and its cross-section decreases; consequently,
there is an increase in its electrical resistance. This change in resistance is a
measure of its mechanical motion. Thus, a strain gauge is a device which uses
change in electrical resistance to measure strain.

4.2.1 Strain gauge construction

Most strain gages are of foil construction, although fine wire strain gauges are
used for special purposes, such as at high temperatures. Foil strain gauges are
usually made by a printed circuit process. Since the foil used in a strain gauge
must be very fine or thin to have a sufficiently high electrical resistance (usually

350 ohms), it is difficult to handle. For example, the foil

used in gauges is often about 0.1 mm in thickness. Some use has been made
between

60

and

of wire filaments in strain gauges, but this type of gauge is seldom used except
in special or high temperature applications. In order to handle this foil, it must
be provided with a carrier medium or backing material, usually a piece of paper,
plastic, or epoxy. The backing material performs another very important
function in addition to providing ease of handling and simplicity of application.
The cement provides so much lateral resistance to the foil that it can be
shortened significantly without buckling; then compressive as well as tensile
strains can be measured. Lead wires or connection terminals are often provided
on foil gages, a protective coating, recommended or supplied by the
manufacturer, is usually applied over the strain gage, especially where the lead
wires are attached.

Figure 3 - Diagram of strain gauge

4.2.2 Application
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An excitation voltage is applied to input leads of the gauge network, and a

voltage reading is taken from the output leads. Typical input voltages are 5 V or
12 V and typical output readings are in millivolts.
Foil strain gauges are used in many situations. Different applications place
different requirements on the gauge. In most cases the orientation of the strain
gauge is significant.
Gauges attached to a load cell would normally be expected to remain stable
over a period of years, if not decades; while those used to measure response in a
dynamic experiment may only need to remain attached to the object for a few
days, be energized for less than an hour, and operate for less than a second.
Strain gauges are attached to the substrate with special glue. The type of glue
depends on the required lifetime of the measurement system. For short term
measurements (up to some weeks) cyanoacrylic glue is appropriate, for long
lasting installation epoxy glue is required. Usually epoxy glue requires high
temperature curing (at about 80 - 100 C). The preparation of the surface
where the strain gauge is to be glued is of the utmost importance. The surface
must be smoothed (e.g. with very fine sand paper), deoiled with solvents, the
solvent traces must then be removed and the strain gauge must be glued
immediately after this to avoid oxidation or pollution of the prepared area. If
these steps are not followed the strain gauge binding to the surface may be
unreliable and unpredictable measurement errors may be generated.
Strain gauge based technology is utilized commonly in the manufacture
of pressure sensors. The gauges used in pressure sensors themselves are
commonly made from silicon, polysilicon, metal film, thick film, and bonded
foil.

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Figure 4 - Strain gauge under (A) no load, (B) tensile load, and (C)
compressive load

4.2.3 Temperature effects

Variations in temperature will cause a multitude of effects. The object will
change in size by thermal expansion, which will be detected as a strain by the
gauge. Resistance of the gauge will change, and resistance of the connecting
wires will change.
Most strain gauges are made from a constantan alloy. Various constantan alloys
and Karma alloys have been designed so that the temperature effects on the
resistance of the strain gauge itself cancel out the resistance change of the gauge
due to the thermal expansion of the object under test. Because different
materials have different amounts of thermal expansion, self-temperature
compensation (STC) requires selecting a particular alloy matched to the
material of the object under test.
Strain gauges that are not self-temperature-compensated can be temperature
compensated by use of the dummy gauge technique. A dummy gauge (identical
to the active strain gauge) is installed on an unstrained sample of the same
material as the test specimen. The sample with the dummy gauge is placed in
thermal contact with the test specimen, adjacent to the active gauge. The
dummy gauge is wired into a Wheatstone bridge on an adjacent arm to the
active gauge so that the temperature effects on the active and dummy gauges
cancel each other.

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Temperature effects on the lead wires can be cancelled by using a "3-wire

bridge" or a "4-wire ohm circuit" (also called a "4-wire Kelvin connection").
In any case it is a good engineering practice to keep the Wheatstone bridge
voltage drive low enough to avoid the self-heating of the strain gauge. The selfheating of the strain gauge depends on its mechanical characteristic (large strain
gauges are less prone to self-heating). Low voltage drive levels of the bridge
reduce the sensitivity of the overall system.

4.2.4 Error and compensation

Zero Offset - If the impedance of the four gauge arms are not exactly the
same after bonding the gauge to the force collector, there will be a zero
offset which can be compensated by introducing a parallel resistor to one
or more of the gauge arms.
Temperature coefficient of gauge factor (TCGF) is the change of
sensitivity of the device to strain with change in temperature. This is
generally compensated for by the introduction of a fixed resistance in the
input leg, whereby the effective supplied voltage will increase with
temperature, compensating for the decrease in sensitivity with
temperature.
Zero shift with temperature - If the TCGF of each gauge is not the same,
there will be a zero shift with temperature. This is also caused by
anomalies in the force collector. This is usually compensated for with one
or more resistors strategically placed in the compensation network.
Linearity is an error whereby the sensitivity changes across the pressure
range. This is commonly a function of the force collection thickness
selection for the intended pressure and/or the quality of the bonding.
Hysteresis is an error of return to zero after pressure excursion.
EMI induced errors - As strain gauges output voltage is in the mV range,
even V if the Wheatstone bridge voltage drive is kept low to avoid selfheating of the element, special care must be taken in output signal
amplification to avoid amplifying also the superimposed noise. A solution
which is frequently adopted is to use "carrier frequency" amplifiers which
convert the voltage variation into a frequency variation (as in VCOs) and
have a narrow bandwidth thus reducing out of band EMI.
Overloading If a strain gauge is loaded beyond its design limit
(measured in micro strain) its performance degrades and cannot be
recovered. Normally good engineering practice suggests not stressing
-6
strain gauges beyond 3000 10 .
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 Humidity If the wires connecting the strain gauge to the signal

conditioner are not protected against humidity, such as bare wire,
corrosion can occur, leading to parasitic resistance. This can allow
currents to flow between the wires and the substrate to which the strain
gauge is glued, or between the two wires directly, introducing an error
which competes with the current flowing through the strain gauge. For
this reason, high-current, low-resistance strain gauges (120 ohm) are
less prone to this type of error. To avoid this error it is sufficient to protect
the strain gauges wires with insulating enamel (e.g., epoxy or
polyurethane type). Strain gauges with unprotected wires may be used
only in a dry laboratory environment but not in an industrial one.

4.2.5 Gauge factor

Gauge factor (GF) or strain

factor of a strain gauge is the ratio of relative

change in electrical resistance R, to the mechanical strain . The gauge factor is
defined as:
R
R

GF=
=
+1+2

Where, = strain

= Poissons ratio
= Resistivity
R = change in strain gauge resistance
R = unstrained resistance of strain gauge

4.3 Wheatstone bridge

A Wheatstone bridge is an electrical circuit used to measure an
unknown electrical resistance by balancing two legs of a bridge circuit, one leg
of which includes the unknown component. The primary benefit of a
Wheatstone bridge is its ability to provide extremely accurate measurements (in
contrast with something like a simple voltage divider). Its operation is similar to
the original potentiometer.
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The Wheatstone bridge was invented by Samuel Hunter Christie in 1833 and
improved and popularized by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1843. One of the
Wheatstone bridge's initial uses was for the purpose of soil analysis and
comparison.

Figure 5 Wheatstone bridge

In the figure, Rx is the unknown resistance to be measured; R1, R2 and R3 are
resistors of known resistance and the resistance of R2 is adjustable. If the ratio
of the two resistances in the known leg
the unknown leg

R2
R1

is equal to the ratio of the two in

Rx
R 3 , then the voltage between the two midpoints (B and D)

will be zero and no current will flow through the galvanometer Vg. If the bridge
is unbalanced, the direction of the current indicates whether R2 is too high or
too low. R2 is varied until there is no current through the galvanometer, which
then reads zero.
Detecting zero current with a galvanometer can be done to extremely high
accuracy. Therefore, if R1, R2 and R3 are known to high precision, then Rx can
be measured to high precision. Very small changes in Rx disrupt the balance and
are readily detected.
At the point of balance,
R2 Rx
=
R 1 R3

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4.4 Sensing Strain in Rings

The thin ring is one of the most effective structural forms for converting loads
and displacements into proportional strains. A simple engineering analysis of
the ring will be used to infer the behaviour when instrumented with strain
gauges. Rings are very commonly employed as sensing elements in load cells.
The basic concept is to apply a diametric load to a thin ring and sense the
flexural strains in the inner and outer surfaces of the ring. A simple analysis of
the deformation of the ring (not the initial shape but rather just the change in
shape) indicates that there will be four inflection points (where the curvature
reverses) at roughly 45 to the load axis. This means that the bending strains
will reach local maximum values between the inflection points or roughly on
the load axis and at 90 to it. As a result, these are good locations for strain
gauges, either on the inner or the outer surfaces of the ring. Since these are
flexural strains, they will be nearly opposite in sign when located on opposite
surfaces of the ring. Using only the inner surfaces is often a better choice
because it affords a measure of protection for the gauge but it is often more
difficult to install the gauge.

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B
C

Figure 6 Location of strain gauges on aluminium ring

5. Observation
5.1 General Reading
= 0
Rin = 51.7 mm
Rout = 65.2 mm

5.2 Experimental Reading

Reading
No.

Loading
(kg)

1
2
3

1
2
3

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Strain
A

(in 1 10-6)
B
C

-3
-7
-11

5
10
15

-1
-4
-8

6
8
14

4
5
6
7
8
9
10

4
5
4
3
2
1
0

-14
-18
-15
-12
-9
-7
-4

19
24
19
15
10
5
1

13
19
13
9
8
4
6

Note: For positions A, B, C, and D, refer to Figure 1.

6. Calculation
6.1 General Calculation

Ravg=
R=

R + Rout 51.7 +65.2

=
=58.45 mm
2
2

R out R
ln

65.251.7
=58.189 mm
65.2
ln
51.7

( RR ) ( )
out

e=Ravg R=58.4558.189=0.261 mm
Y =RR =58.18951.7=6.489 mm

Y out =R out R=65.258.189=7.011 mm

6.2 Sample Calculation

For reading no. 5, Load

= 5 kg

P = Load 9.81 = 5 9.81 = 49.05 N

M =

PR
2 49.05 58.189
2
cos =
cos 0
2

M =518.575 Nmm

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MY
EAe ( RY )

-9
-10
-8
-5
-1
2
4

 , outer =

518.575 (7.011 )
=25.121 106
70000 9 13.5 0.261 ( 58.189(7.011 ) )

, inner =

518.575 6.489
6
=29.32110
70000 9 13.5 0.261 ( 58.1896.489 )

7. Result
7.1 Strain along inner section of ring
Loading
(kg)
1
2
3
4
5
4
3
2
1
0

Experimentally obtained
(in 10-6)
B
C
Average
5
10
15
19
24
19
15
10
5
1

6
8
14
13
19
13
9
8
4
6

5.5
9
14.5
16
21.5
16
12
9
4.5
3.5

Theoreticall
y calculated
(in 10-6)

Absolute
error
(in 10-6)

5.864
11.728
17.592
23.456
29.321
23.456
17.592
11.728
5.864
0

0.364
2.728
3.092
7.456
7.82
7.456
5.592
2.728
1.364
3.5

7.2 Strain along outer section of ring

Loading
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Experimentally obtained

Theoreticall

Absolute

(kg)
1
2
3
4
5
4
3
2
1
0

(in 10-6)
D

-3
-7
-11
-14
-18
-15
-12
-9
-7
-4

-1
-4
-8
-9
-10
-8
-5
-1
2
4

Average

y calculated
(in 10-6)

error
(in 10-6)

-2
-5.5
-9.5
-11.5
-14
-11.5
-8.5
-5
-2.5
0

-5.024
-10.048
-15.072
-20.096
-25.121
-20.096
-15.072
-10.048
-5.024
0

3.024
4.548
5.572
8.596
11.121
8.596
6.572
5.048
2.524
0

8. Conclusion
Theoretical values and experimental values are calculated and compared
for the elongation in the ring at both the outer and inner surface. The
absolute error is less in the inner section compared to the outer section.
Inner strain values are coming positive means inner section of ring
experiences tension and outer section experiences compression.
The sources of error can be attributed to the following:
Fluctuation in the machine.
Due to frequent experiments, the actual dimensions of the ring
changes.
External disturbances like atmosphere conditions, surroundings etc.
Loose wire connection.
Some error during calibration process.
Error can be reduced by:
Proper measuring of the dimensions of the ring.
Proper setting of strain gauges and at right place i.e. at equal to
zero.
In place of quarter bridge circuit using half or full bridge circuit
will provide more experimental accuracy.
Elimination in surrounding condition change may increase the
accuracy.
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