Strain Gage Measurements
Recommended for grades 9–14.
Introduction
When a force is exerted on an object, the length of the object will change. The ratio of the change in length to the original length is called strain. A strain gage is a small section of very fine wire that changes electrical resistance when its dimensions are changed. Two leads (wires or terminals) are available to connect the gage to measuring instruments. In use, a strain gage is attached to the surface of the object to be measured in such a way that when the mechanism is deformed, the conducting material is also deformed. Consider two strain gages that are glued to the top and bottom of a metal cantilever beam. When a force is applied to the beam, it bends down in proportion to the force (Hooke's Law). As the bar bends downward, the top of the bar stretches as it is placed in tension. The top strain gage is also stretched, and its resistance increases slightly because the length of gage wire increases while the width of the wire decreases. For the strain gage on the bottom of the bar, all of these effects are reversed–the bottom of the beam is placed in compression and the gage decreases in resistance. These changes in resistance are small, but they can be measured accurately with the proper circuit. A well-known circuit designed to convert small changes in resistance to changes in voltage is a Wheatstone bridge circuit.
Objectives
Build a Wheatstone bridge circuit with two strain gages, and use it to measure the strain on a cantilever beam as a load is applied to the end of the beam. You will write a LabVIEW program to measure the output voltage of this circuit and convert it to strain. Both voltage and strain should be displayed on the front panel as Waveform Charts. Your apparatus should incorporate a Vernier Instrumentation Amplifier to magnify the voltage readings.
Sensors and Equipment
This project requires each of the following Vernier sensors and equipment (unless otherwise noted):
Additional Requirements
You will also need a SensorDAQ interface and LabVIEW software for data acquisition.
Download Experiment Preview
The student-version preview includes:
- Step-by-step instructions for computer-based data collection
- List of materials and equipment
The preview does not include essential teacher information, safety tips, or sample data. We strongly recommend that you purchase the book for classroom use.
Standards Correlations
No standards correlations for this experiment.
Experiment 10 from Engineering Projects with NI LabVIEW and Vernier Lab Book
Included in the Lab Book
Vernier lab books include a CD with word-processing files of the student instructions, essential teacher information, suggested answers, sample data and graphs, and more.