Effects of pressure on small foil strain gages

This paper describes the behavior of small foil strain gages under high pressure. Effects of pressure were determined and calibration curves were established in prelininary experiments. The calibrations were then used for correcting measured strains in pressure vessels. Preliminary experiments at room temperature were conducted on small foil strain gages for pressures up to 35,000 psi. The effects of pressure on the gages bonded with a cynoacrylate contact cement, a room-temperature epoxy cement, a high-temperature epoxy cement and a filled epoxy resin were evaluated. Because the contact cement was least affected by pressure and was easiest to apply, it was chosen for use in successive experiments with different gage installations. Calibration curves were determined for strain gages of 0.031-, 0.062- and 0.125-in. gage lengths. The compensating gages were under atmospheric pressure. The calibrations included the pressure effects of gages bonded on both concave and convex surfaces, and the effect of tensile prestrains. Data could be duplicated for successive pressure tests and for several gage installations. The calibration curves proved to be an effective way for obtaining accurate readings from the foil strain gages bonded internally to a pressure vessel.     

Measurement of static strain at 2,000° F

This paper describes the work being done at Hughes Aircraft Company using capacitance strain gages to measure static strains at temperatures up to and including 2,000° F. A new configuration of the capacitance gage is described with a gage length of 0.50 in. Methods of attaching the gage have been developed for welding, bonding and flame-spray installations. Instrumentation procedures and methods are defined. Statistical accuracy and test results are discussed on the results obtained from a lot of 60 gages. Results discussed were obtained on Rene 41, titanium and L605 stainless steel. Data analysis on the gage includes gage factor, gage factor vs. temperature, apparent strain, linearity, hysteresis, temperature effects, drift, and zero shift.     

Temperature and rise-time effects on dynamic strain measurement

Strain pulses in a test specimen were measured over a temperature range of ?73 to +149°C with foil and semiconductor strain gages. These tests were performed to determine if the rise time and amplitude of the gage output change as a function of temperature. The existence of a constant that should be added to the theoretical rise times of resistance strain gages, as suggested by Koshiro Oi, was reexamined. ‘Long’ rise-time strain pulses were produced in the test specimen by an impacting steel ball. The rise times of these pulses were on the order of 7 μs and the amplitudes were approximately 65 μm/m. The results of these tests show that the rise time and amplitude of the gage do not change as a function of temperature. ‘Short’ rise-time strain pulses of approximately 500 μm/m with a rise time of 2 μs were produced in a test specimen by a short pendulum-type hammer apparatus. The results of these tests showed that the amplitude of the gage output was relatively independent of test temperatures but exhibited a slight hysteresis effect. The rise times for these tests remained constant up to a temperature of 93°C, then started to increase. The rise times at 149°C were approximately 100 percent longer than at room temperature. Under optimum conditions, a pulse with a measured rise time of 0.18 μs could be generated. The results of these tests indicated that the theoretical rise-time additive constant of resistance strain gages is 0.05 μs or less. This is one-half the value that Bickle arrived at by reevaluating Oi's data. However, since the real rise time of the pulse was unknown, this additive constant is not necessarily a property of the gage.     

Pressure effects on the response of foil strain gages

The effect of pressure on the gage factor (the strain coefficient of resistance) for a bonded constantan gage was investigated by measuring the compliance of single-crystal quartz in the direction of itsc-crystallographic axis as a function of pressure and by comparing these results with those derived from ocoustic-velocity data. The gage factor is indicated as increasing with pressure at a rate of approximately 0.4 percent per kilobar. This increase may be due to one or both of two factors: an increase in the resistivity-strain tensor or a thinning and stiffening of the gage cement.     

The response of strain gages to longitudinally sweeping strain pulses

The current state-of-the-art for estimating the maximum rise time of a strain gage which is subjected to an axially sweeping strain pulse ist _rg≤0.8L/c+0.5μsec wheret _rg is the 10/90 rise time of the strain gage,^* L is the gage length andc is the strain-pulse velocity. This paper shows that the effect of the 0.8L/c term can be significantly reduced by utilizing an analytical compensation technique. In addition, it is shown that the 0.5 μsec additive constant can be reduced to approximately 0.1 μsec by reinterpreting data published by a previous author.     

Laser diffraction methods for high-temperature strain measurements

Optical methods, utilizing the interference fringes produced by diffraction of a laser light beam passing through a narrow slit, have been investigated for strain measurements at high temperatures above 1000°C. Two methods are reviewed, one suitable for dynamic loading conditions and the other for slow rate and static loading conditions. The basic principles of the methods, new instrumentation, and new measurement techniques are described. Experimental verification of the basic optical theory, system calibration, results of cross calibrations with foil strain gage, and sample applications at high temperatures are presented. Test results show that both methods are capable of performing accurate and reliable strain measurements at high temperatures.Paper was presented at the 1989 SEM Spring Conference on Experimental Mechanics held in Cambridge, MA on May 28–June 1.     

The interferometric strain gage

The interferometric strain gage consists of two very shallow grooves ruled on a highly polished surface. The grooves are cut with a diamond and are 4×10^?5 in. deep and 5×10^?3 in. apart. Coherent, monochromatic light from a He?Ne gas laser incident upon these grooves will produce fringe patterns. A fringe pattern with the fringes parallel to the grooves is formed on each side of the impinging beam. The position of these patterns in space is related to the distance between the two grooves. As this distance changes, the fringes shift. Measurement of these fringe shifts enables one to determine the local strain of the specimen. In this paper, the theory of the measurement is developed first. The strain, ∈, is given by ∈=ΔFλ/d _o sin α _o where ΔF is the average fringe shift of the two patterns, λ is the wavelength of light,d _o is the initial distance between grooves, and α _o is the angle between the incident light beam and the fringe patterns. A procedure for making static measurements with the interferometric strain gage is presented. The sensitivity for these measurements is 0.5 percent strain per fringe shift, and the maximum strain is 4 percent. The method is evaluated by comparing its results with other accepted means of measuring large plastic strain. These other techniques are: post-yield foil gages, a 2-in. clip gage, and an Instron testing machine. The average percent difference among these techniques is less than 0.4 percent based on a full-scale measurement of 4-percent strain. The interferometric strain gage has the following features: a gage integral with the specimen surface, a very short gage length, relatively easy application, and the ability to measure large strains.     

Development of New Strain Gage for High-Pressure Hydrogen Gas Use

The output changes of two conventional strain gages (Cu–Ni and Ni–Cr) and a newly-selected strain gage for high-pressure hydrogen gas use (Fe–Cr–Al) in 90 MPa hydrogen and nitrogen gases were measured under unloading conditions to find a high-performance strain gage for high-pressure hydrogen gas use. The changes in the outputs of the Cu–Ni and Ni–Cr gages in hydrogen gas were much larger than those in nitrogen gas, and the Fe–Cr–Al gage showed almost the same output changes in both gases. These results imply that the Fe–Cr–Al gage is superior to the others as a strain gage for high-pressure hydrogen gas use. A large amount of hydrogen entered the Cu–Ni and Ni–Cr foils, and the electrical resistances of these foils were significantly changed by hydrogen exposure, whereas almost no hydrogen entered the Fe–Cr–Al foil, and its electrical resistance was not changed. These resistance changes of the foils as a result of hydrogen entry were consistent with the gage output changes in hydrogen gas.     

Small attachable interferometric strain gages

Laser-based interferometry from two tiny reflective indentations can be used to measure in-plane strain/displacement over a very short gage length (on the order of 100 μm). If the specimen material is not reflective, then some other means of generating the interference patterns must be found. This paper describes two kinds of attachable gages: plated acetate replicas of indentations and reflective foils that are indented after application. In either case, the gage is applied with the techniques used for foil-resistance gages and the gage itself is very small. The manufacturing procedures are described. The results of experiments comparing the strain to that measured with foil-resistance gages are presented. Finally, the small interferometric gage is used to measure strain on one of the metal strips in a foil-resistance gage.     

Strain-gage stability measurements for three years at 150°C in air

The zero shifts of nickel-chromium foil strain gages (modified Karma) were measured over a period of three years at a constant temperature of 150°C in air. Three gage lengths were included—1.585 mm (1/16 in.), 3.170 mm (1/8 in.), and 6.340 mm (1/4 in.). The strain gages were bonded to constant-stress cantilever beams which were subjected to nomial mechanical strain levels of 0, ±780 μm/m, and ± 1350 μm/m. Each strian gage was connected by threewire leads to a Wheatstone-bridge circuit for the test duration. The data support two general observations: (1) short gage lengths suffer larger zero shifts than longer gage lengths, and (2) gages in compression suffer large zero shifts than gages in tension. On the assumption that the major cause of the zero shifts is a combination of corrosion of the foil and creep of the gage/epoxy/beam system, the author suggests a possible way to correct for the zero shift by experimentally determining the combined corrosion/creep effect and substracting it from the strain-gage readings. Some of the data appear to be consistent with this assumption, but some of the data do not.     

Transient response of bonded strain gages

Transient-response characteristics of bonded strain gages have been studied by measuring the elastic step wave produced in a steel bar. A quenched-steel bar with a circumferential notch is stretched statically along its axis until it fractures at the notch. Thus a new cross section is suddenly created in a bar under static tension. At this moment, a sharp step wave of zero stress is produced from the new section, and it travels in the bar at the velocity of sound. By measuring this step wave with strain gages, it is shown that the rise time of the gage itself is less than 0.5 μs+0.8L/c, whereL is the gage length andc is the velocity of longitudinal elastic wave in the bar.     

A simple estimate for the effect of cross sensitivity on evaluated strain-gage measurement

The cross-sensitivity factor of a short-wire strain gage can sometimes be estimated by comparison of its gage factor with that of a long gage of similar construction and material. A plot of the error introduced by the usual neglect of cross sensitivity against the known or estimatedtrue ratio of transverse to longitudinal stress or strain yields a quick estimate for any given cross-sensitivity factorn of the gage, any Poisson's ratio ν of the test piece and any stress or strain ratio. It shows whether in any particular test the influence of cross sensitivity warrants further special attention. If the longitudinal strain exceeds the transverse strain, the error is seen to be always less than 1.3n, but if the transverse strain is larger, the error may be so high as to vitiate the result. In computations from rosette measurements, the diagram shows that the larger principal stress can be determined with an error below 1.3n, as can Tresca's and von Mises's criteria of yield, while the error in the smaller principal stress tends to be large for principal strain ratios above +10 or below ?1.5.     

准静态压缩应力-应变曲线测量方法的探索

本文介绍了用应变片直接测量材料的准静态应力-应变曲线的试验研究。在MTS810材料试验机上分别对93W、G50、砂浆等几种材料进行了准静态压缩试验。由于仪器的系统误差不能由MTSCod规准确的得到材料的真实的弹性变形。为此在试件的中部贴应变片得到材料的弹性变形,塑性变形仍旧由MTSCod规记录,从而得到试样的真实的应变,准确获得准静态压缩应力-应变曲线。试验结果表明:在试件中部贴应变片的方法能够准确得到该材料的杨氏模量;在试件两端垫块的刀口上安置Cod规可得到材料的应力应变曲线。两者的合理组合即可得到准确而完整的准静态压缩应力-应变曲线。试验中还发现准静态实验中试件的断面加工不平,偏心压缩等都会影响E的准确测量。     

Inertial effects of quartz force transducers embedded in a split Hopkinson pressure bar

An aluminum split Hopkinson pressure bar is instrumented with quartz force transducers and used to test low impedance materials. Two transducers are used, one at the interface between the specimen and the incident bar and the other at the interface between the specimen and the transmitter bar. It is shown that the stress measured by the incident bar gage often contains a substantial acceleration component, i.e., a significant portion of the signal recorded by the gage is due to its own inertia and not representative of the stress within the sample. Attempts are made to actively compensate for this with measurements of the acceleration of the gage. This is done in three ways: (i) by differentiation of the interface velocity, as determined by a standard strain gage analysis; (ii) by a more direct determination of acceleration, using a measurement of the strain gradient within the bar; (iii) by adding a compensation crystal and mass to the gage to remove the inertial component from the output. It is shown that all three techniques successfully mitigate inertial effects.     

A piezoelectric field-effect strain gage

A new and highly sensitive strain transducer has been developed using a thin-film semiconductor deposited on a polished piezoelectric ceramic substrate. Field-effect coupling has been found to exist between the substrate and film in which the number of mobile carriers in the semiconductor is dependent on the electric-displacement vector of the substrate. Therefore, the conductivity of the semiconducting film can be altered by piezoelectric charge due to a strain applied to the substrate material. An effective gage constant has been calculated in terms of the piezoelectric and elastic constants of the substrate and electronic properties of the film. Experimental devices were constructed by depositingp type tellurium on polished lead-zirconate-titanate ceramic resulting in experimentally observed gage factors as high as 5800 compared to 100–200 for conventional semiconductor gages. The semiconductor film exhibits an electronic instability that limits its use, at present, to transient measurements with frequencies above 1 Hz. Data will also be presented to show that the gage constant is continuously variable between a positive and negative maximum value by altering the magnitude and direction of the substrate-polarization vector. It is believed that these gages will be useful in those cases where extremely small strains (～10^?7) are to be measured or when moderate strains (～10^?4) are to be determined in an electrically noisy background.     

Errors in high-temperature strain measurements

The results of a technical evaluation of the accuracy of two types of commercially available high-temperature electric-resistance strain gages, and a special high-temperature gage under development at the Liquid Metal Engineering Center (LMEC) are presented. These gages, the BLH type HT 1212-5A, Microdot type SG420, and the LMEC gage, were selected for evaluation because of the need for reliable electric-resistance strain gages for high-temperature stress or strain measurements and process instrumentation in the temperature range of 900 to 1200° F. The BLH gage is rated by the manufacturer as a 1000 to 1200° F gage; the Microdot gage is rated as a 900° F gage. The special LMEC gage was made for use up to 1200° F. Instrumentation of this type is needed to determine or ensure component structural integrity and over-all system reliability of fast breeder reactors.     

Sensitivity of the shear gage to normal strains

This paper documents an experimental study that was conducted to demonstrate the sensitivity of the shear gage to the presence of normal strains. The shear gage is a specially designed strain gage rosette that measures the average shear strain in the test section of notched specimens such as the losipescu, Arcan and compact shear specimens. These specimens can have complicated stress states with high shear and normal strain gradients. To evaluate the sensitivity of the shear gage to normal strains, shear gages were tested on an Arcan specimen. The Arcan specimen is a notched specimen that can be loaded in pure shear (90 deg), pure tension (0 deg) and at intermediate 15- deg increments. The shear modulus for an aluminum specimen was determined at each of these loading angles. It was found that the gages display nearly zero sensitivity to normal strains ( _x, _y). Moiré interferometry was used to document the shear and normal strain distributions in the test section and to provide an independent method for determining the average shear strain. These results reinforce the robust nature of testing with the shear gage.     

Large Strain Shear Compression Test of Sheet Metal Specimens

A hybrid experimental-computational procedure to establish accurate true stress-plastic strain curve of sheet metal specimen covering the large plastic strain region using shear compression test data is described. A new shear compression jig assembly with a machined gage slot inclined at 35° to the horizontal plane of the assembly is designed and fabricated. The novel design of the shear compression jig assembly fulfills the requirement to maintain a uniform volume of yielded material with characteristic maximum plastic strain level across the gage region of the Shear Compression Metal Sheet (SCMS) specimen. The approach relies on a one-to-one correlation between measured global load–displacement response of the shear compression jig assembly with SCMS specimen to the local stress-plastic strain behavior of the material. Such correlations have been demonstrated using finite element (FE) simulation of the shear compression test. Coefficients of the proposed correlations and their dependency on relative plastic modulus were determined. The procedure has been established for materials with relative plastic modulus in the range 5?×?10^?4?<?(E _p /E)?<?0.01. It can be readily extended to materials with relative plastic modulus values beyond the range considered in this study. Nonlinear characteristic hardening of the material could be established through piecewise linear consideration of the measured load–displacement curve. Validity of the procedure is established by close comparison of measured and FE-predicted load–displacement curve when the provisional hardening curve is employed as input material data in the simulation. The procedure has successfully been demonstrated in establishing the true stress-plastic strain curve of a demonstrator 0.0627C steel SCMS specimen to a plastic strain level of 49.2 pct.     

Application of carbon-powder-polymer composite as a continuous crack-length sensor

This paper explores the application of carbon-powder-impregnated polymeric composites for measuring crack extensions. The strain sensitivity of the gage material is shown to be very small. In the first series of tests, the gage material is characterized by measuring the change in electrical resistance due to machined slits for various gage lengths. The measured response is compared with the response predicted from a very simple electrical model. On the basis of good correlation and repeatability, the usefulness of such gages to measure crack extensions is assessed by a second series of tests. Further work to improve the gage response by optimizing the shape of the gage and making the gage and the adhesive layer thinner is proposed. The presented concept, with improvements, can result in a reliable, inexpensive crack gage requiring inexpensive instrumentation. Paper was presented at the 1990 SEM Spring Conference on Experimental Mechanics held in Albuquerque, NM on June 3–6.