Prosig Signal Processing Blog

By James Wren, Application Engineer, Prosig

A strain gauge is an electrical sensor which is used to accurately measure strain in a test piece. Strain gauges are usually based on a metallic foil pattern. The gauge is attached to the test piece with a special adhesive. As the test piece is deformed, so the adhesive deforms equally and thus the strain gauge deforms at the same rate and amount as the test piece. It’s for this reason that the adhesive must be carefully chosen. If the adhesive cracks or becomes detached from the test piece any test results will be useless.

Strain gauges are used not just for metals; they have been connected to the retina of the human eye, insects, plastics, concrete and indeed any material where strain is under investigation. Modern composite materials like carbon fibre when under development are often constructed with strain gauges between the layers of the material.

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By James Wren, Application Engineer, Prosig

The following application note describes the test and measurement process for the fatigue testing and development cycle of a component. Strain gauges were used to monitor the strain levels in a particular suspension component. The component had been known to fail at various intervals. A predicted life for the component was required to analyse the feasibility of the its continued use or to see if a design change was required. The component under test (Figure 1) was an automotive suspension component, specifically a tie rod. The testing was carried out by a major automotive manufacturer. read »»»