All You Need To Know About Strain Gauge, Its Working Principle & Characteristics

Strain gauges can be termed as essential geotechnical equipment that helps in measuring the strain in various underground tunnels, cavities, concrete, buildings, bridges, masonry dams and so on.  One of the main reasons why strain gauges are used is because engineers need to know the stress along with its variation with time in a quantifiable manner. Any change in stress can be quickly determined by multiplying the strain along with the elasticity modulus. 

In case you want to learn more about a strain gauge condition monitoring equipment, then be sure to continue reading as we will be discussing all its features along with its working principle.

What Do You Mean By A Strain Gauge?

The strain gauge can be defined as a type of equipment that measures the amount of strain on any object. It was discovered by Arthur C Ruge & Edward E Simmons, in the year 1938. 

The Working Of A Strain Gauge And Its Principle

Firstly, you must remember that a strain gauge always depends on a conductor’s electrical resistivity. A conductor’s electrical resistance will depend on its overall length as well as the cross-section area. The larger the length or cross-section area more will be the resistance. 

Therefore, when an external force can change the parameters of an object, the overall electrical resistivity also alters. A strain gauge is able to measure such deformity only by using the Gauge Factor formula. 

Change in external force is directly proportional to an object’s resistance. For instance, an increase in the external force will drive the resistance high and vice-versa. So, if you’re planning to obtain a strain gauge or hire noise monitoring equipment, then you can get in touch with us.

The Features Of A Strain Gauge

• The Length Of The Gauge

Every measurement comes with its own set of errors and in a strain gauge, the measurement error depends on the length of the gauge, as well as its width. Greater the length & width, more error will be included in the measurement. 

• The Sensitivity Of The Gauge

The smallest value of strain that can be readable on the strain gauge scale is termed sensitivity. Strain gauges with higher sensitivity will make the measuring process more complex and vice-versa.

• The Range Of The Gauge

A strain gauge’s range can be defined by the amount of measurement that can be done without resetting the gauge.

• The Accuracy Of The Gauge

It should be realized that inaccuracies usually result from the introduction of external factors, such as friction, temperature change, and so on. 

With that being said, in case you have any further queries about strain gauges, in particular, you can simply reach out to us. We’d be happy to answer them.