CONTACT US NOW:T+44 (0) 1707 377 448Email@accolademeasure.co.uk
Strain Measurement
Accolade Measurement is a small close knit team of engineering and science graduates, providing measurement of movement, strain, stress and load, on long term construction monitoring, or measurement during short term static or dynamic impact, load and fatigue tests. Strains are measured using either foil (resistance) strain gauges for dynamic measurements, or vibrating wire strain gauges for longer term static measurements.
Foil strain gauges can be single axis for measuring strain in one direction, or rosettes, for measuring strain in several directions. Strain gauges will measure axial strain, and also bending, shear or torsional strain. From the measurements, force, load and stress can easily be measured, either axially, or in bending, or shear/ torsion – any component can be made into a load cell, simply by converting strain to stress/ load by calibration (applying a known force), or calculation where the modulus of the material is known. The small size and weight of foil strain gauges makes them ideal for dynamic measurements, where additional mass is undesirable. Gauges can be bonded to any material, from large structural steels, to small mechanical components, to muscles/ tendons and prosthetics such as heart components, and joints. The largest foil strain gauges are several centimetres in size (for measurement of less homogenous materials such as concrete), down to the smallest, with an active gauge area of 0.2 x 0.8mm. These miniature strain gauges are ideal for the automobile, aircraft, train and other machinery fields. Applications include measuring strain on printed circuit boards and strain at the root of gear teeth.
Vibrating wire strain gauges are ideal for fast installation, and longer term structural instrumentation/ monitoring. Change in strain is measured from a change in frequency of the vibrating wire, frequency is unchanged over long lengths of wire, so large structures can be monitored accurately.
Instrumentation is connected to data loggers, enabling automated recording and pushing of data to websites for multiple users. Plots of movement can be generated real time in many formats to ensure that trends are easily visible. Safety critical components/ structures can have automated instrumentation to generate text/ e-mail alerts, site alarms and control other systems, such as railway signalling, or process control. High speed Data loggers can record up to 96,000 readings per second. Radio telemetry enables data from strain gauges on moving components such as gears to be sent to data loggers. Radio telemetry is also useful on large structures to avoid running cables.
Strain gauge installation can be a highly skilled process requiring experience and dexterity – something we have been doing since 1993. As an independent supplier we are not restricted on the equipment we use, and can select the most appropriate gauges, instrumentation and loggers without bias.
Foil strain gauges can be single axis for measuring strain in one direction, or rosettes, for measuring strain in several directions. Strain gauges will measure axial strain, and also bending, shear or torsional strain. From the measurements, force, load and stress can easily be measured, either axially, or in bending, or shear/ torsion – any component can be made into a load cell, simply by converting strain to stress/ load by calibration (applying a known force), or calculation where the modulus of the material is known. The small size and weight of foil strain gauges makes them ideal for dynamic measurements, where additional mass is undesirable. Gauges can be bonded to any material, from large structural steels, to small mechanical components, to muscles/ tendons and prosthetics such as heart components, and joints. The largest foil strain gauges are several centimetres in size (for measurement of less homogenous materials such as concrete), down to the smallest, with an active gauge area of 0.2 x 0.8mm. These miniature strain gauges are ideal for the automobile, aircraft, train and other machinery fields. Applications include measuring strain on printed circuit boards and strain at the root of gear teeth.
Vibrating wire strain gauges are ideal for fast installation, and longer term structural instrumentation/ monitoring. Change in strain is measured from a change in frequency of the vibrating wire, frequency is unchanged over long lengths of wire, so large structures can be monitored accurately.
Instrumentation is connected to data loggers, enabling automated recording and pushing of data to websites for multiple users. Plots of movement can be generated real time in many formats to ensure that trends are easily visible. Safety critical components/ structures can have automated instrumentation to generate text/ e-mail alerts, site alarms and control other systems, such as railway signalling, or process control. High speed Data loggers can record up to 96,000 readings per second. Radio telemetry enables data from strain gauges on moving components such as gears to be sent to data loggers. Radio telemetry is also useful on large structures to avoid running cables.
Strain gauge installation can be a highly skilled process requiring experience and dexterity – something we have been doing since 1993. As an independent supplier we are not restricted on the equipment we use, and can select the most appropriate gauges, instrumentation and loggers without bias.