National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli – 620 015

Department of Instrumentation and Control Engineering

1. Four strain gauges are bonded onto a cantilever as shown in Figure 1. Given that the gauges
are placed halfway along the cantilever and the cantilever is subjected to a downward force
of 0.5 N, use the data given below to calculate the resistance of each strain gauge.

Cantilever Data Strain gauge data

Figure 1
2. Four strain gauges, with specification given below, are available to measure the torque on
a cylindrical shaft 4 cm in diameter connecting a motor and load.
(a) Draw clearly labeled diagrams showing:
(i) The arrangement of the gauges on the shaft
(ii) The arrangement of the gauges in the bridge circuit, for optimum accuracy and
sensitivity.
(b) Calculate the maximum achievable bridge out-of-balance voltage for an applied torque
T of 103 Nm given the following:
Tensile and compressive strains = ± T / πSa3 where S = 1.1×1011 Nm-2 is the shear
modulus of the shaft material and a is the radius of the shaft in meters.
Strain gauge data: Resistance = 120 Ω
Gauge factor = 2.1
Maximum current = 50mA.
3. A load cell consists of a domed vertical steel cylinder 20 cm high and 15 cm in diameter.
Four flat surfaces, at right angles to each other, are cut on the vertical surface so as to form
10 cm squares. Resistance strain gauges are attached to these flat surfaces so that two
gauges (on opposite faces) suffer longitudinal compression and two gauges (on the other
pair of opposite faces) suffer transverse tension. The strain gauges have the following
specification:
Resistance = 100Ω
Gauge factor = 2.1
Maximum gauge current = 30mA
The gauges are connected in a temperature compensated bridge and the out-of-balance
signal is input to a differential amplifier. Calculate the minimum amplifier gain if the
amplifier output voltage is to be 1 V for a compressive force of 105 N.
Young’s modulus for steel = 2.1×1011Nm-2
Poisson’s ratio for steel = 0.29

4. A variable reluctance sensor consists of a core, variable air gap and an armature. The core
is a steel rod of diameter 1 cm, relative permeability 100, bent to form a semi-circle of
diameter 4 cm. A coil of 500 cm turns is wound onto the core. The armature is a steel plate
of thickness 0.5 cm and relative permeability 100. Assuming the relative permeability of
air = 1.0 and the permeability of free space = 4π×10-7Hm-1, calculate the inductance of the
sensor for air gaps of 1 mm and 3 mm.

5. By taking a central flux path, estimate the inductance of the sensor shown in Figure 2
(a) For zero air gap
(b) For a 2mm air gap.
Assume the relative permeability of core and armature is 104 and that of air is unity.

Figure 2
6. Figure 3 shows a variable reluctance force sensor which is incorporated into the bridge
circuit of Figure 4 When the applied force is zero the armature is positioned along the
center line AB.
(a) Explain why the sensor would be suitable for measuring force signals containing
frequencies between 0 and 10 Hz.
 (b) Sketch the frequency spectrum of the bridge output voltage.
(c) Use the data given to calculate the form of the bridge output voltage when F = +1.0N
and F = -1.0N
(d) Using the results of (c) explain how to demodulate the bridge output voltage.
Data: Overall spring stiffness = 103 Nm-1
Effective mass of spring and armature = 25×10-3kg.
Damping ratio = 0.7
Inductance of each coil = 20/ (1+2d) mH (d = air gap in mm)
Amplitude of bridge supply = 1 V
Frequency of bridge supply = 1000 Hz.

Figure 3 Figure 4

7. A resistive displacement transducer with a stroke length of 50mm is shown in the fig. the
total resistance of the potentiometer R1+R2 = 400 Ω and input voltage is 4V. The wiper
is 375mm away from B. What is the value of R? What is the output voltage? Assume
Rm=∞.

8. A LVDT has an output of 6V rms when the displacement is 0.4x10-3mm. Determine the
sensitivity of this instrument in V/mm. A 10V voltmeter with 100 scale divisions is used
to read the output. Two- tenth of a division can be estimated with ease. Determine the
resolution of the voltmeter. The above arrangement is used in pressure transducer for
measuring the deflection of a diaphragm. The diaphragm is deflected through 0.5x10-
3
mm by a pressure of 1000N/m2. Determine the sensitivity and resolution of this
instrument.

9. A strain gauge, having a gauge factor of 2, is mounted on a rectangular steel bar (Em =
200 x 106 kN/m2), as shown in Fig. The bar is 3 cm wide and 1 cm high, and is subjected
to a tensile force of 30 kN. Determine the resistance change of the strain gauge if the
resistance of the gauge was 120 Ω in the absence of the axial load.
 KNOW GF = 2 Em= 200 x 106 kN/m2 FN = 30 kN
R = 120 Ω Ac = 0.03 m x 0.01 m
FIND The resistance change of the strain gauge for a tensile force of 30 kN

10. Determine the bridge constant for two strain gauges mounted on a structural member, as
shown in Fig. The member is subject to uniaxial tension, which produces an axial strain
Ꜫa and a lateral strain ꜪL = -υpꜪa. Assume that all the resistances in Fig are initially equal,
so that the bridge is initially balanced. Let (GF)1 = (GF)2.

KNOW Stain gauge installation shown in Figure.

FIND The bridge constant for this installation

ASSUMPTION The change in the strain gauge resistance are small compared to
the initial resistance