MM 10
MM 10
ENGINEERING
(An Autonomous Institution affiliated to Visvesvaraya
Technological University, Belagavi )
Kumaraswamy Layout, Bengaluru – 560 078
LABORATORY MANUAL
III Semester
[22ME34 (IPCC)]
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EXPERIMENT No. 10
MEASUREMENT OF STRAIN AND YOUNG’S MODULUS USING
STRAIN GAUGES
When a ductile material like mild steel is subjected to tensile force, it undergoes different stages
before failure. Stress strain curve is the graphical representation of this stages. Different material
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may have different curve. Usually ductile materials follow similar pattern, so is for brittle
materials. Here is the explanation of stress strain curve for mild steel which is ductile material.
Here is the list of different stages when ductile material subjected to force till its failure.
As shown in stress strain curve for mild steel, up to the point A, stress and strain follow a
relationship. This is known as Hook’s law. Up to the limit of proportionality, stress directly
followed the strain. This means ratio of stress and strain remains constant
Elastic limit
Up to this limit (point B), is material will regain its original shape is unloaded. Point B is known
as elastic point.
Yield limit
When material is loaded beyond its elastic limit, it will not regain its original shape. There will
be always some deformation.
Ultimate stress
This is the maximum stress a material can bear. Value of stress correspond to peak point on
stress strain curve for mild steel is the ultimate stress. It is denoted by point E in diagram.
Breaking stress
Point on the stress strain curve where material fails, is known as breaking point. Stress
correspond to this point is known as breaking stress.
A strain gauge is a resistor used to measure strain on an object. When an external force is
applied on an object, due to which there is a deformation occurs in the shape of the object. This
deformation in the shape is both compressive or tensile is called strain, and it is measured by the
strain gauge. When an object deforms within the limit of elasticity, either it becomes narrower
and longer or it become shorter and broadens. As a result of it, there is a change in resistance
end-to-end.
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Figure 10.2: Strain Gauge
The strain gauge is sensitive to that small changes occur in the geometry of an object. By
measuring the change in resistance of an object, the amount of induced stress can be calculated.
The change in resistance normally has very small value, and to sense that small change, strain
gauge has a long thin metallic strip arrange in a zigzag pattern on a non-conducting material
called the carrier, as shown below, so that it can enlarge the small amount of stress in the group
of parallel lines and could be measured with high accuracy. The gauge is literally glued onto the
device by an adhesive.
When an object shows physical deformation, its electrical resistance gets change and that change
is then measured by gage.
Gauge factor (GF) or strain factor of a strain gauge is the ratio of relative change in electrical
resistance R, to the mechanical strain ε. The gauge factor is defined as:
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Strain Gauge Bridge Circuit
Figure 10.3: Strain gauge bridge circuit for quarter bridge circuit
Strain gauge bridge circuit shows the measured stress by the degree of discrepancy, and uses a
voltmeter in the center of the bridge to provide an accurate measurement of that imbalance.
In this circuit, R1 and R3 are the ratio arms equal to each other, and R2 is the rheostat arm has a
value equal to the strain gage resistance. When the gauge is unstrained, the bridge is balanced,
and voltmeter shows zero value. As there is a change in resistance of strain gauge, the bridge
gets unbalanced and producing an indication at the voltmeter.
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Observations:
Beam material: Mild steel
Length of the beam, l = 250 mm
Width of beam, b = 41 mm
Thickness of beam, h = 2.48 mm
Procedure:-
(a) Strain measurement in FOUR arm modes (full bridge)
A full-bridge strain gage configuration has four active strain gages
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Tabular column for full bridge
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Tabular column for half bridge
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Tabular column for Quarter Bridge
Graphs:
Plot
(i) v/s m for all the three modes. (A straight line is obtained from which the slope can be
found i.e.,Young’s modulus E = slope of the line)
Result: -
The results are tabulated and graphs are plotted.
Sl. No. Arm mode / Bridge Young’s modulus, E (by graph)
N/mm2
1 Four arm mode / Full bridge
2 Two arm mode / Half bridge
3 Single arm mode / Quarter bridge
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