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Dear Biomch-L Members:
I am trying to develop a system to measure forces in the range of 40-80
N with a resolution of 0.5 N (or better if possible). A technician for a
strain gage manufacturer has told me that there are major problems in trying
to measure forces this small (at least with their strain gages). The
explanation that I pieced together is that the material to which the strain
gages are affixed must have a large enough strain for the given load to
provide the resolution needed. The manufacturer recommended an aluminum
beam to affix the gages to. The elastic properties of aluminum would
dictate extremely small dimensions for a beam which produced enough strain
under this small load to be measurable. This is not practical. A possible
solution may be to use a different material which is more compliant but I am
not aware of any strain gage devices which use non-aluminum beams. Does
anyone out there have any recommendations as to a strain gage system which
can measure forces in this range? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Scott McLean
Exercise and Sport Research Institute
Arizona State University
I am trying to develop a system to measure forces in the range of 40-80
N with a resolution of 0.5 N (or better if possible). A technician for a
strain gage manufacturer has told me that there are major problems in trying
to measure forces this small (at least with their strain gages). The
explanation that I pieced together is that the material to which the strain
gages are affixed must have a large enough strain for the given load to
provide the resolution needed. The manufacturer recommended an aluminum
beam to affix the gages to. The elastic properties of aluminum would
dictate extremely small dimensions for a beam which produced enough strain
under this small load to be measurable. This is not practical. A possible
solution may be to use a different material which is more compliant but I am
not aware of any strain gage devices which use non-aluminum beams. Does
anyone out there have any recommendations as to a strain gage system which
can measure forces in this range? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Scott McLean
Exercise and Sport Research Institute
Arizona State University