Strain Gauge

What is Strain Gauge?

A sensor whose resistance changes with mechanical deformation, used to measure strain and hence stress or load. The resistance change is tiny, so it's almost always read through a Wheatstone bridge to turn microscopic strain into a usable voltage.

The five clues

Engineerdle #61 described Strain Gauge with five clues, revealed one at a time from hardest to most direct. Each clue points at a different property of the concept.

1. 01A thin foil pattern bonded to a surface.
2. 02Stretch it and its electrical resistance changes.
3. 03Its sensitivity is quoted as a gauge factor, typically around 2.
4. 04You usually need temperature compensation and a bridge circuit to read it.
5. 05It's the sensing element inside almost every load cell.