A semiconductor strain gage tactile transducer

This paper describes the development of a semiconductor strain gage tactile transducer. It was designed with the goal of measuring finger forces without affecting the hand dexterity. The transducer structure was manufactured with stainless steel and has small dimensions ( 4 min diameter and I min thickness). It is light and suitable to connect to the finger pads. It has a device that prevents its damage when forces are applied. The semiconductor strain gage was used over due its small size and high sensitivity, although it has high temperature sensitivity. Theory, design and construction details are presented the signal conditioning circuit is very simple because the semiconductor strain gage sensitivity is high. It presents linear response from 0 to 100 N, 0.5 N resolution, fall time of 7.2 ms, good repeatability, and small hysteresis. The semiconductor strain gage transducer has characteristics that can make it very useful in Rehabilitation Engineering, Robotics, and Medicine.

High sensitivity low cost capacitive strain gage

This paper describes a high senstivity low cost capacitive strain gage sensor. The theory, design, and sensor construction details are presented. It consists of eight capacitive sensors connected in two full bridges. The capacitive strain gage sensor structure was designed in order to produce high sensitivity and low dependence with temperature. By using a simple signal conditioning circuit constituted by a differential amplifier, a band-pass filter, and a precision rectifier the device can measure forces with resolution of 0.009 N and precision of 98.7%. It is rugged, presents linear response, and good repeatability. It presents sensitivity of 8.7 V/N and fall time of 12 ms.

Strain gage techniques : fundamentals (July 8-12, 1958), applications (July 14-18, 1958) : lectures and laboratory exercises /

Includes bibliographies.

Strain gage techniques: fundamentals (Aug. 9-13, 1954), applications (Aug. 16-20, 1954)

Includes bibliographies.

"Life cycling" test on several strain gage pressure transducers.

Includes bibliography.

A strain gauge tactile sensor for finger-mounted applications

This paper describes a strain gauge-based sensor used for measuring finger force. The theory, design, and sensor construction details are presented. It was constructed using metallic strain gauges and a carefully designed structure which has a protection de-vice that impedes the sensor damage when forces higher than 100 N are applied. Its dimensions are suitable for measuring thumb force, but the same design can be used for constructing smaller sensors for other fingers. It is rugged, presents linear response, good repeatability, resolution of 0.3 N, low hysteresis, and sensitivity of 0.12 V/N. It can be useful in rehabilitation engineering, biomechanics, robotics, and medicine.

Ultrathin Portland Cement Concrete Overlay Extended Evaluation, Construction Report, TR-432, 2000

In recent years, ultra-thin whitetopping (UTW) has evolved as a viable rehabilitation technique for deteriorated asphalt cement concrete (ACC) pavement. Numerous UTW projects have been constructed and tested, enabling researchers to identify key elements contributing to their successful performance. These elements include foundation support, interface bonding condition, portland cement concrete (PCC) overlay thickness, synthetic fiber reinforcement usage, joint spacing, and joint sealing. The interface bonding condition is the most important of these elements. It enables the pavement to act as a composite structure, thus reducing tensile stresses and allowing an ultra-thin PCC overlay to perform as intended. The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) UTW project (HR-559) initiated UTW in Iowa. The project is located on Iowa Highway 21 between Iowa Highway 212 and U.S. Highway 6 in Iowa County, near Belle Plaine, Iowa. The objective of this research was to investigate the interface bonding condition between an ultra-thin PCC overlay and an ACC base over time, considering the previously mentioned variables. This research lasted for five years, at which time it was extended an additional five years. The new phase of the project was initiated by removing cracked panels existing in the 2-inch thick PCC sections and replacing them with three inches of PCC. The project extension (TR 432) will provide an increased understanding of slab bonding conditions over a longer period, as well as knowledge regarding the behavior of the newly rehabilitated areas. In order to accomplish the goals of the project extension, Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) testing will continue to be conducted. Laboratory testing, field strain gage implementation, and coring will no longer be conducted. This report documents the planning and construction of the rehabilitation of HR 559 and the beginning of TR 432 during August of 1999.

Crack Development in Ternary Mix Concrete Utilizing Various Saw Depths, TR-587, 2009

Early entry sawing applies sawing earlier and more shallowly than conventional sawing and is believed to increase sawing productivity and reduce the cost of the joint sawing operations. However, some early entry sawing joints (transverse joints) in Iowa were found to experience delayed cracking, sometimes up to 30 days. A concern is whether early entry sawing can lead to late-age random cracking. The present study investigated the effects of different sawing methods on random cracking in portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements. The approach was to assess the cracking potential at sawing joints by measuring the strain development of the concrete at the joints using concrete embedment strain gages. Ten joints were made with the early entry sawing method to a depth of 1.5 in., and two strain gages were installed in each of the joints. Another ten joints were made with the conventional sawing method, five of which were sawed to a depth of one-third of the pavement thickness (3.3 in.), and the other five of which were sawed to a depth of one-quarter of the pavement thickness (2.5 in.). One strain gage was installed in each joint made using conventional sawing. In total, 30 strain gages were installed in 20 joints. The results from the present study indicate that all 30 joints cracked within 25 days after paving, though most joints made using early entry sawing cracked later than the joints made using conventional sawing. No random cracking was observed in the early entry sawing test sections two months after construction. Additionally, it was found that the strain gages used were capable of monitoring the deformations at the joints. The joint crack times (or crack initiation time) measured by the strain gages were generally consistent with the visual observations.

Venttiilien kunnossapidon optimointi

Tässä työssä tarkastellaan venttiilien kunnossapitoa ja erityisesti niiden kunnonvalvontaa. Työssä on kerrottu perusteita venttiileiden kunnonvalvonnan suorittamiseksi, venttiili- ja toimilaitevikojen perussyistä ja niiden havaitsemisesta. Työn pääpaino on kuitenkin kunnonvalvontamenetelmissä ja niiden käytössä. Mittauksia venttiilivuodon havaitsemiseksi suoritettiin akustisen emission, ultraäänen ja lämpötilan pistemittauksen avulla. Venttiilien yleistä kuntoa määritettiin värähtelyn, venymäliuskojen ja laitoksella jo toimivan moottoritoimilaitteen virtamittauksen avulla. Työssä on annettu suuntaviivat tulosten tulkitsemiselle, mutta yksityiskohtainen ja tarkempi tulosten tulkinnan määrittäminen jätetään laitoksen henkilökunnasta sille henkilölle joka mittauksia tulee tekemään tai jonka työnkuvaan muuten kuuluu kyseisten tulosten tulkitseminen.

Bus bar aeolian vibration field tests

Large amplitude bus bar aeolian vibration may lead to post insulator damage. Different damping applications are used to decrease the risk of large amplitude aeolian vibration. In this paper the post insulator load caused by the bus bar aeolian vibration and the effect of damping methods are evaluated. The effects of three types of bus bar connectors and three types of primary structures are studied. Two actual damping devices, damping cable and their combinations are studied. The post insulator loads are studied with strain gage based custom made force sensors installed on the both ends of the post insulator and with the displacement sensor installed on the midpoint of the bus bar. The post insulator loads are calculated from the strain values and the damping properties are determined from the displacement history. The bus bar is deflected with a hanging weight. The weight is released and the bus bar is left to free damped vibration. Both actual bus bar vibration dampers RIBE and SBI were very effective against the aeolian vibration. Combining vibration damper with damping cable will increase the damping ratio but it may be unnecessary considering the extra effort. Bus bar connector type or primary structure have no effect on the vertical load. The bending moment at the post insulator with double sided bus bar connector is significantly higher than at the post insulator with single sided bus bar connector. No reliable conclusions about bus bar connector type effect can be done, but the roller bearing type or central bearing type connector may reduce the bending moment. The RHS steel frame as primary structure may increase the bending moment peak values since it is the least rigid primary structure type and it may start to vibrate as a response to the awakening force of the vibrating bus bar.

Stresses of a boat trailer

In this thesis work, a strength analysis is made for a boat trailer. The studied trailer structure is manufactured from Ruukki’s structural steel S420. The main focus in this work is in the trailer’s frame. The investigation process consists two main stages. These stages are strain gage measurements and finite elements analysis. Strain gage measurements were performed to the current boat trailer in February 2015. Static durability and fatigue life of the trailer are analyzed with finite element analysis and with two different materials. These materials are the current trailer material Ruukki’s structural steel S420 and new option material high strength precision tube Form 800. The main target by using high strength steel in a trailer is weight reduction. The applied fatigue analysis methods are effective notch stress and structural hot spot stress approaches. The target of these strength analyses is to determine if it is reasonable to change the trailer material to high strength steel. The static strengths of the S420 and Form 800 trailers is sufficient. The fatigue strength of the Form 800 trailer is considerably lower than the fatigue strength of the S420 trailer. For future research, the effect of hot dip galvanization to the high strength steel has to be investigated. The effect of hot dip galvanization to the trailer is investigated by laboratory tests that are not included in this thesis.

Calibration uncertainty estimation for internal aerodynamic balance

Aerodynamic balances are employed in wind tunnels to estimate the forces and moments acting on the model under test. This paper proposes a methodology for the assessment of uncertainty in the calibration of an internal multi-component aerodynamic balance. In order to obtain a suitable model to provide aerodynamic loads from the balance sensor responses, a calibration is performed prior to the tests by applying known weights to the balance. A multivariate polynomial fitting by the least squares method is used to interpolate the calibration data points. The uncertainties of both the applied loads and the readings of the sensors are considered in the regression. The data reduction includes the estimation of the calibration coefficients, the predicted values of the load components and their corresponding uncertainties, as well as the goodness of fit.

Sistema microcontrolado para medição de forças na região plantar e nos membros superiores de pacientes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Dinamômetro biomédico para avaliação funcional das mãos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Projeto e implementação de um nodo sensor para aquisição de sinais de extensômetros em redes de sensores sem fio aplicado ao monitoramento de deformações em estruturas

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo principal propor um nodo (ou nó) sensor sem fio para ser utilizado em redes de sensores sem fio, em sistemas de aquisição de dados de extensômetros. O sistema de aquisição para os extensômetros é baseado na ponte de Wheatstone e de modo a permitir várias configurações de extensômetros. O processamento e a comunicação sem fio é realizada pelo ATmega128RFA1, composto por um microcontrolador e um transceiver Rádio-Frequência com o padrão Zigbee. O nodo foi projetado para garantir confiabilidade na aquisição de dados e ser totalmente controlado remotamente. Entre os parâmetros controláveis estão: o ganho do sinal e a taxa de amostragem. Além disso, o nodo possui recursos para efetuar o equilíbrio da ponte de Wheatstone automaticamente. A escolha de seus componentes, baseou-se em critérios relacionados ao consumo de energia do mesmo e ao custo. Foi concebida uma placa de circuito impresso (PCI) para o nodo, e sobre ela foram realizadas estimativas sobre o consumo de energia e valor agregado do protótipo, com o objetivo de analisar a sua viabilidade. Além do projeto do nodo sensor, o trabalho apresenta a proposta de integração do mesmo em uma rede de sensores sem fio (RSSF), incluindo a sugestão do hardware complementar e desenvolvimentos dos softwares. Para os testes do nodo sensor, foi construido experimentalmente um transdutor de força.