The apparatus has been designed to illustrate the basic features of electrical resistance strain gauges and their application to measurement of strain and the derivation of stress levels, in bending, torsion, tension and compression.An alloy cantilever has a single gauge bonded onto its surface, and an identical gauge is fixed to an unstressed piece of the same material for temperature compensation. The two gauges form part of a Wheatstone Bridge which has an apex or balancing potentiometer, and whose meter is calibrated directly in microstrains. The cantilever is loaded by weights hung from its free end, a weight hanger is included.To extend the scope of the apparatus the cantilever can be replaced by a torsion bar having two gauges bonded orthogonally at 45ºFor a complete study of strain gauging two optional extra accessories demonstrate averaging techniques for tension and compression specimens.This equipment is part of a range designed to both demonstrate and experimentally confirm basic engineering principles. Great care has been given to each item so as to provide wide experimental scope without unduly complicating or compromising the design. Each piece of apparatus is self-contained and compact. Setting up time is minimal, and all measurements are made with the simplest possible instrumentation, so that the student involvement is purely with the engineering principles being taught.A complete instruction manual is provided describing the apparatus, its application, experimental procedure and typical test results.
