Design and Development of an Octagonal Strain

Ring based Load Cell

*Arunava Choudhury
*Department of Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and
Research, Kolkata [Under MHRD, Govt. of ​India],
Block-FC, Sector-III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata-700106, India.
E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT: ​Octagonal strain rings are more suitable to measure heavy load than
round strain ring or proving ring due to its design consideration. For the same
minimum section octagonal ring are stiffer than circular ring. Now a day’s
conventional load cell design is modified by round strain rings, or octagonal strain
rings. It is called proving ring and it is made from aluminum or alloy steel. Good
results are obtained when point of stress concentration on octagonal ring provides
position on the 45º to vertical axis instead of 39.5º in case of circular ring and on the
horizontal axis. Load cell are presently most important and useful equipment to
replace conventional weight measuring devices/system. In modern age different
types of load cell and different shapes are used in industries as well as for consumer
use. Different types of materials to be used according to its industrial advantages
and applications. The load cell is an instrument to convert physical quantity like
forces to measurable electrical signals with the help of strain gauges. Strain gauge is
a resistance to convert strain or forces to equivalent voltages. The load cell consists
of many numbers of strain gauges as per its design and application criteria.

In this present work an EN8 unalloyed medium carbon steel based octagonal strain
ring is designed to analysis its performance over aluminum based conventional load
cell.

Key words: ​Octagonal ring, Load cell, Strain gauge, Wheatstone bridge, Strain Gauge
Indicator

1. Introduction

Strain ring is designed [1], [2] to measure moments and forces. The force must be
applied at the same point, so it is typically an instrument to measure moments. It is
necessary to measure the applied force of the work piece. To measure force, torque
and moment, an own transducer is build in house for these purpose [12] so it is both
economical and convenient. It’s also analyzes stress and strain, due to which one
can design with adequate sensitivity and desired load range. Performance and
characteristics analysis [5], [10] of octal ring is carried out as a mechanical
transducer. The strain ring has to be very useful device. Ratio of sensitivity in the
strain ring is very high and at the same time having adequate stability against
buckling occurs. Designed of octagonal strain ring in CAD is found in suitable design
[11] specifications.

In the strain ring design, compare to inside strain is always in an opposite of the
outside, and it has four active arms [7] to form bridge circuits. Multiple numbers of
strain gauges are used in strain ring [11]. Aluminum is good material [3] to form
these types of ring for its corrosion resistance, [6] easily machined, light weight and
excellent heat conductivity characteristics. Strain ring is fixed at the bottom and
radial (F​r​) force is applied on the top surfaces. The load applied in the point is
maintained by moments M and it is horizontal. If only a radial force is applied the
ring will deform. The inside and outside surfaces of the strain ring is bonded with
strain gauges [13] and it is possible to measure separately forces at point A and B.
Force component F​r​ will change in resistance [15] but at B resistance is not changed.
So if strain gauges at A – A are mounted in opposite arm of a Wheatstone bridge
circuit and it is detecting change in F​r​ due to sensitivity. Strain gauge signal
amplified, [4] using simple signal conditioning circuit.

In the second case the gauges at B are only sensitive when F​t ​is applied. Strain at
point A and B are within the elastic limit of the material.

In the present work an octagonal strain ring of EN8 un- alloyed [3] carbon steel is
designed and developed with adequate dimension and machining “in house” with
conventional machine tools instead of aluminum or its alloy for heavy load [2]
measurement. This un-alloyed EN8 material is selected due to its stiffness and
elastic properties. For machining “in house” its cost is also low compared with
commercially available aluminum alloy based octagonal ring. Also design and
developed of operational amplifier circuit for measurement of strain and voltages [9].
Compare theoretical strain between circular strain ring and octagonal strain ring are
carried out.

2. Design of EN8 based octagonal strain ring and its specifications

Load cell consist of a ‘spring element’ bonded with strain gauge. Spring element is
the basic element to plays major function of load measurement. These spring
element is converted into octagonal strain ring instead of rectangular or circular type
conventional design. In this article a special type of unalloyed carbon steel called
EN8 is used to test whether it is suitable for strain ring construction or not.

Specifications:

● Material: EN8 Unalloyed carbon steel

● Young’s modulus E: 210 GPA
● Outside diameter of finished metal bar D​1​: 50mm
● Inside Hole diameter of finished metal bar D​2​: 40mm
 ● Width of the finished ring W: 7mm
● Thickness of octagonal strain ring T: 5mm
● Gap between two octagonal strain rings: 20mm
● Distance between two gauges position: one in outside of octagonal ring
another one is opposite and inside face.
●
Tensile strength: 500-800N/mm​2
● Gauge factor: 2.00-2.20
● Resistance of strain gauge: 350Ω
● Sensor: 0.02 levels
● Top platform measurements: 45×55 mm​2
● Base platform measurement: 210×85×10mm​3
● Strain gauge size: 5mm×8mm
● Diameter of screw hole: 3mm

Figure 1 shows the shape of octagon and the coordinates. The octagon is regular in
shape i.e. equiangular and equilateral. In this study the shape is modified by scaling
the x and y axis to fit the height h and breath b.

Figure 1 Shape of octagonal ring and the coordinates.

3. Theory and working principle of octagonal load cell design

The octagonal strain ring design is [15] based on operation and the principle of
circular strain ring theory. A strain ring is used to measurement of vertical (F​r​) and
tangential (F​t​) forces. The external force is applied to strain ring and a moment will
be created on one end and the moments (M) in the ring of radius (r) at an angle q to
be generated in the point of applied load.

Strain gauge are mounted in AA, BB position can measure this forces
simultaneously shown in Figure 2. They are usually connected in full bridge circuit.
From strain energy theory the strain developed in thin ring is

6M ∅
∈= Ebt2
(1)
 Figure 2 Circular strain rings showing the types of deformation.

Where M ∅ is the moment, E is the modulus of elasticity, b is the breath and t is the
thickness of the ring.

The strains developed in the ring are directly related with forces; also the elastic limit
of the material is not exceeded. There is no rotation of the ring and for the circular
ring; rigid mountings ensure that these are impossible, unless the shape of the
circular ring is changed to an octagon as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Octagonal strain rings with strain gauge positions.

Cook and Rabinowicz (10) found by photo elastic techniques that the strain of
octagonal ring occurs at ∅ = 50° (instead of 39.54°) for F, if F is unchanged, we get
the following equations​:

∈50 º= ± 1.4F
Ebt2
xR
(2)

∈90 º= ± 0.7F
Ebt2
xR
(3)
The point of application of Fx, is usually away from the centroid of the dynamometer
and moment which tends to rotate about the axis.

1.09F r r
For theoretical strain of circular ring =
Ebt
2 (4)

[Here F​r​=Force, r=Radius=25mm, E=210KN/mm​2​, b=7mm, t=5mm]

0.7F r r
And for theoretical strain value of octagonal ring= (5)
Ebt2

[Here F​r​=Force, r = Radius=25mm, E=210KN/mm​2​, b=7mm, t=5mm]

Working Principle​:​ In this paper describes the design, development and performance
analysis of EN8 based octal ring. The design of octal ring is unique. Here the ring will
be manufactured step by step ‘in house’ shown in Figure 4 with the help of
conventional machine like lathe, shaper and drill machine, for subsequently lower
cost than commercially available octagonal ring in the market.

Figure 4 In house step by step manufacturing processes.

At first two circular rings are machining through lathe from raw metal bar with
adequate diameter, thickness and then it is drilled by conventional drilling and boring
machines. Now it is marked by a surface gauge, scriber, dot punch etc. Then it can
be cut in octagonal shape with the help of shaper machine and small hole in both top
and bottom surfaces are carried out for fixing of plates. To achieve results of these
experiment, two separate octagonal strain rings sensing element are connected one
as a primary ring and second is used to support the primary one with two
conventional strain gauges in an opposite site of strain rings i.e. inside, outside
simultaneously of F series, Kang copper foil, fully enclosed structure, 350Ω types.
Strain gauges are interconnected through Wheatstone half bridge and its output will
be amplified by simple signal conditioning circuits shown in Figure 5 and also
physical circuit is shown in Figure 6.
 Figure 5 Signal conditioning circuit.

Figure 6 Physical circuit design of signal conditioning.

Top and bottom surfaces of two octagonal strain rings are fixed through nut and bolt
with two plates. Thickness of top plate is around 2 or 3 mm for high sensitivity and
low experimental error. Bottom surface is fixed with comparatively thick plate for
more stability. Now ±12V DC power supply is connected with amplified signal
conditioning circuits for operating of 741 amplifiers and also around +1.67 V DC
power source instead of +3V is connected with Wheatstone bridge circuits for strain
gauge operations. In amplifier unit each op amp 741 is connected with 1K, 10K, and
22K resistance as per requirements. Now load will be placed at the top plate of the
strain ring and change of strain will be recorded through strain gauge indicator is
shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7 Load with corresponding strain value.

The operational amplifier 741 is controlled by ±12V DC power supply. In the op amp
leg no seven is connected with +12 V DC and leg no four is connected with -12 V
DC. In this case three steps amplification is carried out. The output of the load cell is
in micro strain and it is measured by digital strain indicator. A differential
instrumentation amplifier using a transducer bridge is connected with load cell for
output measurement. Octagonal load cell is loaded with variable loading and strain
will be developed they are tabulated in corresponding Table no 2. Also voltage will
be generated and recorded through multi meter of various loading are tabulated in
Table no 4. Thus the proposed model is presented in Figure 8-10.
 Figure 8 3D view of proposed load cell.

Figure 9 2D view of proposed octagonal load cell with dimension.

Figure 10 Complete model of octagonal load cell.

This paper forecast the theoretical octagonal ring equation, also from actual strain
value is compared and proved that result from theoretical value is four times and two
times of quarter bridge and half bridge circuit respectively.

So from the experiments we conclude that, EN8 material is also suitable for
octagonal strain ring based load cell production irrespective of conventional
materials like aluminum and steel. Evaluation and calibration shows linear response
for the relationship between applied load, output voltage and corresponding micro
strain.

4. Experimental results and discussion

In these experiments, the strain value will be read from digital strain gauge indicator,
and corresponding load also calculated. Applied mass is converted into
corresponding force. Presently from equation of octagonal strain ring theoretical
strain value is found corresponding to practical strain value, which is read from strain
indicator. There will be future probation of calculation and analysis full bridge reading
corresponding to applied force and comparison between full bridge practical strain
values with theoretical strain value.

Table: 1: Calculation of theoretical strain value with corresponding applied force.

Sl.  
Mass Correspondi Theoretical Practical Theoretical Erro %
No. (KG) ng Force[F​r​] Strain value Strain value Strain act to r Error
(KN) (µ Strain) [H. Bridge] Trend line
0.00
1 1.4 0.0137 6.53 3 6.5315 0.0233
2
-0.039
2 2.84 0.02785 13.26 7 13.2548 -0.01
2
-0.009
3 4.28 0.0420 19.98 9 19.9780 -0
6
-0.018
4 5.83 0.0571 27.22 14 27.2150 -0.01
5
-0.006
5 8.33 0.0817 38.89 19 38.8873 -0
9
-0.020
6 10.83 0.1062 50.57 26 50.5597 -0.01
4
-0.012
7 13.33 0.1307 62.24 31 62.2320 -0.01
8
-0.021
8 15.83 0.1552 73.92 37 73.9044 -0.02
1
 -0.015
9 19.45 0.1907 90.82 45 90.8060 -0.01
4
-0.016
10 22.39 0.2195 104.55 51 104.5327 -0.02
5

Table 1 shows the mass in kg, practical strain value of half bridge circuit, and
theoretical strain value in micro strain, corresponding applied force in KN, error and
percentage error.

Figure: 11 Theoretical strain value (y) with corresponding applied force(x).

 Figure: 12 Theoretical % Error with corresponding force

Figure: 13 Practical strain value (y) with corresponding applied load (x).

Sl. Load cumulative load Strain (y) Strain according to Error % Error
No. (Kg) (x) (Kg) µ strain Trend line

1 36.688
1.4 1.4 1 1.5795 0.5795 0
 2 1.44 2.84 3 3.2055 0.2055 6.4117
3 1.44 4.28 5 4.8316 -0.1684 -3.4859
4 1.55 5.83 7 6.5818 -0.4181 -6.3533
5 2.5 8.33 10 9.4048 -0.5951 -6.3283
6 2.5 10.83 12 12.2278 0.2278 1.8633
7 2.5 13.33 15 15.0508 0.0508 0.3378
8 2.5 15.83 18 17.8738 -0.1262 -0.7059
9 3.62 19.45 22 21.9615 -0.0385 -0.1751
10 2.94 22.39 25 25.2814 0.2814 1.1130
Table: 2: Calculation of practical strain value with corresponding applied load and
error calculation.

Table 4.2 shows the experimental strain value of octagonal strain ring with
corresponding cumulative load, and also shows the value of error and corresponding
percentage error with respect to load.

Figure: 14 Practical % Error with corresponding load

Sl. Mass Corresponding Theoretical Strain Theoretical Strain
No. (KG) Force [Fr] (KN) value of Circular ring value of octagonal
(µ Strain) ring (µ Strain)
1 1.4 0.0137 10.18 6.53
2 2.84 0.0278 20.65 13.26
3 4.28 0.0420 31.12 19.98
4 5.83 0.0572 42.39 27.22
5 8.33 0.0817 60.57 38.89
6 10.83 0.1062 78.75 50.57
7 13.33 0.1307 96.93 62.24
8 15.83 0.1552 115.1 73.92
9 19.45 0.1907 141.43 90.82
10 22.39 0.2196 162.81 104.55
Table: 3: Calculation of theoretical strain value with Corresponding applied force of
circular strain ring for same octagonal strain ring dimension.

Table 4.3 shows the comparison between strain values of circular ring with octagonal
ring for same dimension, if same load is applied to circular ring instead of octagonal
ring, the strain value will be increased. From the above table we can find out circular
strain ring is more sensitive than octagonal one.

Sl. Load Cumulative load Mili volts Voltage according to Error % Error
No. (kg) (x) Kg (y) Trend line

1 0 0 2.49 2.4802 -0.0098 -0.3951

2 3.6 3.6 2.5 2.4968 -0.0032 -0.1298
3 3.6 7.2 2.51 2.5133 0.0033 0.1321
4 2.5 9.7 2.52 2.5248 0.0048 0.1909
5 2.265 11.965 2.53 2.5352 0.0052 0.2066
6 2.265 14.23 2.54 2.5456 0.0056 0.2223
7 1.436 15.666 2.55 2.5523 0.0023 0.0887
8 2 17.666 2.56 2.5615 0.0015 0.0571
9 2 19.666 2.57 2.5707 0.0007 0.0258
10 2 21.666 2.58 2.5799 -0.0001 -0.0053
11 1 22.666 2.59 2.5845 -0.0055 -0.2142
12 1 23.666 2.6 2.5891 -0.0109 -0.4224
 Table: 4: Calculation of mili volts (mV) with corresponding applied load.

Table 4.4 shows relation between mili volts and cumulative load. From the values
also calculate error with percentage error. In this table forecast when load is
increased also voltage will be increased. If required more voltage output then more
load is applied.

Figure: 15 Milli Volt (y) vs Cumulative Load (x)

Figure: 16: Practical % Error with corresponding mili volts (mV)

5. Conclusion
The performance in terms of theoretical as well as practical strain values of the EN8
material of octagonal strain ring for heavy load is enhanced by designing the load
cell which can measure the heavy load accurately up to its full load capacity.
Octagonal strain ring also sustain heavy load and less sensitive compare to circular
strain ring in same width and thickness shown in Table no 3. For consistent
performance and long life can be achieved by using heat treatment and annealing
processes.

In the present work an octagonal strain ring of EN8 un- alloyed carbon steel is
designed with adequate dimension and machining “in house” with conventional
machine tools. For machining “in house” its cost is also low compared with
commercially available aluminum alloy based octagonal ring. Also design and model
of power supply is made with operational amplifier circuit for measurement of strain
and voltages. Compare strain between circular strain ring and octagonal strain ring
are carried out in shown in Table no 1 and 3.

References

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