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Development of a Vibrating Wire Strain Gauge for Measuring Small Strains in Concrete Beams
Author(s) -
Neild S. A.,
Williams M. S.,
McFadden P. D.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
strain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.477
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1475-1305
pISSN - 0039-2103
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-1305.2004.00163.x
Subject(s) - strain gauge , vibrating wire , gauge (firearms) , vibration , structural engineering , nonlinear system , span (engineering) , materials science , acoustics , engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , metallurgy
A vibrating wire strain gauge capable of measuring strains in concrete elements to an accuracy of better than 0.5 μ ɛ is presented. This offers some advantages over conventional electrical resistance gauges, the quoted accuracy of which is typically 3 μ ɛ , and which are often considered unsuitable for concrete because of their inability to span cracks. While vibrating wire gauges are potentially more accurate, they are prone to significant errors because of temperature changes. In the purpose‐built gauge described here, temperature correction is achieved using an unstrained reference gauge. The vibration data are analysed using a moving‐window Fourier transformation in order to identify and remove the geometrically nonlinear portion of the response. The resulting system is accurate, economical and easy to use. The gauges have been used to study the behaviour of cracked concrete specimens. Typical results are presented and discussed.