SEDL / STP / STP1318-EB / STP11890S

An Extensometer for Soft Material Strain Measurement

Shrive, N
Professor and Head, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta

Damson, E
Senior Research Technician, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta

Frank, C
Professor and Head, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta

Meyer, R
Manager, Transducer Products, MTS Systems Corp., Minnesota, MN

Mejig, L
Senior Applications Engineer and Manager, MTS Systems Corp., Minnesota, MN

Lucas, G
Senior Applications Engineer and Manager, MTS Systems Corp., Minnesota, MN

Pages: 12    Published: Jan 1997

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Abstract

The criteria for the design of a device for measuring strain in flexible materials, particularly soft tissues, are described. An extensometer is described which meets the design criteria. The resolution of the extensometer depends on its gage length. With a gage length of 5 mm, a resolution of 20–50 microstrain can easily be obtained. Some preliminary results are presented showing the sensitivity of the results obtained to the contact force between the extensometer and the specimen.