There are a lot of cables available in the market which may be used for strain gauge applications.
The success of a measurement depends on the right connection cables. Not only do they have to transfer the measurement signals from the sensor to the DAQ system, but they also have to avoid interference signals and resist stress during their use.
Ideally, the cable should not have influence on the strain measurement. In reality, however, cables/wires could have an influence on the measurement signal. The effects of the wires can be minimized to an acceptable level. HBM offers a wide choice of different measurement cables and small-scaled stranded wires for a wide range of applications. There are some important points to consider when selecting the right cable for your application:
Multi-stranded wires with tin coatings are mostly used for strain gauge applications. Usually, copper conductors are used as wires (most common standard because of good price-to-conduction ratio).
The strain measurement signal in a quarter-bridge configuration is very sensitive:
- A typical excitation voltage for a strain gauge quarter bridge is 2.5 V
- Strain applied to the strain gauge creates a bridge voltage output that is relatively low!
(0.000125V for 100µm/m strain respectively 0.0025V for 2000µm/m strain). This is visualized in the graphs below for a typical quarter-bridge application.