HBK promotes the advance of strain measurements WRSGC and VDI Memberships | HBM

HBK is a Member of the Following Committees and Associations Shaping the Development of Strain Measurement

Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI)

[Association of German Engineers]

The VDI is a German-based, financially independent, and politically unaffiliated non-profit organization comprising of engineers and scientists. It was founded in 1856 and is now the largest engineering association and one of the most important standardisation authorities in Western Europe. Up to 250 VDI standards for many performing trades and industrial sectors are published per year.

VDI standards are developed by engineers for engineers with the goal of providing practice-oriented, easily implemented processes and solutions.

Western Regional Strain Gage Committee (WRSGC)

As a member of the Western Regional Strain Gage Committee (WRSGC), HBK is committed to open discussions on current topics, future technologies, and challenges around strain measurement. These include the strain gauge as a sensor, data acquisition hardware and software as well as the analysis tools. 

Thanks to the unique exchange of knowledge, we can align our solutions with future requirements to serve our customers’ needs in the best possible way.

Active Participation in Establishing Guidelines for Transparent and Practical Strain Measurement Technology

For many years, HBK engineers have been involved in the guideline work of the VDI/VDE alongside other partners from industry and research institutions. The goal is to enrich measurement technology standards and guidelines with insights from users and manufacturers.

During the last two years, the work of the technical committee has focused on the revision of VDI/VDE 2635 - 1 ‘Experimental structure analysis; Metallic bonded resistance strain gauges; Characteristics and testing conditions’.

View the website of the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI) (English: Association of German Engineers) to find out more about the updated guideline before its official release and get the opportunity to contact an expert.

Find out about VDI/VDE 2635

What is the VDI?

The VDI is Germany’s largest technical-scientific network. Their goal is to promote conditions that allow engineers to fully develop their potential and strengthen Germany's position as a place for innovation. 

The VDI’s focus areas are:

  • The promotion of science and research
  • Supporting education and training technical talent
  • Technical regulation and standardization
  • Knowledge exchange and advancing technology in a way that is responsible for humans, nature, the environment, and society

 

Nearly all subject areas worked on by engineers and natural scientists find their home in one of twelve VDI technical societies and 55 technical divisions and more than 600 committees. The organization consists of 15 state representative offices on the federal level, 45 regional associations facilitating the members’ personal contact and knowledge exchange, and around 5,000 members outside of Germany with VDI Chapters in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, North America, the Republic of South Africa, Romania, and Spain.

What is the WRSGC?

The Western Regional Strain Gage Committee is a consortium of companies and government agencies mostly from the Western United States devoted to the promotion of a free interchange of information about strain measurement techniques using strain gauges.

The Committee is a technical division of the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM), which was founded in 1943. The members of the WRSGC range from strain gauge, transducer and instrumentation manufacturers such as HBK, aircraft companies, national laboratories, propulsion engine manufacturers, government facilities as well as aerospace research and development firms. 

What does the WRSGC do?

The Western Regional Strain Gage Committee organizes two conferences per year to learn more about new developments and research in strain gauges and mechanical testing, and to provide access to networking and discussions with experts in this field.

Presentations and Technical Papers are vital for the WRSGC conferences. They cover a wide range of topics: 

  • Research in the advancement of strain gauge measuring
  • New product development
  • Applications and techniques of measurement
  • Refreshers on core aspects of testing and measurement

WRSGC Membership

Starting with Manfred Kreuzer (former Head of Research and Development at HBM) in the 1980s, HBK is still actively involved in the committee’s conferences. In order to maintain the tradition and the knowledge transfer, product managers Sandro Di Natale and Malte Grieme participate in the conference and present current trends and developments in measurement technology.

HBK Presenters at WRSGC Conferences

Sandro Di Natale

Product and Application Manager, Test and Measurement, HBK

Sandro Di Natale joined HBK six years ago and works now as a Product and Application Manager for structural durability testing with a focus on large structures.

Malte Grieme

Product Manager, Strain Gauges

Malte Grieme is an electrical engineer focussing on communication technology and sensor networks. Starting off in project engineering, he is now responsible for the strain gauge portfolio and a board member at WRSGC.

HBK Presentations at Recent Conferences

Farnborough, UK, September 28, 2022; Tempe, AZ, USA, October 19, 2022.

In the context of PDP 5 years (Product Development Plan), the time from project start to certification of an aircraft shall be reduced from 8 to 5 years. Therefore, a significant acceleration of the full-scale fatigue test (EF, essais de fatigue) is crucial. The goal is a Rapid EF performing the first life of an aircraft with minimized lead time, increased testing speed and no down time. This includes novel measurement technology and digital methods as well as AI algorithms: virtual sensors, automated monitoring during testing, early identification of damage and handling big data amounts. Learn how a team of HBK, GOM Metrology, Airbus, and others transform the aspiration into reality.

 

The presentation was held by Sandro di Natale at the 2022 Aerospace Testing Symposium and at the 2022 Fall Test and Measurement Conference of the Western Regional Strain Gage Committee.

Online, October 19, 2021

Standard training for strain gauge applications often includes laying a sensor on a semi-rigid beam that can be easily loaded to show the resulting strain. While this is ideal for demonstrating instrumentation techniques and best practices, it can be very far from applications that many engineers face in daily practice.

The presentation was held by David Blanco and will highlight some of the more unique and challenging strain gauge projects that have been undertaken by the authors, the tools and techniques used and what was learned from them. The projects to be shared include telemetric measurement of force on a rotating axle differential, real-time and long-term monitoring of stress and crack propagation on a bridge and explanation of the forces observed on a divining rod.

Download the technical paper:

Strain Gauges in Environments with High Radiation, Vacuum and Extreme Temperature

Online, April 20, 2021

In recent years, HBK, as an expert in strain gauge technology, has participated in several research projects regarding the ITER fusion reactor. ITER is the biggest nuclear fusion project and one of the largest research projects in the world.

In this presentation, the projects are briefly introduced and the special characteristics and testing of strain gauges for the exceptionally high requirements regarding vacuum environment, temperature cycles and high radiation  highlighted.

The presentation was held by Malte Grieme and shows the extreme strain gauge performance requirements combined with the long service life that requires a high development effort.

Read the case study: Customized Measurement Technology: HBK Supports ITER in Fusion Experiments

Online, October 7, 2020

Design engineers push designs and materials to their limits to save weight, increase performance or lifetime. To draw watertight conclusions, thousands of strain gauges might be applied to acquire measurement data. But what about the quality of the measurement values?

To assess the quality, the measurement uncertainty needs to be determined. Therefore, all relevant aspects need to be considered. This includes the right choice of gauge, installation, test conditions, influence of data acquisition systems and environments, and many more.

The presentation was held by Sandro Di Natale and gives an overview of measurement uncertainty in strain measurements, showing an exemplary calculation, outlining the biggest contributors and how to minimize their impact.

St. Louis, September 10, 2019 

In recent years, many industries have shown an increasing interest in composite-based structures in recent years, as there are a lot of advantages such as design flexibility, light weight, high stiffness, lower cost than alloys, and improved productivity. Typical composite materials can resist high strains and it is a challenge to measure these strains with foil strain gauges and adhesives. This presentation shows a new approach to working with strain measurement and the necessary adhesives.

Another challenge is the self-heating effect of measurement points used in composite and plastic materials. Strain gauge construction, excitation voltage, resistance and other parameters influence this self-heating effect and the measurement results. HBM did a Design of Experiment (DoE) study focusing on these effects. Results and recommended best practices will be shown in this presentation by Manuel Schultheiß.

Huntsville, April 9, 2019

The 'classic' electrical strain gauge has been used for durability testing for 80 years. While the results are accurate and trusted, strain gauge application, wiring and documentation takes a lot of time, especially when testing large structures with hundreds or even thousands of sensors. Various other approaches are now available to determine strain and stress in materials or components: simulation with virtual sensors, camera-based stereoscopy or fiber-based technologies (FBG, OFDR).

With all these technologies available, why should the test engineer bear the time-consuming effort of electrical strain gauge installation?

The presentation was held by Sandro Di Natale and shows the advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches to acquiring strain and stress.

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