MeasuringBridgesandStrainGauges

ThedataTakerprovidescomprehensivesupportforWheatstonebridgecircuitsinfull, halfandquarterbridgeconfigurations. Wheatstonebridgecircuitsareextensivelyusedformeasuringtheoutputofstrain gauges,andformeasuringtheoutputofothersensorswherearelativelysmallchange inresistancemustbedetected. Bridgecircuitshavetheadvantageofhighmeasurementsensitivity,andalsoprovidea significantdegreeoftemperaturecompensation. ThedataTakersupportstwomethodsofWheatstonebridgemeasurement excitationofsensorsisbyaconstantcurrent excitationofsensorsisbyavoltage Bothofthesemethodsofbridgesupportcanhaveanumberofoptions,dependingthe numberofactivearmsinthebridgeandthenumberofwiresusedtoconnectbridgesto thedataTaker. ConstantCurrentExcitationofBridges Theconstantcurrentexcitationmethodofbridgemeasurementhasaconstantcurrentof 2.500mAor250.0Aflowinginthebridgecircuitforexcitation. Thebridgesensitivityandzeroisindependentofthelengthofleadsusedtoconnectthe bridgetothedataTaker. Insomecasesthebridgeoutputcanhavegreaterlinearityandreduced temperaturesensitivityforconstantcurrentexcitation,thanforvoltageexcitation.
TheBridgeExcitationCurrent

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Home TitleandWaranty Goto:Section2|Section3

Section1
ConstructionofthedataTaker50 ConstructionofthedataTaker500 600 ConstructionoftheCEM GettingStarted

Section2
Interfacing PoweringthedataTaker PoweringSensorsfromthe dataTaker TheSerialInterfaces TheRS232COMMSSerialInterface TheNETWORKInterface AnalogProcess ConnectAnalog AnalogChns MeasuringLowLevelVoltages MeasuringHighLevelVoltages MeasuringCurrents Measuring420mACurrentLoops MeasuringResistance

ThebridgeexcitationcurrentissuppliedbytheExciteterminaloftheanaloginput channelduringmeasurement.Thebridgeexcitationcurrentis2.500mAbydefault,but maybesetfor250.0Aifrequired. Ifthe250.0Aexcitationcurrentisrequired,thenthisisspecifiedasachanneloptionin thechannelspecification. UsingDeTransfer,250.0Aexcitationcurrentisspecifiedasfollows 5BGI(I) wherethechanneloptionIspecifiesthata250.0Aexcitationcurrentisoutputfromthe Exciteterminalduringbridgemeasurement. Thedefaultexcitationcurrentof2.500mAisequivalentto 5BGI(II) wherethechanneloptionIIspecifiesthata2.500mAexcitationcurrentisoutputfrom theExciteterminalduringbridgemeasurement.

MeasuringFrequencyandPeriod UsingDeLogger,theexcitationcurrentcanbeselectedintheChannelPropertiesdialog MeasuringAnalogLogicState boxoftheProgramBuilder.Whenthebridgechannelhasbeencreated,rightclickon theDataUseiconandselectPropertiesClickontheExcitationtab,andselectthe MeasuringTemperature excitationcurrentrequired. MeasuringTemperaturewith Thermocouples MeasuringTemperaturewithRTDs MeasuringTemperaturewithIC

MeasuringTemperaturewithIC TemperatureSensors MeasuringTemperaturewith Thermistors MeasuringBridgesandStrain Gauges MeasuringVibratingWireStrain Gauges TheDigitalInputChannels MonitoringDigitalState TheLowSpeedCounters Boththe250.0Aand2.500mAexcitationcurrentscanbeusedwithinthesame application,fordifferentbridgesconnectedtodifferentchannels. ThebridgeexcitationcurrentissuppliedfromtheExciteterminalforaperiodof30mS duringmeasurementofthebridgecircuit.
TheArmResistance

ThePhaseEncoderCounter TheHighSpeedCounters TheDigitalOutputChannels TheChannelExpansionModule InstallingThePanelMountDisplay

ThedatathatisreturnedbythedataTakerfrombridgecircuitsexcitedbyconstant currentistheratioofthechangeinarmresistancetothenominatedarmresistance.The dataisreturnedinunitsofppm.

Section3

ThearmresistanceforthebridgebeingmeasuredmustbeknownbythedataTaker,and ProgrammingthedataTaker isspecifiedasachanneloptioninthechannelspecification.Thedefaultarmresistance is350Ohm,whichistypicalformanytypesofstraingauges. CommunicationProtocolsand Commands UsingDeTransfer,thearmresistanceisspecifiedasfollows EnteringCommandsandPrograms 5BGI(120.5) Inthisexamplethebridgecircuitconnectedtoanalogchannel5hasanarmresistance of120.5Ohm.ThearmresistanceisspecifiedinOhms. UsingDeLogger,thearmresistanceforconstantcurrentexcitedbridgescanbedefined intheResistanceWiringConfigurationsdialogoftheProgramBuilder,whichopens whenyouselecttheBridgeinputchanneltype. FormatofReturnedData SpecifyingChannels TheAnalogInputChannels TheDigitalInputChannels TheCounterChannels TheDigitalOutputChannels TheRealTimeClock TheInternalChannels ChannelOptions Schedules Alarms ScalingDataPolynomials,Spans andFunctions FullBridgewithConstantCurrentExcitation ThedataTakercanprovideexcitationandmeasuretheoutputfromafullbridgeof devicessuchasstraingauges,pressurecells,loadcells,etc.Thisconfigurationisa4 wireinput,andsupports1,2or4activearms.Anyofthebridgearmscanbeactive arms.Theconfigurationalsoprovidescompensationforcablewireresistance,allowing longcablewirestobeused. Bridgearmswhicharenotactivemusthavebridgecompletionresistances.Thesecan CVsCalcsandHistogram LoggingDatatoMemory ProgrammingfromMemoryCards STATUSRESETTEST SwitchesandParameters

Bridgearmswhicharenotactivemusthavebridgecompletionresistances.Thesecan beaninactivedeviceofthesametypeasthedevicesontheactivearms,orthesecan bearesistorwiththesameresistancevalueastheactivedevicesatrest,andideally haveatemperaturecoefficientthatissimilartothatoftheactivedevices. TheentirebridgecircuitisexternaltothedataTakertheloggerdoesnotprovideany bridgecompletionforpartialbridges. Thefullbridgeconfigurationwithconstantcurrentexcitationisconnectedtothe dataTakerasa4wireinputasfollows

Networking WritingPrograms KeypadandDisplay ErrorMessText AppendixAASCII AppendixBADCTiming

Figure100FullBridgewithConstantCurrentExcitation wheretheExciteterminalprovidescurrentexcitationof250.0Aand2.500mA,which returnsviatheAnalogReturnterminal.Thebridgeoutputisreadbetweenthe+veand veterminals. Fullbridgeswithconstantcurrentexcitationaresampled,andthedataisreturnedwhen aSchedulecontainingthechannelisexecuted. UsingDeTransfer,fullbridgeswithconstantcurrentexcitationaremeasuredbythe commandforexample BEGIN RA5M 1BGI(4W,120)2BGI(4W,120) END whichinstructsthedataTakertomeasuretheoutputfromfullbridgesconnectedto analoginputchannels1and2.Thefullbridgecircuitshaveanarmresistanceof120.0 Ohm. TheBGIspecifiesthatthesignalsappliedtothesechannelsarefromconstant currentexcitedbridgecircuits.The4Wchanneloptionindicatesthatthebridgeis connectedina4wireconfiguration,wheretheexciteterminalprovidesexcitation.This optionmustbespecifiedforallfourwirebridgeconnections. Theexcitationcurrentchanneloptionisnotspecified,andsothedefault2.500mA excitationcurrentisused. UsingDeLogger,fullbridgeswithconstantcurrentexcitationcanbemeasuredbythe followingProgramBuilderprogram.The4wireconnectionisselectedfromtheBridge WiringConfigurationsdialogwhichopenswhenyouhaveselectedtheanaloginput channel.

 ThedataTakerwillreadtheinputsevery5minutes,andreadingsarestoppedby enteringaH(Halt)command.
InterpretingtheDatafromaFullBridgewithCurrentExcitation

Thedatareturnedfromfullbridgesistheratioofchangeinmeasuredresistancetothe armresistance,expressedinpartspermillionasfollows

where Risthesumofchangesinarmresistancestakingintoaccountsignofthechanges Rarmisthenominatedarmresistance,defaultis350Ohm

CalculatingMicrostrainforFullStrainGaugeBridges

Whenusingstaingaugesinfullbridges,itmaybedesirabletoconvertthereturneddata fromunitsofppmtounitsofMicrostrain.Thiscanbedonebythefollowingformula

Thisfullbridgemethodofstraingaugemeasurementhasameasurementresolutionof approximately0.2Microstrain. UsingDeTransfer,theoutputfromafullbridgewithconstantcurrentexcitationcanbe calculatedtounitsofmicrostrainbytheprogramforexample BEGIN RA5M 5BGI(4W,120,=1CV,W) 2CV(Microstrain=)=(4/(4*2.0))*1CV END whichinstructsthedataTakertofirstlyreadthebridgeoutputinppm,andsavethisin ChannelVariable1(1CV),thencalculatemicrostrainfromthereadingusingtheformula above. Hereitisassumedthatthegaugefactoris2.0forthestraingaugesused(checkyour straingaugesupplierormanufacturerfordetailsofthegaugefactor). TheuseofcalculationsinthedataTakerarediscussedindetailinSectionIIIChannel VariablesandCalculations. UsingDeLogger,thecalculationcanbeenteredintheProgramBuilderasfollows

 RefertoyourDeLoggerManualfordetailsofusingcalculationsintheProgramBuilder. HalfBridgewithConstantCurrentExcitation ThedataTakercanalsoprovideexcitationandmeasuretheoutputfromahalfbridge configurationofstraingauges,pressurecells,etc.Thisconfigurationisa3wireinput, andsupports2activearms. Thisconfigurationcompensatesforcablewireresistanceandtemperaturedifference. Thehalfbridgeconfigurationwithconstantcurrentexcitationisconnectedtothe dataTakerasa3wireinputasfollows

Figure101HalfBridgewithConstantCurrentExcitationandTwoActiveArms Whenusingstaingaugesinhalfbridgesandcurrent,itmaybedesirabletoconvertthe returneddatafromunitsofppmtounitsofMicrostrain.Thiscanbedonebythefollowing formula

Thisbridgeconfigurationcanbeusedoverawidevariationofresistance. Thehalfbridgeconfigurationcanbeusedtomeasurethepositionofthewiperofa potentiometer(<5KOhm)theendsofthepotentiometerareconnectedbetween Excite/+veterminalsandAnalogReturn,andthewiperisconnectedtotheveterminal. Thearmresistanceissettothetotalresistanceofthepotentiometer. UsingDeTransfer,halfbridgeswithconstantcurrentexcitationcanbemeasuredbythe commandforexample BEGIN RA10M 1BGI(250)3BGI(250) END whichinstructsthedataTakertomeasurethehalfbridgesconnectedtoanaloginput channels1and3.Thesehalfbridgecircuitsallhaveanarmresistanceof250.0Ohm. TheBGIspecifiesthatthesignalsappliedtothesechannelsarefromconstant currentexcitedbridgecircuits.Thedefaultconfigurationforthistypeofbridgeinputisa 3wireconnection,andsonoconnectionneedstobespecified. UsingDeLogger,halfbridgeswithconstantcurrentexcitationcanbemeasuredbythe followingProgramBuilderprogram.The3wireconnectionisselectedfromtheBridge

WiringConfigurationsdialogwhichopenswhenyouselecttheanaloginputchannel.

ThedataTakerwillreadtheinputsevery10minutes,andreadingsarestoppedby enteringaH(Halt)command.
InterpretingtheDatafromaHalfBridgewithCurrentExcitation

Thedatareturnedfromhalfbridgesistheratioofchangeinmeasuredresistancetothe armresistance,expressedinpartspermillionasfollows

where Risthesumofchangesinarmresistancestakingintoaccountsignofthe changes Rarmisthenominatedarmresistance,defaultis350Ohm

CalculatingMicrostrainforHalfStrainGaugeBridges

Whenusingstaingaugesinhalfbridges,itmaybedesirabletoconvertthedatafrom unitsofppmtounitsofMicrostrain.Thiscanbedoneusingthestandardformula

or

Thishalfbridgemethodofstraingaugemeasurementhasameasurementresolutionof approximately0.2Microstrain. UsingDeTransfer,theoutputfromahalfbridgewithconstantcurrentexcitationcanbe calculatedtounitsofmicrostrainbytheprogramforexample BEGIN RA5M 7BGI(=10CV,W) 15CV(Microstrain=)=(4/(2*2.0))*10CV END whichinstructsthedataTakertoreadthebridgeoutputinppm,savethisinChannel

whichinstructsthedataTakertoreadthebridgeoutputinppm,savethisinChannel Variable10(10CV),thencalculatemicrostrainfromthereadingusingtheformula. Hereitisassumedthatthegaugefactoris2.0forthestraingaugesused(checkyour straingaugesupplierormanufacturerfordetailsofthegaugefactor). TheuseofcalculationsinthedataTakerarediscussedindetailinSectionIIIChannel VariablesandCalculations. UsingDeLogger,thecalculationcanbeenteredintheProgramBuilderasfollows

RefertoyourDeLoggerManualfordetailsofusingcalculationsintheProgramBuilder. QuarterBridgewithConstantCurrentExcitation Thequarterbridgeconfigurationformeasuringbridgesisavariationofthehalfbridge configuration,wherethereisoneactivedevicesuchasastraingauge,andabridge completionresistancetobalancethebridge. Thebridgecompletionresistancecanbeaninactivedeviceofthesametypeasthe activedevice,orcanbearesistorwiththesameresistancevalueastheactivedevice, andideallyhasatemperaturecoefficientsimilartothatoftheactivedevice. TheentirebridgecircuitisexternaltothedataTakertheloggerdoesnotprovideany bridgecompletionforpartialbridges. QuarterbridgeswithconstantcurrentexcitationareconnectedtothedataTakeras follows

Figure102QuarterBridgewithConstantCurrentExcitation This3wireconfigurationprovidescompensationforcablewireresistance,allowinglong cablerunstobeused. Thebasicquarterbridgeconfigurationcanbeusedformultiplequarterbridges,witha sharedbridgecompletionresistor.Thesharedbridgecompletionresistorshouldbe adjacenttothedataTakertoensureaccurateleadwirecompensation.

 Figure103MultipleQuarterBridgewithSharedBridgeCompletion Thequarterbridgeconfigurationwithconstantcurrentexcitationissampled,andthe dataisreturnedwhenaSchedulecontainingthechannelisexecuted. UsingDeTransfer,quarterbridgeswithconstantcurrentexcitationcanbemeasuredby thecommandforexample BEGIN RA30S 1..3BGI(120) END whichinstructsthedataTakertomeasuretheoutputfromquarterbridgesconnectedto theanaloginputchannels1,2and3.Thesequarterbridgeactivearmsallhavea resistanceof120.0Ohm. TheBGIspecifiesthatthesignalsappliedtothesechannelsarefromconstant currentexcitedbridgecircuits.Thedefaultconfigurationforthistypeofbridgeinputisa 3wireconnection,andsonoconnectionneedstobespecified. Theexcitationcurrentchanneloptionisnotspecified,andsothedefault2.500mA excitationcurrentisused. UsingDeLogger,quarterbridgeswithconstantcurrentexcitationcanbemeasuredby thefollowingProgramBuilderprogram. The3wireconnectionisselectedfromtheBridgeWiringConfigurationsdialogwhich openswhenyouselecttheanaloginputchannel.

 ThedataTakerwillreadtheinputsevery30seconds,andreadingsarestoppedby enteringaH(Halt)command.
InterpretingtheDatafromaQuarterBridgewithCurrentExcitation

Quarterbridgedataisreturnedinunitsofppm,andisratioofthechangeinmeasured resistancetothearmresistanceasfollows

or

where Ractistheactivearmresistance Rcisthebridgecompletionresistance DRisthechangeinbridgeresistance Rarmisthenominatedarmresistance,defaultsto350Ohm ThebridgecompletionresistorRcmusthavearesistanceequaltothatoftheactive deviceatrest,forthebridgetobeproperlybalanced.

CalculatingMicrostrainforQuarterStrainGaugeBridges

Whenusingstaingaugesinquarterbridges,itmaybedesirabletoconvertdatafrom unitsofppmtounitsofMicrostrain.Thiscanbedonebythestandardformula

or

Thisquarterbridgemethodofstraingaugemeasurementhasaresolutionof approximately0.2Microstrain. UsingDeTransfer,theoutputfromaquarterbridgewithconstantcurrentexcitationcan becalculatedtounitsofmicrostrainbytheprogramforexample BEGIN RA5M 2BGI(=5CV,W) 8CV(Microstrain=)=(4/2.0))*5CV END whichinstructsthedataTakertofirstlyreadthebridgeoutputinppm,andsavethisin ChannelVariable5(5CV),thencalculatemicrostrainfromthereadingusingtheformula above. Hereitisassumedthatthegaugefactoris2.0forthestraingaugesused(checkyour straingaugesupplierormanufacturerfordetailsofthegaugefactor). TheuseofcalculationsinthedataTakerarediscussedindetailinSectionIIIChannel VariablesandCalculations. UsingDeLogger,thecalculationcanbeenteredintheProgramBuilderasfollows

 RefertoyourDeLoggerManualfordetailsofusingcalculationsintheProgramBuilder. VoltageExcitationofBridges ThealternativemethodformeasuringbridgecircuitswiththedataTakeristhe voltageexcitationwithratiometricmeasurement.Theprincipalofthemethodisthatthe bridgeisexcitedbyaconstantvoltagesource,andthebridgeoutputvoltageis measuredasaratioofthemeasuredexcitationvoltage. Inpractice,resistanceofthecablewiresconnectingthebridgetotheloggerreducesthe excitationvoltagethatisactuallyappliedtothebridge,whichinturnresultsina proportionatelossofoutputsignalvoltagefromthebridge. Tocorrectforthiserrortheactualvoltageappliedacrossthebridgeismeasuredusinga secondchannel.
TheBridgeExcitationVoltageSource

Thebridgeexcitationvoltage,alsooftenreferredtoasthebridgepowersupply,canbe suppliedfromanumberofsources theExciteterminaloftheanalogchannel,whichcanoutputanominal5Volts(actually nearer4.5Volts) theExciteterminaloftheanalogchannel,whichcanoutputa2.500mAor 250.0Aprecisioncurrent theswitched5VoltsensorpowersupplyterminalofthedataTaker,whichislimitedto 100mAtotalcurrentdraw anexternalvoltagesource Thebridgeexcitationvoltagemustbeswitchedonduringtheperiodofmeasurement ifexcitationfromthedataTakerisused,thenexcitationcanbeswitchedonbythelogger atappropriatetimes ifanexternalvoltageisusedforexcitation,thebridgescanbeeitherpermanently poweredorcanbepoweredonlyduringmeasurementbyusingadigitaloutputchannel tocontrolarelaywhichswitchespowertothebridges Thedefaultbridgeexcitationvoltageisthe5VoltsupplyfromtheExciteterminal,andis automaticallyselectedwhenbridgeinputswithvoltageexcitationarespecified. Howeverifthebridgesarepoweredfromexternalsources,thentheExciteterminal voltageshouldbedisabled. UsingDeTransfer,thisisdonebythecommandforexample 2BGV(N) whereBGVspecifiesthatabridgevoltageistobemeasured,andtheNchannel optionspecifiesnovoltageexcitationfromtheExciteterminal. AlternativelyifthebridgeistobeexcitedbyeitheroftheExciteterminalcurrentsources thenchanneloptionIfor250.0Acurrent,orchanneloptionIIfor2.500mAcurrent, shouldbeused. UsingDeTransfer,thisisdonebythecommandforexample 1BGV(I) 8BGV(II)

8BGV(II) whereBGVspecifiesthatabridgevoltageistobemeasured,andtheIandIIchannel optionsspecifycurrentexcitationfromtheExciteterminal. DeLoggerdoesnotdirectlysupportthemeasurementofbridgesthatareexcitedbya voltage.Howeverbridgemeasurements,includingcontrollingthemethodofpowering, canbeprogrammedintothedataTakerviatheUserchanneltype(DeLoggerVer4.2.15 orlater)intheProgramBuilder.Thisprocedureisillustratedinthefollowingtopics.

MeasuringtheBridgeExcitationVoltage

InpracticetheresistanceofthecablewiresconnectingbridgestothedataTakerreduce theexcitationvoltagethatisactuallyappliedtothebridge. Thisresultsinaproportionatelossofoutputsignalfromthebridge.Tocorrectforthis error,theactualexcitationvoltageacrossthebridgesisalsomeasured. Thebridgeexcitationvoltageisconnectedasadifferentialorsingleendedvoltageinput toanyanaloginputchannel,andmustbemeasuredimmediatelybeforetheoutputof anybridgeismeasured. Thismeasurementisreferredtoasthebridgereferencevoltage,andismeasuredon thebridgereferencechannelthatisidentifiedtothedataTakerbytheBRchannel optionfortheparticularchannel. UsingDeTransfer,thecommandforexample 1V(BR) identifiesthatthebridgereferencevoltageistobemeasuredasadifferentialvoltage connectedtoanaloginputchannel1. dataTaker50,500,600seriesloggers:Thebridgereferencechannelhasamaximum inputvoltageof2.5VoltsfordataTaker50,500,600seriesloggers.Thereforeifthe bridgeexcitationvoltageisgreaterthan2.5Volts,thenthismustbeexternally attenuated(seeSectionIIMeasuringHighLevelVoltages)beforeinputtothebridge referencechannelontheseloggers. Wheneverthebridgeexcitationvoltagemustbeattenuated,theattenuationfactorisalso declaredasachanneloptiontothebridgereferencevoltagechannelasfollows 1V(2.0,BR) whichdeclaresanattenuationof2.0:1,thatisappropriateforbridgespoweredbyan external5Voltsupply. dataTaker505,605seriesloggers:IfadataTaker505,605seriesloggerisbeingused, thenthebridgeexcitationvoltagecanbemeasureddirectlyasaHighLevelVoltage (seeSectionIIMeasuringHighLevelVoltages)onthebridgereferencechannel,for example 2HV(BR) Thebridgereferencechanneldoesnotreturnanydatawhenitisscanned.Thedatais retainedforsubsequentuseinbridgemeasurementsandcalculations. Howeverifyouwanttoincludethebridgepowersupplyorexcitationmeasurementsin yourdata,thenthebridgereferencevoltagecanbereturnedbyasecondcommandfor example 1V(BR)1V wherethechannel1Vwillreturnthebridgereferencevoltage. Note:Thebridgereferencechannelmustprecedethebridgemeasurementchannel(s) inthedataTakerprogram,becausethebridgereferencevoltageisusedtocalculatethe bridgedataforthesubsequentbridgemeasurementchannels. Note:IfbridgemeasurementsareincludedinmorethanoneSchedule,thenthebridge referencechannel(s)mustbedeclaredineachSchedule. Ifabridgereferencechannelisnotdeclared,thenthebridgereferencevoltagedefaults

Ifabridgereferencechannelisnotdeclared,thenthebridgereferencevoltagedefaults to5Volts.Thisisbasedontheassumptionthatmostvoltageexcitedbridgeswillbe poweredfromthedataTaker5Voltsensorpowersupply. DeLoggerdoesnotdirectlysupportthemeasurementofbridgesthatareexcitedbya voltage.Howeverthebridgereferencechannel,andbridgemeasurementschannels canbeprogrammedintothedataTakerviatheUserchanneltype(DeLoggerVer4.2.15 orlater)intheProgramBuilder.Thisprocedureisillustratedinthefollowingtopics. FullBridgewithVoltageExcitation Thefullbridgewithvoltageexcitationconfigurationisthemoretraditionalmethodforthe measurementofbridgeoutputs.Howeverafullimplementationofrequiresmore resourcesthananyoftheconstantcurrentmethods,requiring twochannelsfortheeachbridge,ifeachbridgehasaseparatebridgeexcitation twochannelsforthefirstbridge,andonechannelforeachadditionalbridgethatis excitedbythesamebridgepowersupply.Thisconfigurationisonlyappropriateifall cablewiresarethesamelength,suchthatallbridgesreceivethesame voltageexcitationasmeasuredforthefirstbridge Thisconfigurationsupports1,2or4activearms.Anyofthebridgearmscanbeactive arms. Bridgearmswhichdonothaveactivedevicesmusthavebridgecompletionresistances tobalancethebridge.Thesecanbeinactivedevicesofthesametypeastheactive devices,orcanbearesistorwiththesameresistancevalueastheactivedevicesatrest, andideallyhaveatemperaturecoefficientthatissimilartothatoftheactivedevices. Wherethebridgepowersupplyandbridgeoutputaremeasuredforeachbridge,thisis referredtoasasixwireconnectionasillustratedbelow

Figure104FullBridgewithVoltageExcitation TheentirebridgecircuitisexternaltothedataTakertheloggerdoesnotprovideany bridgecompletionforpartialbridges. Fullbridgeswithvoltageexcitationaresampled,andthedataisreturnedwhena Schedulecontainingthechannelisexecuted. UsingDeTransfer,fullbridgeswithvoltageexcitationaremeasuredbythecommands forexample BEGIN RA5M 1V(BR)bridgereferencechannel 2BGV(4W,N)bridgemeasurementchannel END

END whichinstructsthedataTakertomeasurethebridgeexcitationvoltageconnectedto analoginputchannel1(bridgereferencechannel),andthebridgeoutputconnectedto theanaloginputchannel2. TheBRindicateswhichanalogchannelthebridgeexcitationvoltageisconnectedtofor measurement.Notethatthebridgereferencechannelismeasuredbeforethebridge outputchannelismeasured. TheBGVspecifiesthatthesignalappliedtothischannelisfromabridgethatisexcited byavoltage.Thebridgeoutputdataisreturnedinunitsofppm. The4Wchanneloptionindicatesthatthe4wiremeasurementmethodistobeused. Thisoptionmustbespecifiedforallfullbridgeinputs. Thebridgeexcitationvoltageissuppliedfromanexternalsourceinthisexample,and sotheExciteterminalisdisabledbytheNchanneloption. DeLoggerdoesnotdirectlysupportfullbridgeswithvoltageexcitation.However,full bridgeswithvoltageexcitationcanstillbemeasuredwithDeLogger(Ver4.2.15orlater) byusingtheUserchannelasillustratedbythefollowingProgramBuilderprogram.

Thebridgereferencechannelcouldalsobeenteredasalowlevelvoltagechannel,and theChannelPropertiessettoBridgeexcitationvoltagechannelintheReferencetabas follows

 ThedataTakerwillreadtheinputsevery5minutes,andreadingsarestoppedby enteringaH(Halt)command. Variouscompromisesarepossiblewithfullbridgeswithvoltageexcitationasfollows thenumberofcablewirescanbereducedfromsixtofourbymeasuringthebridge excitationvoltageatthedataTaker,ratherthanatthebridge.Howeverthisdoesnottake intoaccountreductionoftheexcitationvoltageatthebridgeduetocableresistance. thebridgereferencechannelcanbesharedbyanumberofbridgemeasurement channels.Noerrorswillbeintroducedprovidedallofthebridgeshavethesame excitationvoltage.Thiscanbedonebycloseproximityofthebridgestoashared supply,ortheuseofcablewiresofthesametypeandlength.
InterpretingtheDatafromaFullBridgewithVoltageExcitation

Datareturnedfromfullbridgeswithvoltageexcitationiscalculatedastheratioofthe changeinbridgeoutputvoltagetobridgeexcitationvoltage,expressedinpartsper millionasfollows

where Visthechangeinbridgeoutputvoltage Vexcite isthebridgeexcitationvoltage,measuredbythebridgereferencechannel

CalculatingMicrostrainforFullStrainGaugeBridges

Whenusingstaingaugesinfullbridges,itmaybedesirabletoconvertthereturneddata fromunitsofppmtounitsofMicrostrain. Thiscanbedonebythefollowingformula

Thisfullbridgemethodofstraingaugemeasurementhasaresolutionofapproximately 0.2Microstrain. UsingDeTransfer,outputfromafullbridgewithvoltageexcitationcanbecalculatedto unitsofmicrostrainbytheprogramforexample BEGIN RA5M 1V(BR) 2BGV(4W,N,=1CV,W) 2CV(Microstrain=)=(4/(4*2.0))*1CV END whichinstructsthedataTakertoreadthebridgeexcitationandbridgeoutputvoltages, calculatetheratioinppmandsaveinChannelVariable1(1CV),andcalculatethe microstrainfromthereadinginppmusingtheformulaabove. Hereitisassumedthatthegaugefactoris2.0forthestraingaugesused(checkyour straingaugesupplierormanufacturerfordetailsofthegaugefactor). TheuseofcalculationsinthedataTakerarediscussedindetailinSectionIIChannel VariablesandCalculations. UsingDeLogger(Ver4.2.15orlater),thecalculationcanbeenteredintotheProgram Builderasfollows

Thebridgereferencechannelcouldalternativelybeenteredasalowlevel voltagechannel,andtheChannelPropertiessettoBridgeexcitationvoltagechannelin theReferencetabasillustratedonthepreviouspage. RefertoyourDeLoggerManualfordetailsofusingcalculationsintheProgramBuilder. HalfBridgewithVoltageExcitation Halfbridgeswithtwoactivearmsandvoltageexcitationarecommonlyusedwhena largenumberofbridgesneedtobelocatedincloseproximity. ThedataTakersupportsthisconfigurationbyusingsingleendedinputsandthesingle endedreferenceSERef. Halfbridgeswithtwoactivearmsrequiretwobridgecompletionresistancestobalance thebridge.Thetwobridgecompletionresistancescanbeeitherinactivedevicesofthe sametypeastheactivedevice,orcanbearesistorwiththesameresistancevalueas theactivedevices,andideallyhaveatemperaturecoefficientsimilartothatoftheactive devices. Thishalfbridgeconfigurationwithvoltageexcitationcanbeusedtomeasureasingle halfbridge,ortomeasureanumberofhalfbridgeswhichsharethesamebridge excitationvoltagesupply,andsharethesamesetofbridgecompletionresistors. Multiplehalfbridgesthatareexcitedfromasingleexcitationvoltagesourceandshare bridgecompletionresistorsareillustratedbelowinFigure105.Theconfigurationfora singlehalfbridgeisthatfortheinnermosthalfbridge.

 Figure105HalfBridgeswithVoltageExcitation dataTaker50,500,600seriesloggers:Ifthisbridgeconfigurationisconnectedtoa dataTaker50,500,600serieslogger,thenthebridgecompletionresistorsmustprovidea 2:1attenuationofthe5Voltbridgeexcitationvoltage,toareducethesignalsuitablefor inputtothebridgereferencechannel. dataTaker505,605seriesloggers:Ifthisbridgeconfigurationisconnectedtoa dataTaker505,605serieslogger,thenthebridgeexcitationvoltagecanbemeasuredas aHighLevelVoltage(seeSectionIIMeasuringHighLevelVoltages)onthebridge referencechannel. Thehalfbridgesshouldpreferablyallbeincloseproximitytothebridgecompletion resistors.Howeverifthisisnotpossible,thenthebridgecompletionresistorscanbe locatedatthedataTaker,andeachhalfbridgeconnectedbythreeleads.Thiswill provideleadcompensationforzero,butnoscalecompensation. Halfbridgeswithvoltageexcitationaresampled,andthedataisreturnedwhena Schedulecontainingthechannelisexecuted. UsingDeTransfer,halfbridgeswithvoltageexcitationaremeasuredbythecommands forexample BEGIN RA10M 1V(BR,5.0) 2*BGV(N,X) 2+BGV(N,X) 2BGV(N,X) END whichinstructstheloggertomeasurethebridgereferencevoltagethatisdifferentially connectedtoanalogchannel1,andmeasuretheoutputfromhalfbridgesconnectedas singleendedinputstoanalogchannels2*through2. Assumingthattheexcitationvoltageissuppliedfromanexternal10Voltssource,the defaultExciteterminalvoltageoutputisdisabledbytheNchanneloption. TheBRchanneloptionindicatestheanalogchanneltowhichthebridgeexcitation voltageisconnectedformeasurement,andisattenuatedbyafactorof5.0:1toreduce the10VoltexcitationvoltageintorangeforadataTaker50,500,600serieslogger.The

the10VoltexcitationvoltageintorangeforadataTaker50,500,600serieslogger.The referencechannelmustbereadbeforethemeasurementchannel. TheBGVspecifiesthatthesignalsappliedtothesechannelscomefromvoltageexcited halfbridges.TheXchanneloptionindicatesthatthesingleendedinputsaretobe measuredwithreferencetoSEREFterminal. DeLoggerdoesnotdirectlysupporthalfbridgeswithvoltageexcitation.However,half bridgeswithvoltageexcitationcanstillbemeasuredwithDeLogger(Ver4.2.15orlater) usingtheUserchanneltypeasillustratedbythefollowingProgramBuilderprogram.

ThedataTakerwillreadtheinputsevery10minutes,andreadingsarestoppedby enteringaH(Halt)command.
InterpretingtheDatafromaHalfBridgewithVoltageExcitation

Datareturnedfromhalfbridgeswithvoltageexcitationiscalculatedastheratioofthe changeinbridgeoutputvoltagetobridgeexcitationvoltage,expressedinpartsper millionasfollows

where Visthechangeinbridgeoutputvoltage Vexcite isthebridgeexcitationvoltage,measuredbythebridgereferencechannel

CalculatingMicrostrainforHalfStrainGaugeBridges

Whenusingstaingaugesinhalfbridges,itmaybedesirabletoconvertthedatafrom unitsofppmtounitsofMicrostrain.Thiscanbedonebythestandardformula

or

Thisfullbridgemethodofstraingaugemeasurementhasameasurementresolutionof approximately0.2Microstrain. UsingDeTransfer,outputfromahalfbridgewithvoltageexcitationcanbecalculatedto

UsingDeTransfer,outputfromahalfbridgewithvoltageexcitationcanbecalculatedto unitsofmicrostrainbytheprogramforexample BEGIN RA10M 1V(BR,5.0) 2*BGV(N,X,=1CV,W) 2CV(Microstrain1=)=(4/(2*2.0))*1CV 2+BGV(N,X,=3CV,W) 4CV(Microstrain2=)=(4/(2*2.0))*3CV 2BGV(N,X,=5CV,W) 6CV(Microstrain3=)=(4/(2*2.0))*5CV END whichinstructsthedataTakerto readthebridgeexcitationandbridgeoutputvoltages calculatetheratioinppmandsaveinChannelVariables calculatethemicrostrainfromthereadingsinppmusingtheformulaabove Hereitisassumedthatthegaugefactoris2.0forthestraingaugesused(checkyour straingaugesupplierormanufacturerfordetailsofthegaugefactor). TheuseofcalculationsinthedataTakerarediscussedindetailinSectionIIChannel VariablesandCalculations. UsingDeLogger(Ver4.2.15orlater),thecalculationcanbeenteredintotheProgram Builderasfollows

etc,etc RefertoyourDeLoggerManualfordetailsofusingcalculationsintheProgramBuilder. ConvertingBridgeOutputstoEngineeringUnits Thischapterhasprovidedmethodstoconvertmeasuredbridgeoutputinppmtounitsof Microstrainforthevariousbridgeconfigurations.HoweverunitsofMicrostrainapplyto straingaugebridgeswhicharemeasuringdeformation. Manysensorsavailabletodayemployabridgecircuittosensetheparametertheyare designedtomeasure.Forexamplesomepressurecells,loadcells,microdisplacement transducers,etc.infactcontainadiaphragmorsimilarstructurewhichhasafullstrain gaugebridgebondedtoonesurface.Thediaphragmismechanicallydistortedbythe pressureorload,whichismeasuredbythestraingaugebridge.Thisdistortionis calibratedtounitsofpressure,orload,etc.bythemanufacturer. SupportingthesetypesofsensorswiththedataTakerisquitesimple,asshownbythe

SupportingthesetypesofsensorswiththedataTakerisquitesimple,asshownbythe followingexamples.
PressureTransducer

Apressuretransducerthatisconstructedasafullbridgedevicewitha4wire connection,isconnectedtothedataTakerasafullbridgewithconstant currentexcitation(typeBGI)asillustratedinFigure100. Thetransducerhasanoutputof0.05Vfullscaleat10VDCexcitation.ThedataTaker willmeasure

and

Therefore1ppm=100kPa/5000ppm=0.02kPa.Thistransducercalibrationcanbe usedinadataTakerprogramtoreturnthedatainunitsofkPa. UsingDeTransfer,theprogramwillbesimilarto BEGIN Y1=0,0.02kPa RA1S 1BGI(Y1) END UsingDeLogger,thecalibrationforthepressuretransducermustbeenteredasa polynomialintothePolynomialsdialogundertheSettingstaboftheProgramBuilderas follows

 Thepolynomialisthenattachedtothebridgeinputchannelintheprogramtoconvert therawdatatounitsoflbsasfollows

Forfurtherdiscussionofpolynomials,seeSectionIIIPolynomialsandSpansofthis manual,andtheDeLoggerUsersManual.
LoadCell

Aloadcellthatisconstructedasafullbridgedevicewitha4wireconnection,is connectedtothedataTakerasafullbridgewithconstantcurrentexcitation(typeBGI)as illustratedinFigure100. Theloadcellmeasuresaloadof100lbsfullscale,andhasanoutputof2.0006mv/Vat fullscale.ThedataTakerwillmeasure

and

Therefore1ppm=100lbs/2000.6ppm=0.049985lbs.Thistransducercalibrationcan beusedinadataTakerprogramtoreturnthedatainunitsoflbs. UsingDeTransfer,theprogramwillbesimilarto BEGIN Y1=0,0.049985lbs RA1S 1BGI(Y1) END UsingDeLogger,thecalibrationfortheloadcellmustbeenteredasapolynomialinto

UsingDeLogger,thecalibrationfortheloadcellmustbeenteredasapolynomialinto thePolynomialsdialogundertheSettingstaboftheProgramBuilderasfollows

Thepolynomialisthenattachedtothebridgeinputchannelintheprogramtoconvert therawdatatounitsoflbsasfollows

Forfurtherdiscussionofpolynomials,seeSectionIIIPolynomialsandSpansofthis manual,andtheDeLoggerUsersManual. MeasurementRangesandAccuracy

MeasurementRangesandAccuracy ThedataTakermeasuresallbridgeinputsasalowlevelvoltage,witharesolutionof1 V,andanominalaccuracyof0.1%. Theaccuracyforparticularapplicationscanbecalculatedfromthisinformation,andthe excitationcurrentorvoltageused. ErrorMessages Therearenospecificerrormessagesforbridgeinputs.Howeverinputvoltagesignals whichfalloutsidethevoltagerangeofthedataTakerwillproduceanoverrangereading of99999.9ppmor+99999.9ppm. ThedataTakeralsoreportstheerrorconditionwiththeerrormessageE11input(s)out ofrangeiftheMessagesSwitch/Misenabled.