Abstract
This paper describes the design, construction and testing of a load cell to measure the axial force, shear force, and bending moment at the end of a structural beam. The capacities of the load cell are 780 kN in axial load, 350 kN in shear, and 200 kNm in bending. These magnitudes, together with the requirement that the load cell should be kept as slim as possible, necessitated a novel design comprising three steel double-spring elements machined with semicircular channels to provide localized strain amplification. The load cell was designed with the aid of detailed finite element analysis and was machined from grade 55 steel. After strain gaging, it was subjected to an extensive series of calibration tests. Results from these tests are reported, together with those from some early experiments in which two load cells were used to measure the behavior of structural steel knee elements.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Woon, T.K., “Development of a Load Cell for Force Measurements Subject to Flow Interferences,”Experimental Techniques,20 (5),25–28 (1996).
Kumar, S. andMohanty, B., “Finite Element Analysis of Low Capacity Cantilever Type Load Cell,”Int. J. Structures,17 (2),138–156 (1997).
Zwijze, R.A.F., Wiegerink, R.J., Krijnen, G.J.M., Lammerink, T.S.J. andElwenspoek, M.C., “Low Creep and Hysteresis Load Cell Based on a Force-to-fluid Pressure Transformation,”Sensors and Actuators A: Physical,78 (2),74–80 (1999).
Stebbins, M.A., Blough, J.R., Shelly, S.J., and Brown, D.L., “Multiaxis Load Cell Calibration and Determination of Sensitivities to Forces and Moments,” 15th Int. Modal Analysis Conf., Orlando FL, 181–187 (1997).
Wensink, H., de Boer, M.J., Wiegerink, R.J., Zwijze, R.A.F., and Elwenspoek, M.C., “First Micro-machined Silicon Load Cell for Loads up to 1000 kg,” Int. Conf. on Micromachined Devices and Components, Santa Clara CA, 424–430 (1998).
Wiegerink, R.J., Zwijze, R.A.F., Krijnen, G.J.M., Lammerink, T.S.J., andElwenspoek, M.C., “Quasi-monolithic Silicon Load Cell for Loads up to 1000 kg with Insensitivity to Non-homogeneous Load Distributions,”Sensors and Actuators A: Physical,80 (2),189–196 (2000).
Stroud, M.A., The Behaviour of Sand at Low Stress Levels in a Simple Shear Apparatus, Ph.D. thesis, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge (1971).
Bransby, P.L., Cambridge Contact Stress Transducers. Report No CUED/C(SOILS/LN2, Department of Engineering, Univeristy of Cambridge (1973).
Stebbins, M.A. and Brown, D.L., “Rigid Body Intertia Property Estimation Using a Six-axis Load Cell,” 16th Int. Modal Analysis Conf., Santa Barbara CA, 900–906 (1998).
Bourahla, N., Knee Bracing System for Earthquake Resisting Steel Frames, Ph.D. thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol (1990).
Prakash, V., Powell, G.H., andCampbell, S., Drain-2DX Base Program Description and User Guide, Report No UCB/SEMM-93/17, Department of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley (1993).
SDRC, Ideas Master Series, Version 6 User Manual (1998).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Blakeborough, A., Clément, D., Williams, M.S. et al. Novel load cell for measuring axial force, shear force, and bending movement in large-scale structural experiments. Experimental Mechanics 42, 115–122 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02411058
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02411058