Strain Gage for Highly Elastic, Low-Modulus Materials

Researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center have developed and tested a new strain gage that makes significant strides in the state of the art, particularly salient given the requirements of new structural components on aerospace vehicles. Conventional foil technology presents a significant shortcoming for these vehicles, since it is limited to less than 20 percent strains while newer vehicles include highly elastic, low-Young’s-modulus materials that require higher strain measurements. For example, fabric-reinforced rubbers and elastomers have a nonlinear stressstrain relationship with extreme rupture strains — some greater than 500 percent.