Resistance strain force sensors have been applied to monitor the strains in various parts and structures for industrial use. Here, we review the working principles, structural forms, and fabrication processes for resistance strain gauges. In particular, we focus on recent developments in resistance stress transfer for resistance strain force sensors and the creep effect due to sustained loads and/or temperature variations. Various error compensation methods to reduce the creep effect are analyzed to develop a metrology standard for resistance strain force sensors. Additionally, the current status of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), and other wide band gap semiconductors for a wide range of strain sensors are reviewed. The technical requirements and key issues of resistance strain force sensors for future applications are presented.

The effect of micro-morphology of resistive strain gauges on gauge factor was investigated numerically and experimentally. Based on the observed dimensional parameters of various commercial resistive strain gauges, a modeling method had been proposed to reconstruct the rough sidewall on the sensitive grids. Both the amplitude and period of sidewall profiles are normalized by the sensitive grid width. The relative resistance change of the strain gauge model with varying sidewall profiles was calculated. The results indicate that the micro-morphology on the sidewall profile led to the deviation of the relative resistance change and the decrease in gauge factor. To verify these conclusions, two groups of the strain gauge samples with different qualities of sidewall profiles have been manufactured, and both their relative resistance changes and gauge factors were measured by a testing apparatus for strain gauge parameters. It turned out that the experimental results are also consistent with the simulations. Under the loading strain within 1000 μm/m, the average gauge factors of these two groups of samples are 2.126 and 2.106, respectively, the samples with rougher profiles have lower values in gauge factors. The reduction in the gauge factor decreases the sensitivity by 2.0%. Our work shows that the sidewall micro-morphology on sensitive grids plays a role in the change of the gauge factor. The observed phenomena help derive correction methods for strain gauge measurements and predict the measurement errors coming from the local and global reinforcement effects.

Creep behavior and fatigue life are important performance indexes that affect the long-term stability of resistive strain gauges. The resistive strain gauges, fabricated with wet etching and resistance trimming, present micro-morphology such as textures and uneven edges on the surface and side-wall profile of sensitive grids. This paper observed the micro-morphology of the sensitive grids by microscope and analyzed its range of geometric dimensions. A sine function was used to establish equivalent geometric models for the surface textures and side-wall profile. Based on time hardening theory and the S–N curve, the dependence of micro-morphology of metal resistive strain gauges on creep behavior and fatigue life was studied. The results indicate that the roughness of micro-morphology has an influence on creep behavior and fatigue life. The surface textures and side-wall profile lead to the increase of creep strain and the decrease of fatigue life in varying degrees. When 60% of the ultimate stress of the strain gauges is loaded, the average creep strain in steady-state calculated by the maximum roughness of the side-wall profile reaches up to 6.95 times that of the perfect flat surface. Under the condition of loading 70% of the ultimate stress and the same roughness, the fatigue life led by side-wall profile could be reduced to 1/25 of the textured surface. The obtained achievements promote an understanding for optimizing the fabrication process of resistive strain gauges as well as developing high-precision and long-life force sensors.

Purpose: This paper aims to provide a new method to study and improve the dynamic characteristics of the four-column resistance strain force sensor through the elastomer structure design and optimization. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the mechanism analysis method, the authors first present a dynamic characteristic model of the four-column resistance strain force sensors’ elastomer. Then, the authors verified and modified the model according to the Solidworks finite element simulation results. Finally, the authors designed and optimized two types of four-column elastomers based on the dynamic characteristic model and verified the improvement of sensor dynamic performance through a hammer knock dynamic experiment. Findings: The Solidworks finite element simulation and hammer knock dynamic experiment results show that the relative error of the model is less than 10%, which confirms the accuracy of the model. The dynamic performance of the sensors based on the model can be improved by more than 30%, which is a great improvement in sensor dynamic performance. Originality/value: The authors first present a dynamic characteristic model of the four-column elastomer and optimize the four-column sensors successfully based on the mechanism analysis method. And a new method to study and improve the dynamic characteristics of the resistance is provided.