Description

The Spot Weldable Vibrating Wire Strain Gauge measures strain in steel members. It consists of a sealed tube containing a Vibrating Wire element with weldable anchors at each end.

The anchors are separated by a small floating stainless steel tube with O-ring seals that protect the Vibrating Wire from water ingress. A factory fitted, four-core screened cable connects the coil to the readout unit.

PRODUCT FEATURES

• Suitable for manual or remote reading
• Removable coil unit
• Range is adjustable to suit compression or tension
• Contains an integral thermistor
• Waterproof to 700 kPa

PRODUCT BENEFITS

• Over 30 years of expertise in the design and manufacture of Vibrating Wire instrument technology
• Accurate, repeatable readings over long cable lengths
• Long working life, long term stability and reliability
• Coils are re-useable
• Small, low profile design

OPERATION 

The sensor is installed by cleaning the area corresponding to the fixing pads at either end of the gauge, setting the gauge tension using the mounting clip, and then either spot-welding or gluing the gauge into place.

The gauge is fully adjustable to monitor compression, tension, or set at mid point. After installation, changes in strain are monitored by the coil assembly mounted over the gauge.

The sensor is readable with any commercially available Vibrating Wire readout and the incorporated thermistor allows you to monitor for variations in temperature. As with all Vibrating Wire instruments, the use of a frequency based signal allows for long cable runs between the instrument and the readout point or data logger.

APPLICATIONS

The Spot Weldable Strain Gauge measures strain in steel and cast iron members on buildings, bridges, dams and pipelines, as well as on reinforcing bars within mass concrete or piles. It can measure tension and compression.

Typical applications include:

• Steel members and struts
• Monitoring of strain due to load
• Bridges and dams
• Monitoring strain and load during construction and service life
• Pipelines
• Monitoring strains around pipe circumference
• Tunnels
• Monitoring SGI linings and thrust arch beams
• Piles and mass concrete
• Monitoring strains in reinforcing bars during construction, pile testing and service lifts.