Studies of Internal Displacements in Solid Propellant Grains. (Development of an Elastomer Strain Gage)

摘要

A strain gage capable of responding to deformations of low modulus structures has been developed. The gage's active element is a thin, electrically conductive fluid filled capillary which is encapsulated in a soft polymer material. Devices have been fabricated which posses useful strain range in excess of 80 percent and are sensitive to strain increments less than one percent. Considerable attention has been directed to increasing the gage's suppleness to insure a minimum of strain distortion in the gage's attachment vicinity. Presented in the report is a brief history of the elastomer gage history along with development trends. Also delineated are the gage's fabrication and application procedure and the required readout equipment. (Author)