HBM has developed optical strain gages with a plastic encapsulation that significantly simplifies handling and makes the sensors highly resistant to mechanical damage. The encapsulation almost completely eliminates the possibility of a fibre break.

The new optical K-OP strain gages are mainly intended for experimental stress analysis work that demands very precise measurements, even with difficult conditions and materials, and that cannot be resolved with standard strain gages.

Such conditions occur, for example, in continuous vibration tests with high-strain loads. The K-OP strain gages reach 10 million stress cycles in continuous vibration behaviour with alternating strain of ±3.000µm/m. The optical SGs are also suitable for measurements in hazardous areas and in high current and voltage engineering components.

Several optical strain gages can be arranged within a glass fibre to significantly reduce installation costs. In addition, the K-OP strain gages are provided with a data sheet containing all data necessary, such as the gage factor, for successful strain measurements.

Recording of measurement data and its subsequent evaluation can be simplified with a range of additional components from HBM. These range from optical strain gages with the appropriate accessories via interrogators to HBM’s data acquisition software catman®AP, which includes a special EasyOptics module for optical strain gages.