Development of a 3-component Load Cell for Structural Impact Testing

This paper describes the development of a 3-component load cell for structural impact testing. The test specimen is mounted directly on the load cell, which measures the axial force as well as two orthogonal bending moments. Basically, the load cell is a stocky cylinder with thick end flanges machined in one piece of high-strength steel. The load measurement system is based upon four strain gauges glued to the central shaft. The signal from each strain gauge is sampled separately. Afterwards, this data is used to compute the axial force and the bending moments. The load cell was originally developed for testing of automotive components.