A vibrating wire sensor measures the opening of a joint from the
stretch of a wire being made to vibrate at acoustical frequency. Since the wire is made of an elastic metal, this kind of sensor can be used as well to measure pulling forces to within a certain range.
The applied external force indeed changes the
tension
Tension may refer to:
Science
* Psychological stress
* Tension (physics), a force related to the stretching of an object (the opposite of compression)
* Tension (geology), a stress which stretches rocks in two opposite directions
* Voltage or el ...
on the wire, this changes the
frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...
. The frequency is measured and indicates the amount of force on the
sensor. The load sensor has an integrated electronic system to both activate the vibrating wire as well as to read the frequency. This can be compared to a guitar: animating the strings, creates a vibration and a sound. The sound will be dependent on the tension on the strings.
See also
*
Strain Gauge
References
{{Reflist
Measuring instruments