Measurement of low shock pressures with piezoresistive carbon gauges.
A new sensitive technique which permits the detection of small pressures in shock waves down to 5 bars with good time resolution has been developed. It consists of a pulsed double-compensated Wheatstone bridge in conjunction with piezoresistive carbon gauge transducers. It is shown that the advantages of piezoresistive gauges, such as short rise time, small dimensions, and in-material stress measurement, may be utilized for low shock pressure recording even in explosive environments, an area previously dominated by piezoelectric gauges. Comparative data for the two types of sensors are presented for shock tube side-on and head-on collision experiments and underwater explosions. This new development opens the possibility of PRG applications in classical fields of low shock pressure recording such as gas dynamics and underwater explosions.
Krehl
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Ernst-Mach-Institut der Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Freiburg/Breisgau, West Germany.