Experimental analysis of a new strain-gage signal conditioner based on a constant-current method

Abstract A strain-gage signal-conditioning scheme, which appears to be innovative, has been proposed. It is based on a potentiometric circuit with twin constant-current supplies. From the experimental tests carried out on our prototype, the following have been highlighted; a satisfying sensitivity (⋟1 μm m −1 ), a calibration curve that might be considered linear (non-linearity error less than 1 μm m −1 ), low values of zero-shift ( −1 ) throughout 60 hour test, and, finally, a global temperature coefficient that can be considered negligible (0.1 μm m −1 °C −1 ).