Performance comparison of a custom strain gage based load cell with a rheometric series force rebalance transducer

Normal force measurement issues and the fragile nature of the 2K FRT are major problems with the current ARES Rheometer system. In an attempt to overcome these two issues a custom designed semiconductor strain gage based transducer was successfully installed in an ARES Rheometer. A comparison of the performance of a Rheometric Scientific series 2K FRT and the strain gage based transducer was performed. A comparison of sensitivity, accuracy and drift of data is shown for these two transducers.