Directly applied read and transmit—digital strain encoder and digital load cell

1. A digital strain encoder comprising:

a gage-emitter including a plurality of active strain gage elements, the gage-emitter being affixable to a surface of a body to be measured and deformable on a one-to-one basis with the surface, wherein the strain gage elements emit a reference strain signal in the absence of strain and an altered strain signal when the surface is subjected to strain and the gage-emitter is deformed;

a sensor-receiver including a plurality of active strain sensor elements, the sensor-receiver floating over the gage-emitter so as not to deform with the surface, the strain sensor elements detecting the reference and altered strain signals emitted by the strain gage elements;

a transmitter for transmitting the detected reference and altered strain signals to a remote receiver; and

a self-contained energy source for powering at least the strain sensor elements and the transmitter.

2. The digital strain encoder of claim 1 , wherein:

the gage-emitter further includes a plurality of active serialization elements for emitting a unique identification signal;

the sensor-receiver further includes serialization sensor elements for detecting the unique identification signal;

the transmitter also transmits the detected identification signal to the remote receiver, and the energy source also powers the serialization sensor elements.

3. The digital strain encoder of claim 1 , wherein the strain gage elements are independent of each other.

4. The digital strain encoder of claim 1 , wherein the strain gage elements are equally spaced, side-by-side bars and the serialization elements are end-to-end, unequally spaced bars, and wherein the lengths of the serialization elements and the spacing between the serialization elements encode an identification number unique to the gage-emitter.

5. The digital strain encoder of claim 1 , further comprising a local microprocessor for processing signals detected by the strain sensor elements and the serialization sensor elements.

6. The digital strain encoder of claim 2 , further comprising:

a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the surface and

processing means for processing signals detected by the strain sensor elements and the serialization sensor elements, and for calculating the change in the dimensions of the surface based on the thermal coefficient of expansion equation for the body.

7. The digital strain encoder of claim 1 , wherein the strain gage elements are configured as a grid of light and dark bands, and wherein the digital strain encoder further comprises means for carrying light from a light source to a position below the grid.

8. Apparatus for measuring strain on a surface, comprising:

the digital strain encoder of claim 1 ;

a remote receiver for receiving the strain signal transmitted by the transmitter;

a computer database for storing the strain signal received by the remote receiver as data; and

processing means for calculating strain based on the reference strain signal and the altered strain signal.

9. Apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processing means is a microprocessor included in the digital strain encoder.

10. Apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processing means is a processor is remote from the digital strain encoder.

11. Apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the processing means comprises a local microprocessor included in the digital strain encoder and a remote processor remote from the digital strain encoder.

12. Apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the strain gage elements are arranged linearly and the processing means senses strain directly by measuring the relative displacement of the strain gage elements when the surface and the gage-emitter are deformed.

13. Apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the strain gage elements are arranged radially around a common center and detect anomalies and structural health monitoring precursors around the circumference of stress concentration areas, regardless of direction.

14. A method of calculating strain, using the apparatus of claim 6 , comprising the steps of:

acquiring a reference strain signal and a unique identification number signal from the strain gage elements and the serialization elements, respectively;

in conjunction with the step of acquiring a reference strain signal and a unique identification number signal, inputting the temperature of the surface to the processing means;

outputting data representing the reference strain signal to the processing means;

analyzing the reference strain signal data to define a reference gage length of the strain gage elements, analyzing the unique identification number signal to translate the unique identification number signal into a number, and performing a temperature compensation for the analyzed reference strain signal data based on the input temperature of the surface and the thermal coefficient of expansion equation for the surface, using the processing means;

acquiring a subsequent strain signal from the strain gage elements;

in conjunction with the step of acquiring a subsequent strain signal, inputting the temperature of the surface to the processing means;

outputting the unique identification number and data representing the subsequent strain signal to the processor means;

analyzing the subsequent strain signal data to define a subsequent gage length of the strain gage elements, and performing a temperature compensation for the analyzed subsequent strain signal data based on the input temperature of the surface and the thermal coefficient of expansion equation for the surface, using the processing means; and

calculating a linear strain or rosette strain from the temperature-compensated, analyzed reference strain signal data and the temperature-compensated, analyzed subsequent strain signal data, based on the difference between the reference gage length and the subsequent the gage length as a function of time and change in the load.