Vibrating Wire Strain Gauges

Each Kingmach gauge includes a thermistor so you can measure temperature at the sensor point. The host material expands or contracts with temperature, and that shows up in the strain reading. By logging temperature alongside strain, you can strip out the thermal component and get mechanical strain. The correction factor depends on the material’s coefficient of thermal expansion—for steel it’s around 12×10⁻⁶/°C, for concrete maybe 10×10⁻⁶/°C.

Yes, embedment models are designed for that. The body is robust enough to survive concrete pouring and vibration. Typically you tie the gauge to rebar with wire or cable ties, making sure it’s aligned with the expected strain direction. After casting, the gauge is fully bonded to the concrete and stays in place for decades.

They output a standard vibrating wire frequency, so most dataloggers and portable readouts from industry brands will work. Popular choices include units from Campbell Scientific, Geokon, or RST Instruments. If you already have a monitoring system on site, the gauges usually integrate without extra signal conditioning.

Resolution is generally around 1 microstrain or better with a good readout. Accuracy depends on the calibration and temperature correction, but you can expect around ±0.25% of full scale after applying the calibration factor and thermal correction. For long‑term monitoring, the stability is often more important than absolute accuracy, and vibrating wire sensors excel there.

Kingmach offers customizations. Gauge length can be adjusted for the application—shorter for localized strain, longer to average over a section. Cable lengths and jacket materials (e.g., armored or PUR) can be specified for harsh environments. Contact their sales team with your project specs.