Investigations on anelastic effects in electrical discharge machined titan grade 2 flexures for the use in precision force instruments

Abstract The presented paper describes the measurement of anelastic effects of electric discharge machined titanium load cells. The load cells were manufactured with a new design, which allows an interferometric measurement of the anelastic effects with a good signal to noise ratio. FEM simulations are used to calculate the arising stresses. An improved data evaluation reduces the influence of drift effects, which allows a better comparison of load cell specimens with different materials and hinge thicknesses. The observed effects, including their sensitivity towards material thickness and load, are compared to the effects of a common aluminum alloy.