Traceability of Optical Techniques for Strain Measurement

Strain is a dimensionless quantity derived from displacement. To measure strain, devices such as resistive strain gauges and extensometers but also imaging methods are applied in engineering and experimental mechanics. The lack of standards and reference materials related to optical methods of strain measurement is tackled by the SPOTS project. It is intended to make full use of the modularity of different methods in order to develop a unified approach to standardisation. In this contribution we focus on the problem of traceability of optical strain measurement values and underline the role of strain measurement standards. We clarify the terminology and outline routes for traceability in analogy to widespread procedures for single value strain measurements.