Patent ID: 8607640

Claim:
A capacitive strain sensor for sensing strain of a structure, the sensor comprising: a first section attached to the structure at a first location, the first section comprising a capacitor plate electrically isolated from the structure, wherein the first section is a core having an outer diameter, and wherein the capacitor plate is mounted to the core; a second section attached to the structure at a second location, the second section comprising two electrically isolated capacitive plates, both of the plates being electrically isolated from the structure, wherein the second section is a ring having an inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of the core and the two electrically isolated capacitive plates are mounted to the ring; and a component configured to flexibly connect the first section to the second section, wherein the capacitor plate of the first section is separated from the two capacitive plates of the second section by at least one capacitive gap, and wherein the first section is axially movable relative to the second section.