preferable strain gage location during testing of A/C fuselage

probably/possibly a reasonable indication of what's happening, but probably not Truth.

is it an axial gauge placed between the rivets (in-line, on the skin attach flange) or mid way up the standing leg ? or on the cap ??

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

yes, info is too vague to have a useful reply. post a picture of the part with the strain gage location shown.
yes, if a gage is not in a (relatively) uniform strain field, correlating measured results to analysis will be difficult (at best).
and if the fuselage buckles before ultimate, then it gets WAY more complicated
strain gages should not be located near fasteners as the strain field is complex in those areas.

FYI ONLY...

STRAIN GAGE USERS' HANDBOOK, ISBN 0412537206
THE BONDED ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE STRAIN GAGE: AN INTRODUCTION, ISBN 019507209X

ASTM E1237 STANDARD GUIDE FOR INSTALLING BONDED RESISTANCE STRAIN GAGES
ASTM E1561 STANDARD PRACTICE FOR ANALYSIS OF STRAIN GAGE ROSETTE DATA

NASA CR-4597 STRAIN GAGE SELECTION IN LOADS EQUATIONS USING A GENETIC ALGORITHM

NAS942 STRAIN GAGES, BONDED, RESISTANCE

DSTO ARL-STM 378 A STRAIN GAUGE MANUAL

NATO AGARD-AG-160-V7 AGARD FLIGHT TEST INSTRUMENTATION SERIES – V7 - STRAIN GAUGE MEASUREMENTS ON AIRCRAFT

Regards, Wil Taylor
o Trust - But Verify!
o For those who believe, no proof is required; for those who cannot believe, no proof is possible. [variation, Stuart Chase]
o Unfortunately, in science what You 'believe' is irrelevant. ["Orion", HBA forum]
o Only fools and charlatans know everything and understand everything." -Anton Chekhov

damn it Will ... just how big is your library ? geeze

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

When I was overseas as a field service engineer... I was structural mechanical on MANY aircraft types... I OFTEN got into areas off the map... because mechanics figured out I was genuinely eager to know their problems and help find solutions... even if was just for making calls to the 'right guys stateside'. After awhile, I was working electrical/electronic, engines/engine-test, landing gear, canopies, ejection seats, Fuel, weapons, etc. VERY rewarding.

I started out having to find data, here/there and figured out I had to also be a pack rat, to get smarter and not have to plow the same ground, months apart. AND, since I worked well with line mechanics and the backshops.... they would call me for every wild challenge/question/issue... kinda fun being a trusted USAF team member for 8-years.

OH yeah... NOW I have many working bibliographies/collections/files for maintenance, training, analysis/design, [wide array of] systems, fabrication, thermal processes, metallic materials, fasteners/fastening, finishes, electrical, electronic, avionic, instrument, electrical power, wiring, mishap investigation, etc-etc-bla-bla-bla... not a lot I haven't 'seen/collected'.

Time for me to stop blabbing off topic... good night.

Regards, Wil Taylor
o Trust - But Verify!
o For those who believe, no proof is required; for those who cannot believe, no proof is possible. [variation, Stuart Chase]
o Unfortunately, in science what You 'believe' is irrelevant. ["Orion", HBA forum]
o Only fools and charlatans know everything and understand everything." -Anton Chekhov