Accelerometers What is Acceleration? o Definition: the time rate of change of velocity o A.K.A.

.: the time rate of change of the time rate of change of distance

What are the units? o Acceleration is measured in (ft/s)/s or (m/s)/s What is a g? o A g is a unit of acceleration e ual to !arth"s gravity at sea level #$.$ ft/s$ or %.&' m/s$ What is the time rate of change of velocity? o When (lotted on a gra(h) velocity is the slo(e of distance versus time o Acceleration is the slo(e of velocity versus time Why measure acceleration? o Acceleration is a (hysical characteristic of a system. o *he measurement of acceleration is used as an in(ut into some ty(es of control systems. o *he control systems use the measured acceleration to correct for changing dynamic conditions

Why Do We Need Accelerometers? +i,ration and shoc- are (resent in all areas of our daily lives. *hey may ,e generated and transmitted ,y motors) tur,ines) machine.tools) ,ridges) to/ers or ,y the human ,ody) for e0am(le. While some vi,rations are desira,le) others may ,e distur,ing or even destructive. 1onse uently) there is often a need to understand the causes of vi,rations and to develo( methods to measure and (revent them. *he sensors /e manufacture serve as a lin- ,et/een vi,rating structures and electronic measurement e ui(ment. What is measured? *he commonly used uantity for the measurement of vi,ration is acceleration. 2t has the 3tandard 2nternational unit m/s4 (meters (er second s uared). 3ometimes also the non.32 unit gravitational acceleration (g) is used for acceleration ('g is a,out %.&' m/s4).

5or some a((lications) for e0am(le in machine monitoring) vi,ration velocity (mm/s) or vi,ration dis(lacement (6m) mm) are measured. +elocity can ,e derived from acceleration ,y single integration) dis(lacement ,y dou,le integration. 2ntegrators can ,e im(lemented ,y an analog circuit or a soft/are routine. While /e have an idea of the order of magnitudes of dis(lacement and velocity) it may ,e difficult to imagine acceleration:

Accelerations ,elo/ 7.77' m/s4 are measured in seismic surveys. A racing car driver can e0(erience 87 m/s4. 9ost humans lose consciousness at around :7 m/s4. A car accident of '77 m/s4 /ill ,rea- human ,ones /hile #77 m/s4 are sufficient for a seat,elt to ,rea- ri,s. A la(to( dro((ing onto a concrete floor from a height of ' m may endure as much as $7)777 m/s4. Accelerations ,eyond '77)777 m/s4 are found in ,allistics and e0(losion tests.

Common Types of Accelerometers Sl ' $ # @ 8 : Sensor Category 1a(acitive <ie=oelectric <ie=oresistive Aall !ffect 9agnetoresistive Aeat *ransfer Key Technologies 9etal ,eam or micro machined feature (roduces ca(acitance; change in ca(acitance related to acceleration <ie=oelectric crystal mounted to mass > voltage out(ut converted to acceleration ?eam or micromachined feature /hose resistance changes /ith acceleration 9otion converted to electrical signal ,y sensing of changing magnetic fields 9aterial resistivity changes in (resence of magnetic field Bocation of heated mass trac-ed during acceleration ,y sensing tem(erature

Accelerometer Principles *here are several (hysical (rocesses that can ,e used to develo( a sensor to measure acceleration. 2n a((lications that involve flight) such as aircraft and satellites) accelerometers are ,ased on (ro(erties of rotating masses. 2n the industrial /orld) ho/ever) the most common design is ,ased on a com,ination of Ce/tonDs la/ of mass acceleration and Aoo-eDs la/ of s(ring action.

Newton's law simply states that if a mass m is undergoing an acceleration a then there must !e a force F acting on the mass and gi"en !y F # ma. $%& 'oo(e's law states that if a spring of spring constant k is stretched $e)tended& from its e*uili!rium position for a distance Dx then there must !e a force acting on the spring gi"en !y F # kDx. $+& Spring,-ass System We have a mass that is free to slide on a ,ase. *he mass is connected to the ,ase ,y a s(ring that is in its une0tended state and e0erts no force on the mass

*he /hole assem,ly is accelerated to the left) as sho/n. Co/ the s(ring e0tends in order to (rovide the force necessary to accelerate the mass.

*his condition is descri,ed ,y e uating Ce/tonDs and Aoo-eDs la/s: (! uating (') E ($)) ma = kDx $.& where k = spring constant in N/m Dx = spring extension in m m = mass in kg a = acceleration in m/s2

! uation (#) allo/s the measurement of acceleration to ,e reduced to a measurement of s(ring e0tension (linear dis(lacement) ,ecause

(@) 2f the acceleration is reversed) the same (hysical argument /ould a((ly) e0ce(t that the s(ring is com(ressed instead of e0tended. ! uation (@) still descri,es the relationshi(

,et/een s(ring dis(lacement and acceleration. *he spring-mass principle a((lies to many common accelerometer designs. *he mass that converts the acceleration to s(ring dis(lacement is referred to as the test mass or seismic mass. We see) then) that acceleration measurement reduces to linear dis(lacement measurement; most designs differ in ho/ this dis(lacement measurement is made. Natural /re*uency and Damping Fn closer e0amination of the sim(le (rinci(le Gust descri,ed) /e find another characteristic of s(ring.mass systems that com(licates the analysis. 2n (articular) a system consisting of a s(ring and attached mass al/ays e0hi,its oscillations at some characteristic natural frequency. !0(erience tells us that if /e (ull a mass ,ac- and then release it (in the a,sence of acceleration)) it /ill ,e (ulled ,ac- ,y the s(ring) overshoot the e uili,rium) and oscillate ,ac- and forth. Fnly friction associated /ith the mass and ,ase eventually ,rings the mass to rest. Any dis(lacement measuring system /ill res(ond to this oscillation as if an actual acceleration occurs. *his natural fre uency is given ,y

(8) Where fN = natural fre uency in A= k = s(ring constant in C/m m H seismic mass in -g

*he friction that eventually ,rings the mass to rest is defined ,y a damping coefficient, /hich has the units of s.'. 2n general) the effect of oscillation is called transient response, descri,ed ,y a (eriodic dam(ed signal) /hose e uation is XT(t) = 0oe,1t sin$+pfNt& $2& Where Xr(t) = transient mass (osition Xo = (ea- (osition) initially H dam(ing coefficient fN H natural fre uency *he (arameters) natural fre uency) and dam(ing coefficient in ! uation (:) have a (rofound effect on the a((lication of accelerometers.

Pro!lem An accelerometer has a seismic mass of 7.78 -g and a s(ring constant of #.7 I '7# C/m 9a0imum mass dis(lacement is J7 7$ m (,efore the mass hits the sto(s). 1alculate $a& the ma0imum measura,le acceleration in g and $!& the natural fre uency. Solution We find the ma0imum acceleration /hen the ma0imum dis(lacement occurs) from ! uation (@). a3

Fr ,ecause

!3 *he natural fre uency is given ,y ! uation (8).

Pie4oelectric Accelerometers <ie=o.electric crystals are man.made or naturally occurring crystals that (roduce a charge out(ut /hen they are com(ressed) fle0ed or su,Gected to shear forces. *he /ord (ie=o is a corru(tion of the Kree- /ord for s uee=e. 2n a (ie=o.electric accelerometer a mass is attached to a (ie=o.electric crystal /hich is in turn mounted to the case of the accelerometer. When the ,ody of the accelerometer is su,Gected to vi,ration the mass mounted on the crystal /ants to stay still in s(ace due to inertia and so com(resses and stretches the (ie=o electric crystal. *his force causes a charge to ,e generated and due to Ce/ton la/ 5Hma this force is in turn (ro(ortional to acceleration. *here are t/o ty(es of (ie=oelectric accelerometers (vi,ration sensors). *he first ty(e is a Lhigh im(edanceL charge out(ut accelerometer. 2n this ty(e of accelerometer the (ie=oelectric crystal (roduces an electrical charge /hich is connected directly to the measurement instruments. *he charge out(ut re uires s(ecial accommodations and instrumentation most commonly found in research facilities. *his ty(e of accelerometer is also used in high tem(erature a((lications (M'$71) /here lo/ im(edance models cannot ,e used. *he second ty(e of accelerometer is a lo/ im(edance out(ut accelerometer. A lo/ im(edance accelerometer has a charge accelerometer as its front end ,ut has a tiny ,uilt.in micro.circuit and 5!* transistor that converts that charge into a lo/ im(edance voltage that can easily interface /ith standard instrumentation. *his ty(e of accelerometer is commonly used in industry. Ad"antages !0tremely /ide dynamic range) almost free of noise . suita,le for shocmeasurement as /ell as for almost im(erce(ti,le vi,ration !0cellent linearity over their dynamic range Wide fre uency range) high fre uencies can ,e measured 1om(act yet highly sensitive Co moving (arts . no /ear 3elf.generating . no e0ternal (o/er re uired Kreat variety of models availa,le for nearly any (ur(ose 2ntegration of the out(ut signal (rovides velocity and dis(lacement

5nstrumentation *he (ie=oelectric (rinci(le re uires no e0ternal energy. Fnly alternating acceleration can ,e measured. *his ty(e of accelerometer is not ca(a,le of a true D1 res(onse) e.g. gravitation acceleration. *he high im(edance sensor out(ut needs to ,e converted into a lo/ im(edance signal first. 5or (rocessing the sensor signal a variety of e ui(ment can ,e used) such as: N N N N *ime domain e ui(ment) e.g. O93 and (ea- value meters 5re uency analy=ers Oecorders <1 instrumentation

Ao/ever) the ca(a,ility of such e ui(ment /ould ,e /asted /ithout an accurate sensor signal. 2n many cases the accelerometer is the most critical lin- in the measurement chain. *o o,tain (recise vi,ration signals some ,asic -no/ledge a,out (ie=oelectric accelerometers is re uired. *he active element of an accelerometer is a (ie=oelectric material. 5igure ' illustrates the (ie=oelectric effect /ith the hel( of a com(ression dis-. A com(ression dis- loo-s li-e a ca(acitor /ith the (ie=oceramic material sand/iched ,et/een t/o electrodes. A force a((lied (er(endicular to the dis- causes a charge (roduction and a voltage at the electrodes.

/igure %6 Pie4oelectric effect !asic calculations *he sensing element of a (ie=oelectric accelerometer consists of t/o maGor (arts:

<ie=oceramic material 3eismic mass

Fne side of the (ie=oelectric material is connected to a rigid (ost at the sensor ,ase. *he so .called seismic mass is attached to the other side. When the accelerometer is su,Gected to vi,ration) a force is generated /hich acts on the (ie=oelectric element (com(are 5igure $). According to Ce/ton"s Ba/ this force is e ual to the (roduct of the acceleration and the

seismic mass. ?y the (ie=oelectric effect a charge out(ut (ro(ortional to the a((lied force is generated. 3ince the seismic mass is constant the charge out(ut signal is (ro(ortional to the acceleration of the mass.

/igure +6 Principle of a pie4oelectric accelerometer Fver a /ide fre uency range ,oth sensor ,ase and seismic mass have the same acceleration magnitude. Aence) the sensor measures the acceleration of the test o,Gect. *he (ie=oelectric element is connected to the sensor soc-et via a (air of electrodes. 3ome accelerometers feature an integrated electronic circuit /hich converts the high im(edance charge out(ut into a lo/ im(edance voltage signal. Within the useful o(erating fre uency range the sensitivity is inde(endent of fre uency) a(art from the later mentioned limitations. A (ie=oelectric accelerometer can ,e regarded as a mechanical lo/.(ass /ith resonance (ea-. *he seismic mass and the (ie=oceramics ((lus other Lfle0i,leL com(onents) form a s(ring mass system. 2t sho/s the ty(ical resonance ,ehavior and defines the u((er fre uency limit of an accelerometer. 2n order to achieve a /ider o(erating fre uency range the resonance fre uency should ,e increased. *his is usually done ,y reducing the seismic mass. Ao/ever) the lo/er the seismic mass) the lo/er the sensitivity. *herefore) an accelerometer /ith high resonance fre uency) for e0am(le a shoc- accelerometer) /ill ,e less sensitive /hereas a seismic accelerometer /ith high sensitivity has a lo/ resonance fre uency. 5igure # sho/s a ty(ical fre uency res(onse curve of an accelerometer /hen it is e0cited ,y a constant acceleration.

/igure .6 /re*uency response cur"e 3everal useful fre uency ranges can ,e derived from this curve:

At a((ro0imately '/8 the resonance fre uency the res(onse of the sensor is '.78. *his means that the measured error com(ared to lo/er fre uencies is 8 P. At a((ro0imately '/# the resonance fre uency the error is '7 P. 5or this reason the LlinearL fre uency range should ,e considered limited to '/# the resonance fre uency. *he # d? limit /ith a((ro0imately #7 P error is o,tained at a((ro0imately one half times the resonance fre uency.

*he lo/er fre uency limit mainly de(ends on the chosen (ream(lifier. Fften it can ,e adGusted. With voltage am(lifiers) the lo/ fre uency limit is a function of the O1 time constant formed ,y accelerometer) ca,le) and am(lifier in(ut ca(acitance together /ith the am(lifier in(ut resistance.

/igure 7 Pie4oelectric Accelerometer wor(ing

Ta!le %6 Comparison of Pie4oelectric -aterials Configurations 9any different si=es and sha(es of (ie=oelectric materials can ,e used in (ie=oelectric sensors. Acting as true (recision s(rings) the different element configurations sho/n in 5igure 8 offer various advantages and disadvantages.

/igure 8 -aterial Configurations (*he red re(resents the (ie=oelectric crystals) /hile the arro/s indicate ho/ the material is stressed. Accelerometers ty(ically have a seismic mass) /hich is re(resented ,y the gray color. A more com(lete descri(tion of sensor structures is given in the ne0t section.) *he com(ression design features high rigidity) ma-ing it useful for im(lementation in high fre uency (ressure and force sensors. 2ts disadvantage is that it is some/hat sensitive to thermal transients. *he sim(licity of the fle0ural design is offset ,y its narro/ fre uency range and lo/ overshoc- surviva,ility.

*he shear configuration is ty(ically used in accelerometers as it offers a /ell ,alanced ,lend of /ide fre uency range) lo/ off a0is sensitivity) lo/ sensitivity to ,ase strain and lo/ sensitivity to thermal in(uts.

With stiffness values on the order of '8!: (si ('7@!% C/m$)) /hich is similar to that of many metals) (ie=oelectric materials (roduce a high out(ut /ith very little strain. 2n other /ords) (ie=oelectric sensing elements have essentially no deflection and are often referred to as solid.state devices. 2t is for this reason that (ie=oelectric sensors are so rugged and feature e0cellent linearity over a /ide am(litude range. 2n fact) /hen cou(led /ith (ro(erly designed signal conditioners) (ie=oelectric sensors ty(ically have a dynamic am(litude range (ie: ma0imum measurement range to noise ratio) on the order of '$7 d?. *his means that a single accelerometer can measure acceleration levels as lo/ as 7.777' gDs to as high as '77 gDsQ A final im(ortant note a,out (ie=oelectric materials is that they can only measure dynamic or changing events. <ie=oelectric sensors are not a,le to measure a continuous static event as /ould ,e the case /ith inertial guidance) ,arometric (ressure or /eight measurements. While static events /ill cause an initial out(ut) this signal /ill slo/ly decay (or drain a/ay) ,ased on the (ie=oelectric material or attached electronics time constant. *his time constant corres(onds /ith a first order high (ass filter and is ,ased on the ca(acitance and resistance of the device. *his high (ass filter ultimately determines the lo/ fre uency cut. off or measuring limit of the device. Signal Conditioning6 After the sensing element (roduces a (resuma,ly desira,le out(ut) this signal must ,e conditioned (rior to ,eing analy=ed ,y the oscillosco(e) analy=er) recorder or other readout device. As sho/n in 5igure :) this signal (rocessing can ,e accom(lished ,y t/o different methods: (') 2nternal to the sensor ,y a microelectronic circuit; or) ($) !0ternal to the sensor in a L,lac- ,o0L. *hese analog (rocessing circuits serve the same general functions /hich include: (') conversion to a useful) lo/ im(edance) voltage signal; ($) signal am(lification / attenuation; and (#) 5iltering.

Figure 6: Sensor Systems

Ao/ever) it is im(ortant to note that the location of the circuit may ,e critical to the (ro(er o(eration of the sensing system. 9asic two,wire system $5CP : 5ntegrated Circuit Pie4oelectric& uses a common conductor for (o/er / signal and an additional conductor for the signal ground. *he ,uilt. in circuits are miniature charge or voltage am(lifiers de(ending on the sensing element ty(e. <o/er to these com(onents ty(ically comes from an '& to #7 +D1) $ mA constant current su((ly. (Aside from (rice) convenience and/or features) there is no technical advantage from having a constant current (o/er source /hich is e0ternal or ,uilt.in to the readout device.) A detailed system schematic is sho/n in 5igure ,elo/.

*he characteristics of this system include: (') ,uilt.in microelectronics (roduce a lo/ im(edance) voltage signal com(ati,le /ith most readout e ui(ment; ($) re uires only a sim(le) easy to use constant current signal conditioner /hich results in a lo/er (er channel cost; (#) signal is ca(a,le of ,eing transmitted over long ca,les through harsh environments /ith no loss in signal uality; (@) o(erating tem(erature of circuit ty(ically limited to $87 5 ('$' 1) or sometimes #$8 5 ('8@ 1); (8) functions /ith ordinary t/o.conductor coa0ial or t/isted (air ca,les; and (:) 1haracteristics of sensor (sensitivity E fre uency range) are fi0ed /ithin the sensor and are inde(endent of su((ly voltage. Charge mode sensors utili=e the same mechanical sensing structure as 21<) ho/ever) the signal (rocessing electronics are (laced e0ternally. 3ince integrated) micro.circuits had not yet ,een develo(ed) the first (ie=oelectric sensors) /hich /ere develo(ed in the '%87Ds) o(erated under this (rinci(al. *hese charge systems /ere often difficult to o(erate (ro(erly and /ere traditionally e0(ensive as a result of the so(histicated e0ternal charge am(lifier. (Alternative) lo/er cost in.line devices are ,ecoming more (o(ular.) *oday) charge mode sensors are ty(ically only used in environments /here the tem(erature (rohi,its the use of sensors /ith ,uilt.in electronics.

As /ould one might e0(ect) charge mode systems offer various advantages and disadvantages /hich include: (') sensor out(uts a high im(edance signal /hich re uires conditioning (rior to ,eing analy=ed; ($) re uires e0ternal signal conditioner (la,oratory charge am(lifier) in.line source follo/er) etc...); (#) high im(edance signal has the (otential to ,e contaminated ,y environmental influences such as ca,le movement) electro.magnetic signals and radio fre uency interference; (@) since electronics are e0ternal) certain models are ca(a,le of o(eration u( to '777 5 (8@7 1); (8) re uires s(ecial lo/.noise ca,ling; and (:) 1haracteristics of sensor (sensitivity E fre uency range) are varia,le and can ,e ranged ,y s/itching com(onents in the e0ternal signal conditioner.