ACCELEROMETERS

Want to know how fast your car's going? It's easyjust glance at the speedometer! Speed is a handy measurement that tells you how quickly you can get from one place to another. A car's top speed is generally a good indication of how powerful an engine it has, but assuming everyone stays within the speed limit, maximum speeds are just numbers on paperlittle or no use to anyone. Acceleration is much more interesting than speed and more useful if you need to get out of danger behind the wheel: it's how quickly something can speed up or slow down. Measuring acceleration is a bit more tricky than measuring speed because it involves figuring out how speed changes over a period of time. How do you measure acceleration? Not surprisingly, with a device called an accelerometer. Once upon a time you'd have found gadgets like this only in space rockets or jumbo jets; now they're in virtually every car, many laptop computers, and all kinds of gadgets such as iPods, iPhones, and the Nintendo Wii. Let's take a closer look at what they are, what they do, and how they work!

What actually is acceleration?

Before you can understand accelerometers, you really need to understand acceleration so let's have a quick recap. If you have a car that accelerates from a standstill to a speed (or, strictly speaking, velocity) of 100km/h in 5 seconds, the acceleration is the change in velocity or speed divided by the time so 100/5 or 20 km/h per second. In other words, each second the car is driving, it adds another 20km/h to its speed. If you're sitting inside this car, you could measure the acceleration using a stopwatch and the car's speedometer. Simply read the speedometer after 5 seconds, divide the reading by 5, and you get the acceleration. But what if you want to know the acceleration moment by moment, without waiting for a certain time to elapse? If you know about the laws of motion, you'll know that the brilliant English scientist Isaac Newton defined acceleration in a different way by relating it to mass and force. If you have a certain force (say, the power in your leg as you kick it outward) and you apply it to a mass (a soccer ball), you'll make the mass accelerate the ball will shoot off into the air. Newton's second law of motion relates force, mass, and acceleration through this very simple equation: Force = mass x acceleration or... F = m a or...a = F / m

In other words, acceleration is the amount of force we need to move each unit of mass. Looking at this equation, you can see why soccer balls work the way they do: the harder you kick (the more the force), or the lighter the ball (the less the mass), the more acceleration you'll produceand the faster the ball will fly through the sky.

You can also see we now have a second way of calculating acceleration that doesn't involve distance, speed, or time. If we can measure the force that's acting on something and also its mass, we can figure out its acceleration simply by dividing the force by the mass. No need to measure speed or time at all!

How do accelerometers work?

This equation is the theory behind accelerometers: they measure acceleration not by calculating how speed changes over time but by measuring force. How do they do that? Generally speaking, by sensing how much a mass presses on something when a force acts on it. This is something we're all very familiar with when we're in cars. Imagine you're sitting in the back seat of a car, happily minding your own business, and the driver accelerates suddenly to pass a slow-moving truck. You feel yourself thumping back into the seat. Why? Because the car's acceleration makes it move forward suddenly. You might think you move backward when a car accelerates forward, but that's an illusion: really what you experience is the car trying to move off without you and your seat catching you up from behind!

The laws of motion tell us that your body tries to keep going at a steady speed, but the seat is constantly pushing into you with a force and making you accelerate instead. The more the car accelerates, the more force you feel from your seat and you really can feel it! Your brain and body work together to make a reasonably effective accelerometer: the more force your body experiences, the more acceleration your brain registers from the difference between your body's movements and those of the car. (And it picks up useful clues from other sensations, including the rate at which moving objects pass by the window, the change in sound of the car's engine, the noise of the air rushing past, and so on.) Moment by moment, you sense changes in acceleration from changes in sensations on your body, not by calculating how far you've traveled and how long it took. And accelerometers work in broadly the same way.

Common Types of Accelerometers:

A capacitive accelerometer uses a sensing mechanism, known as a capacitive acceleration sensor, to
measure both static acceleration and dynamic acceleration forces. With consideration to all accelerometers, there typically is some sort of electrical circuitry wired to the sensing mechanism in order to portray the output, or voltage, of its measurements. Static acceleration force is generated by a gravitational pull. When measuring static acceleration with a capacitive accelerometer, the measurements would portray the angle of tilt at which the device is being held or suspended in relation to the Earth's gravitational pull. A common capability of many modern cell phones, smart phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) is that the orientation of the screen changes in relation to the angle at which the device is being held. Dynamic acceleration force is generated by vibrations from movement. Measuring vibrations allows a capacitive accelerometer to determine in which direction the device is moving and at what speed. Additionally, dynamic acceleration can be measured to track the impact that an object encounters.

Artwork: The broad concept of a capacitive accelerometer: as the gray accelerometer box moves to the right, the red mass is left behind and pushes the blue metal plates closer together, changing their capacitance in a measurable way.

Piezoelectric accelerometer
Piezoelectric accelerometer that utilizes the piezoelectric effect of certain materials to measure dynamic changes in mechanical variables. (e.g. acceleration, vibration, and mechanical shock). The word piezoelectric finds its roots in the Greek word piezein, which means to squeeze or press. When a physical force is exerted on the accelerometer, the seismic mass loads the piezoelectric element according to Newtons second law of motion (F=ma). The force exerted on the piezoelectric material can be observed in the change in the electrostatic force or voltage generated by the piezoelectric material. This differs from a piezoresistive effect in that piezoresistive materials experience a change in the resistance of the material rather than a change in charge or voltage. Physical force exerted on the piezoelectric can be classified as one of two types; bending or compression. Stress of the compression type can be understood as a force exerted to one side of the piezoelectric while the opposing side rests against a fixed surface, while bending involves a force being exerted on the piezoelectric from both sides. Piezoelectric materials used for the purpose of accelerometers can also fall into two categories. The first, and more widely used, is single-crystal materials (usually quartz). Though these materials do offer a long life span in terms of sensitivity, their disadvantage is that they are generally less sensitive than some piezoelectric ceramics. In addition to having a higher piezoelectric constant (sensitivity) than single-crystal materials, ceramics are more inexpensive to produce. The other category is ceramic material. That uses barium titanate, lead-zirconate-leadtitanate, lead metaniobate, and other materials whose composition is considered proprietary by the company responsible for their development. The disadvantage to piezoelectric ceramics, however, is that their sensitivity degrades with time making the longevity of the device less than that of single-crystal materials.

* Accelerometer Specifications
-Dynamic Range is the +/- maximum amplitude that the accelerometer can measure before distorting or clipping the output signal. Typically specified in g's. -Frequency Response is determined by the mass, the piezoelectric properties of the crystal, and the resonance

frequency of the case. It is the frequency range where the output of the accelerometer is within a specified deviation, typically +/- 5%. - g 1g is the acceleration due to the earth's gravity which is 32.2 ft/sec2, 386 in/sec2 or 9.8 m/sec2. - Grounding - There are two types of signal grounding in accelerometers. Case Grounded accelerometers have the low side of the signal connected to their case. As the case is part of the signal path and may be attached to a conductive material, care must be used when using this type of accelerometer to avoid noise from the ground plain. Ground Isolated accelerometers have the electrical components isolated from the case and are much less susceptible to ground induced noise. - High Frequency Limit is the frequency where the output exceeds the stated output deviation. It is typically governed by the mechanical resonance of the accelerometer. - Low Frequency Cut-off is the frequency where the output starts to fall off below the stated accuracy. The output does not "cut-off " but the sensitivity decreases rapidly with lower frequencies. - Noise - Electronic noise is generated by the amplifying circuit. Noise can be specified either broad band (specified over the a frequency spectrum) or spectral - designated at specific frequencies. Noise levels are specified in g's, i.e. 0.0025 g 2-25,000 Hz. Noise typically decreases as frequency increases so noise at low frequencies is more of a problem than at high frequencies. - Resonance Frequency is the frequency at which the sensor resonates or rings. Frequency measurements want to be well below the resonance frequency of the accelerometer. - Sensitivity is the output voltage produced by a certain force measured in g's. Accelerometers typically fall into two categories - producing either 10 mV/g or 100 mV/g. The frequency of the AC output voltage will match the frequency of the vibrations. The output level will be proportional to the amplitude of the vibrations. Low output accelerometers are used to measure high vibrational levels while high output accelerometers are used to measure low level vibrations. - Temperature Sensitivity is the voltage output per degree of measured temperature. The sensors are temperature compensated to keep the change in output to within the specified limits for a change in temperature. - Temperature Range is limited by the electronic micro circuit that converts the charge to a low impedance output. Typically the range is -50 to 120C. - Accelerometer Selection When selecting an accelerometer for your application many parameters must be considered.

What is the vibration amplitude to be monitored? What is the frequency range to be monitored? What is the temperature range of the installation? What is the size and shape of the sample to be monitored? Are there electromagnetic fields? Is there a high level of electrical noise in the area? Is the surface where the accelerometer is to be mounted grounded? Is the environment corrosive? Does the area require Intrinsically safe or explosion proof instruments? Is the area a wet or a wash down area?

Other Considerations: The mass of the accelerometers should be significantly smaller than the mass of the system to be monitored. The accelerometer dynamic range should be broader than the expected vibration amplitude range of the sample. The frequency range of the accelerometer should fit the expected frequency range. The Sensitivity of the accelerometer should produce an electrical output compatible with existing instrumentation. Use a low sensitivity accelerometer to measure high amplitude vibrations and conversely use a high sensitivity accelerometer to measure low amplitude vibrations.

Eddy-Current sensors
Eddy-Current sensors are noncontact devices capable of high-resolution measurement of the position and/or change of position of any conductive target. Eddy-Current sensors are also called inductive sensors, but generally "eddy current" refers to precision displacement instruments (or nondestructive testing probes) and "inductive" refers to inexpensive proximity switches. High resolution and tolerance of dirty environments make eddy-current sensors indispensable in today's modern industrial operations.

Eddy-Current sensors operate with magnetic fields. The driver creates an alternating current in the sensing coil in the end of the probe. This creates an alternating magnetic field with induces small currents in the target material; these currents are called eddy currents. The eddy currents create an opposing magnetic field which resists the field being generated by the probe coil. The interaction of the magnetic fields is dependent on the distance between the probe and the target. As the distance changes, the electronics sense the change in the field interaction and produce a voltage output which is proportional to the change in distance between the probe and target. The target surface must be at least three times larger than the probe diameter for normal, calibrated operation; otherwise, special calibration my be required. Applications: Eddy-Current sensors are useful in any application requiring the measurement or monitoring of the position of a conductive target, especially in a dirty environment

ELECTRODYNAMIC SHAKER
The electrodynamic shaker functions to deliver a force proportional to the current applied to its voice coil (see sidebar). These devices are used in such diverse activities as product evaluation, stress screening, squeak-and-rattle testing and modal analysis. These shakers may be driven by sinusoidal, random or transient signals based upon the application. They are invariably driven by an audio-frequency power amplifier and may be used open loop (as in most modal testing) or under closed-loop control where the input to the driving amplifier is servo-controlled to achieve a desired motion level in the article under test.