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Understanding Acceleration and Choosing an Accelerometer

Publish Date: Jan 31, 2013

Overview
This document offers an overview of acceleration, how an accelerometer works, and the different types of accelerometers.

Table of Contents
1. What Is Acceleration?
2. Theory of an Accelerometer
3. Accelerometer Types

1. What Is Acceleration?

Newton's law simply states that if a mass, m, is undergoing an acceleration, a, then there must be a force F acting on the mass
and given by F = ma. Hooke's law states that if a spring of spring constant k is stretched (extended) from its equilibrium position for
a distance Dx, then there must be a force acting on the spring given by F = kDx.

Figure 1. The Basic Spring-Mass System Accelerometer

In Figure 1a, the mass is free to slide on a base. The mass is connected to the base by a spring that is in its unextended state and
exerts no force on the mass. In Figure 1b, the whole assembly is accelerated to the left. Now the spring extends to provide the
force necessary to accelerate the mass. This condition is described by equating Newton's and Hooke's laws:
ma = kDx (5.25)

where k = spring constant in N/m

Dx = spring extension in m
m = mass in kg
a = acceleration in m/s2

Equation 5.25 allows the measurement of acceleration to be reduced to a measurement of spring extension (linear displacement)
because

I the acceleration is reversed, the same physical argument applies, except that the spring is compressed instead of extended.
Equation 5.26 still describes the relationship between spring displacement and acceleration.

The spring-mass principle applies to many common accelerometer designs. The mass that converts the acceleration to spring
displacement is referred to as the test mass or seismic mass. You see, then, that acceleration measurement reduces to linear
displacement measurement; most designs differ in how this displacement measurement is made.
2. Theory of an Accelerometer

Most accelerometers rely on the use of the piezoelectric effect. In the case of compression-mode accelerometers, the acceleration
of the test structure is transmitted to a seismic mass that generates a proportional force on the piezoelectric crystal. This external
stress on the crystal then generates an electrical charge proportional to the applied force and, thus, proportional to the
acceleration. Another common design is the shear mode, which is less sensitive to temperature effects (the charge is picked up in
a direction perpendicular to the polarization direction).
3. Accelerometer Types
Potentiometric

This simplest accelerometer type measures mass motion by attaching the spring mass to the wiper arm of a potentiometer. In this
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This simplest accelerometer type measures mass motion by attaching the spring mass to the wiper arm of a potentiometer. In this
manner, the mass position is conveyed as a changing resistance. The natural frequency of these devices is generally less than 30
Hz, limiting their applications to steady-state acceleration or low-frequency vibration measurement. Numerous signal-conditioning
schemes are used to convert the resistance variation into a voltage or current signal.
LVDT

A second type of accelerometer takes advantage of the natural linear displacement measurement of the linear variable differential
transformer (LVDT) to measure mass displacement. In these instruments, the LVDT core itself is the seismic mass. Displacements
of the core are converted directly into a linearly proportional AC voltage. These accelerometers generally have a natural frequency
less than 80 Hz and are commonly used for steady-state and low-frequency vibration. Figure 2 shows the basic structure of such
an accelerometer.

Figure 2. An LVDT is often used as an accelerometer with the core serving as the mass.
Variable Reluctance

This accelerometer type falls in the same general category as the LVDT in that an inductive principle is used. Here, the test mass
is usually a permanent magnet. The measurement is made from the voltage induced in a surrounding coil as the magnetic mass
moves under the influence of an acceleration. This accelerometer is used in vibration and shock studies only because it has an
output only when the mass is in motion. Its natural frequency is typically less than 100 Hz. This type of accelerometer often is used
in oil exploration to pick up vibrations reflected from underground rock strata. In this form, it is commonly referred to as a
geophone.
Piezoelectric

The piezoelectric accelerometer is based on a property exhibited by certain crystals where a voltage is generated across the
crystal when stressed. This property is also the basis for such familiar sensors as crystal phonograph cartridges and crystal
microphones. For accelerometers, the principle is shown in Figure 3. Here, a piezoelectric crystal is spring-loaded with a test mass
in contact with the crystal. When exposed to an acceleration, the test mass stresses the crystal by a force (F = ma), resulting in a
voltage generated across the crystal. A measure of this voltage is then a measure of the acceleration. The crystal per se is a very
high-impedance source, and thus requires a high-input impedance, low-noise detector. Output levels are typically in the millivolt
range. The natural frequency of these devices may exceed 5 kHz, so that they can be used for vibration and shock
measurements.

Figure 3. A piezoelectric accelerometer has a very high natural frequency.

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