Five Questions to Ask Yourself When Measuring Over 50 g
TREND REPORT
When it comes to researching, developing, and testing products in harsh and complex environments, accelerometers can provide invaluable data. In some industries, however, there can be challenges to collecting that data—especially when measuring at a high g-force. And since an accelerometer’s application is only as good as its accuracy, you’ll want to consider what contributes to those challenges before making decisions on what accelerometers you’ll use.
What is the expected dynamic range you will be measuring or testing?
QUESTION 1
What is the measurement bandwidth?
QUESTION 2
How will the sensor be mounted during testing?
QUESTION 3
What conditions will you be conducting your test in?
QUESTION 4
What measurement parameter do you need?
QUESTION 5
While an accelerometer’s function is to measure acceleration in g-forces, it can also be used to determine velocity and displacement.
If you’re looking to measure either of those data points, you’ll need a DC device.
While some believe piezoelectric accelerometers can be used to determine velocity and displacement, several studies have proven this is not true. The reason is the inherent characteristics of the piezoelectric crystal and the amount of time it requires to return to a true “0” reading.
Piezoelectric accelerometers can be used to determine peak acceleration, however the inherent zero shift caused by the PZT crystal will lead to inaccurate velocity and displacement results if any integration is performed on the output data.
Conclusion
At high g-forces, the collecting data for researching, developing, and testing has its own unique challenges.
Whether you’re planning to use accelerometers in the lab (for shock, impact, or drop test measurements) or in the field (for measuring construction equipment, logging equipment, automotive crash tests or other applications), these questions will make sure your results are accurate, repeatable and linear.