European Journal of Scientific Research

ISSN 1450-216X Vol.35 No.1 (2009), pp 150-158

EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2009
http://www.eurojournals.com/ejsr.htm

Development of a Vibration Measuring Unit Using a

Microelectromechanical System Accelerometer for Machine
Condition Monitoring
Inzarulfaisham Abd. Rahim
School of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus
14300 Nibong Tebal, Sri Ampangan, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
E-mail: inzarul@eng.usm.my
Tel: +604-5996355; Fax: +604-5941025
Muhamad Azman Miskam
Collaborative Microelectronic Design Excellence Centre, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Sri Ampangan, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
E-mail: azman@cedec.usm.my
Tel: +604-5995856; Fax: +604-5930920
Othman Sidek
Collaborative Microelectronic Design Excellence Centre, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Sri Ampangan, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
E-mail: othman@cedec.usm.my
Tel: +604-5995800; Fax: +604-5930920
Shahril Azwan Zaharudin
School of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus
14300 Nibong Tebal, Sri Ampangan, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
E-mail: mohammedshahril@gmail.com
Tel: +604-5996355; Fax: +604-5941025
Mohammad Zaidi Zainol
Collaborative Microelectronic Design Excellence Centre, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Sri Ampangan, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
E-mail: zaidi@cedec.usm.my
Tel: +604-5995856; Fax: 604-5930920
Shukri Korakkottil Kunhi Mohd
Collaborative Microelectronic Design Excellence Centre, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Sri Ampangan, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
E-mail: shukri@cedec.usm.my
Tel: +604-5995962; Fax: 604-5930920
Abstract
This paper presents the development of a vibration sensing device using a
commercial microelectromechancial system (MEMS) accelerometer for condition

Development of a Vibration Measuring Unit Using a Microelectromechanical System

Accelerometer for Machine Condition Monitoring

151

monitoring. The objective of this study was to design, fabricate and test the vibration
sensing device for the purpose of vibration sensing, measurement and monitoring. The
commercial MEMS accelerometer ADXL150 from Analog Devices was selected as a
detection sensor. The ADXL150 is a single axis, low noise and low power MEMS
accelerometer with signal conditioning on a single monolithic integrated circuit (IC). An
interface circuit, a rms-to-dc circuit and an alarming circuit were built and studied.
Experimental tests were carried out to characterize the device with an acceleration range of
up to 5g. The results that were obtained theoretically are in close agreement with the
experimental results. The screen displayed the desired output corresponding to the applied
acceleration. Preliminary tests proved that the developed measurement unit is capable of
sensing, measuring and condition monitoring. Recommendations for further research are
also offered.
Keywords: MEMS accelerometer, vibration monitoring, micromachined sensors, silicon
sensors, dynamic shaker

1. Introduction
Machine condition monitoring is the process of monitoring the condition of a machine. The proper
monitoring of a machine ensures the maximum performance and productivity of that machine.
Vibration, noise, and temperature measurements are often used as key indicators of the state of the
machine. Machine condition monitoring is important because it provides information about the health
of a machine. This information can be used to detect warning signs early and can help an organization
stop unscheduled outages, optimize machine performance and reduce repair time and maintenance
costs. Industrial machinery test, portable machine diagnostics, on-line machine monitoring and on-line
machine protection are four different types of machine condition monitoring.
In modern machine condition monitoring systems, various types of sensors and transducers are
used to measure machine health parameters such as force sensors, pressure sensors and accelerometers.
Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometers are the most popular general purpose
vibration sensors and transducers. The new MEMS accelerometers, which include both the signal
conditioning circuitry and the sensor, are fabricated together on a single monolithic chip at a very low
cost but with high reliability, high-performance and high accuracy. MEMS accelerometers use various
techniques for measuring forces such as silicon piezoresistive, silicon capacitive, strain gauge, force
balance and micro machined resonators. From among a number of sensing methods, the capacitive
sensing technique has recently become the most attractive because it provides high sensitivity, low
noise performance, good DC response, low temperature sensitivity, low power dissipation and a simple
structure. Because of these advantages, silicon capacitive accelerometers have been applied to
numerous applications ranging from low-cost, large-volume automotive accelerometers to highprecision, inertial-grade microgravity devices.
In recent years, vibration analysis in particular has become increasingly popular as a predictive
maintenance procedure and as a support for machinery maintenance decisions. By measuring and
analyzing the vibration of a machine, it is possible to determine both the nature and severity of the
defect and hence predict the machines failure. Thus, vibration analysis is a vital part of predictive and
preventive maintenance programs that seek to reduce costs and unplanned down-time (Marin Marinov
et al., 2004). Previous researches on the development of vibration-based machine condition monitoring
systems has focussed on designing the vibration sensor, introducing new methods to detect, measure
and diagnose the vibrations of the machine and using wireless sensor network (WSN) technology for
the data management system. Holger Fritsch et al. (1997) developed a micromechanical resonant
vibration sensor (MRVS) to detect vibrations in the low-frequency range for wear monitoring. It was

152

Inzarulfaisham Abd. Rahim, Muhamad Azman Miskam, Othman Sidek,

Shahril Azwan Zaharudin, Mohammad Zaidi Zainol and Shukri Korakkottil Kunhi Mohd

found that the sensors showed significant improvement to the signal-to-noise ratio, good resolution and
simple to construct. Odin Taylor and John Macintyre (1998) developed a novel self-improving
architecture for data fusion, novelty detection and dynamic learning which was applied in condition
monitoring. It was found that the local fusion system can identify novel conditions from the normal
operating state and that it can build up over time a committee of diagnostic networks for faults that it
has encountered. Adam G. R. et al. (2004) used a printed circuit board (PCB) piezotronics model
352C68 piezoelectric accelerometer to measure the vibrations and investigate the fault and failure of
the spindle positioning drive (Z axis) on a Proteo D/94 precision machining center. This type of
accelerometer can measure up to 50g acceleration and a frequency range of up to 12 kHz. Marin
Marinov et al (2004) used a MEMS accelerometer ADXL250 family from Analog Devices as a sensor
to measure vibrations. It was found that Micromachined accelerometers offer a low-cost alternative to
piezoelectric vibration sensors, particularly for sophisticated on-line diagnostic systems requiring a
large number of transducers. Li Wang et al. (2007) developed an embedded intelligent local set for
machine condition monitoring and fundamental diagnosis. It was designed to support the adoption of
ICP type low-impedance voltage output acceleration sensors at industrial sites. Paul Wright et al.
(2008) used a MEMS accelerometer ADXL320 from Analog Devices for the monitoring of machine
tool vibration wirelessly. It was found that the accelerometer-based WSN was easy to deploy for
machine tool vibration monitoring hence providing a useful tool for the predictive maintenance and
condition-based monitoring of factory machinery. Andreas Vogl et al. (2009) developed a MEMS
accelerometer for wireless vibration measurements on AC motors for condition monitoring. It achieved
an acceleration of up to 30g, sensitivity at about 0.19mV/Vg and a noise floor equivalent to 5mg RMS.
This paper describes the development of a vibration sensing device using a commercial MEMS
accelerometer for machine condition monitoring. The objective of this study was to design, fabricate
and test the vibration sensing device for the purpose of vibration sensing, measurement and
monitoring. The commercial MEMS accelerometer ADXL150 from Analog Devices was selected as a
detection sensor. The ADXL150 is a single axis, low noise and low power MEMS accelerometer with
signal conditioning on a single monolithic integrated circuit (IC). This work is the first step in the
development of an intelligent vibration-based machine condition monitoring system for the
manufacturing industry.

2. Research Method
2.1. Electronics circuit design
The complete electronic circuit design consisted of a single accelerometer, an ac coupling circuit, a
rms-to-dc converter and an alarming circuit. It was made on a single printed circuit board (PCB). The
overall circuit was designed for 0-10g rms acceleration sensing. The output of the accelerometer was
an input to ac coupling. Then, it was connected to a rms-to-dc converter that finally triggered the
alarming circuit.
The circuit level design is based on work done by Jagadeesh Pandiyan et al. (2006). Figures 1
and 2 shows an ac coupling circuit and a rms-to-dc converter circuit respectively. In this design, the
corner frequency considered is 3 Hz. The value of the resistor (R2) is 249k and the capacitor (C3) is
0.22F which corresponds to this frequency. The other values are C1=0.1F, C2=0.1F, C4=0.1F and
R1=1M. The output voltage V1 is applied to the rms-to-dc circuit. The values for the capacitors and
the resistors are C6=0.1F, C7=1F (electrolyte), C8=0.1F, C9=0.1F and R6+R7=R8=10k,
R3+R4+R5=20k. The output voltage V2 is fed as input to the alarming circuit. The output V2 from
the rms-to-dc converter circuit is also fed to the alarming circuit. The circuit consists of a
Programmable System on Chip (PSoC) microcontroller and a display panel. The PSoC is a small
computer on a single integrated circuit consisting of a relatively simple CPU combined with support
functions such as a crystal oscillator, a program memory, timers, a watchdog, an analog to digital

Development of a Vibration Measuring Unit Using a Microelectromechanical System

Accelerometer for Machine Condition Monitoring

153

converter, and a serial and analog I/O. A PSoC Designer is used to write the program and is
downloaded into the microcontroller (refer to the Appendix). The V2 needs to be converted into a
digital number using Equation (1). The output is displayed on a display panel attached to the
microcontroller.
V2 2 N
digital number =
(1)
Vs
where N = 8 bits and Vs = 5V
Figure 1: Electronic Circuit of Ac Coupling

Figure 2: Circuit of rms-to-dc Converter

2.2. Fabrication of Printed Circuit Board (PCB)

Commercial PCB software, DXP2004, was used to design the PCB footprint for the accelerometer
(Figure 3). The circuit components such as resistors, capacitors, operational amplifiers and ICs were
not based on SMD because this device was essentially developed as a prototype. It was mounted and
soldered on the single PCB together with the ADXL150 as shown in Figure 4.

154

Inzarulfaisham Abd. Rahim, Muhamad Azman Miskam, Othman Sidek,

Shahril Azwan Zaharudin, Mohammad Zaidi Zainol and Shukri Korakkottil Kunhi Mohd
Figure 3: Schematic Circuit of rms-to-dc Converter

Figure 4: Complete PCB together with ADXL150

2.3. Test and characterization

The MEMS accelerometer ADXL150 is characterized through its output voltage. A simple circuit as
shown in Figure 5 is configured on a breadboard. The vibration measurement setup is shown in Figure
6. The device under test (DUT) is mounted onto a dynamic shaker (TIRA Shaker TV50101) and the
input and output of the accelerometer are connected to the power supply and a multimeter respectively.
A commercial accelerometer is attached to the breadboard to ensure it vibrates with the same amplitude
as the input acceleration to the accelerometer. Input acceleration is applied from 1g to 5g. According to
the ADXL150 datasheet from Analog Devices, the range of supply voltage is 4 to 6 volts. Hence, the

Development of a Vibration Measuring Unit Using a Microelectromechanical System

Accelerometer for Machine Condition Monitoring

155

output voltage of the accelerometer for each supply voltage is measured and discussed through the
graph of output voltage (Vout) versus acceleration (g) to determine the optimum supply voltage for the
accelerometer. In addition, the sensitivity of the accelerometer for each supply voltage is also
calculated.
Figure 5: Schematic circuit of ADXL150 pin connections
TP
(DO NOT CONNECT)
5

+Vs

ADXL150

14

Vs /2

5 k?

GAIN AMP

0.1F

SENSOR

10

DEMODULATOR

Vout

25k?

CLOCK

COM

OFFSET
NULL

SELF-TEST

Figure 6: Vibration measurement setup

ADXL150

POWER
SUPPLY

MULTIMETER

IMC DEVICE

DYNAMIC
SHAKER
COMMERCIAL
ACCELEROMETER

DYNAMIC SIGNAL
ANALYZER
DATA DISPLAY

In order to determine the output voltage of the rms-to-dc converter, the DUT that was mounted
onto the shaker machine was tested in the acceleration range between 1g to 5g. The output voltage of
the circuit was measured by using a multimeter and the values were used for designing the alarming
circuit. Theoretically, the output voltage can be calculated by using Equation (2) with the sensitivity of
38mV/g.
Vs
Vs
(2)
Vout = sensitivity g
2
5
Where Vout is the output voltage, Vs is the supply voltage and g is the input acceleration.
To ensure the functionality of the developed vibration sensing unit, the DUT is characterized by
connecting it to the microcontroller for monitoring purposes. Figure 7 shows the characterization
testing setup for the device.

156

Inzarulfaisham Abd. Rahim, Muhamad Azman Miskam, Othman Sidek,

Shahril Azwan Zaharudin, Mohammad Zaidi Zainol and Shukri Korakkottil Kunhi Mohd
Figure 7: Device testing setup

3. Results and Discussion

The results showed that the device was capable of measuring vibrations where the accelerometer
output corresponded with the acceleration changes. Figure 8 shows the comparison of the theoretical
and experimental results of the ADXL150 accelerometer within the applied acceleration of 100Hz. The
output voltage linearly changed with the increase of voltage. The graph shows an equal pattern
between the analytical and simulation results but deviated in small values. In order to determine the
optimal supply voltage, several justifications should be considered such as low power consumption,
less total percentage error and high sensitivity. The descriptions of the supply voltage performance are
shown in Table 1. The results indicate that the optimal voltage supply for ADXL150 is 4V because it
shows low power consumption and less total percentage error although the sensitivity is lower than 6V.
The output voltage V2 for the rms-to-dc converter is shown in Table 2. This output voltage will be
converted into digital numbers by using Equation (1) to enable the PSoC microcontroller to process the
data. The digital number for 0g and 1g is equal at about 1701 respectively while the digital number for
3g and 4g is equal at about 1703 respectively. This is because the output voltage V2 shows very small
differences with the applied acceleration. This means that the screen will display 0g and 1g when
experiencing accelerations of 0g and 1g. Hence, the screen displayed the desired output corresponding
to applied acceleration (Table 3).
Figure 8: Output voltage versus acceleration for accelerometer, ADXL150

Output Voltage, Vout (V)

3.5
3
4V (Experimental)
4V (Theoretical)
5V (Experimental)
5V (Theoritical)
6V (Experimental)
6V (Theoretical)

2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0

Acceleration, g

Development of a Vibration Measuring Unit Using a Microelectromechanical System

Accelerometer for Machine Condition Monitoring
Table 1:

Descriptions of Supply Voltage Performance

Supply Voltage, Vs (V)

Acceleration, g
0
1
2
3
4
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
0
1
2
3
4
5

Table 2:

% Error
0.215
0.566
1.150
1.717
2.248
2.746
0.228
0.934
1.475
1.978
2.447
2.885
0.42
1.070
1.553
2.950
2.435
2.822

Total % Error

Sensitivity, S (mV/g)

8.642

17.72

9.947

23.62

11.250

29.9

Output Voltage, V2 Corresponding to Acceleration

Acceleration, g
0
1
2
3
4
5

Table 3:

157

1
2.0808
2.0805
2.0814
2.0820
2.0825
2.0839

Output voltage, V2 (V)

2
2.0810
2.0805
2.0813
2.0821
2.0834
2.0838

3
2.0810
2.0807
2.0813
2.0821
2.0828
2.0839

Average
2.0801
2.0806
2.0813
2.0821
2.0826
2.0839

Digital number
1701
1701
1702
1703
1703
1704

Screen display versus acceleration

Acceleration, g
Display

0
0,1

1
0,1

2
2

3
3,4

4
5

5
5

4. Conclusions
The design, fabrication and test of a vibration measuring unit using an MEMS accelerometer
ADXL150 are presented in this study. Preliminary tests proved that the developed measurement device
is capable of measuring machine vibrations for machine condition monitoring where the sensor has
several advantages in terms of its compact size, low cost and high sensitivity. The results obtained
theoretically are in close agreement with the experimental results. The screen displayed the desired
output corresponding to the applied acceleration. The development of a vibration measuring device
will act as the fundamental measurement and monitoring study for a future design wireless sensor
network (WSN) monitoring system for continuous data monitoring. The system will be based on
wireless RF technology that can measure vibrations in real time. This remote continuous data
monitoring will be controlled by computer or the report of the information can be received by mobile
phone.

158

Inzarulfaisham Abd. Rahim, Muhamad Azman Miskam, Othman Sidek,

Shahril Azwan Zaharudin, Mohammad Zaidi Zainol and Shukri Korakkottil Kunhi Mohd

Acknowledgement
The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation for the assistance of Mr. Wan Mohd Amri
Wan Mamat Ali for his co-operation and assistance in providing support for the testing equipment, the
dynamic shaker (TIRA Shaker TV50101). To Mr. Khairul Anuar, Mr. Azwan bin Nasirudin, Mr.
Hashim bin Edin, Mr. Mohammad Qayum bin Omar and Mr. Anuar bin Mohamed Zain, thanks for
your kind help. Financial support from the Universiti Sains Malaysia Short Term Grant,
304/PMEKANIK/6035302 is gratefully acknowledged.

References
[1]

[2]

[3]
[4]

[5]
[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

Adam G. R., Peter Orban and Jin Jiang, 2004. Vibration-based machine condition monitoring
with attention to the use of time-frequency methods. Proceedings of the SPIE, 5263: 10-21.
http://spiedigitallibrary.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=PSISDG005263
000001000010000001&idtype=cvips
Andreas Vogl, Dag T. Wang, Preben Stors, Thor Bakke, Maaike M.V. Taklo, Allan Thomson,
Lennart Balgrd, 2009. Design, process and characterisation of a high-performance vibration
sensor for wireless condition monitoring. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, In Press,
Corrected Proof, Available online 24 April 2009. DOI:10.1016/j.sna.2009.04.011
Datasheet,
ADXL150/ADXL250,
Analog
Devices
http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/analogdevices/573918736ADXL150_250_0.pdf.
Holger Fritsch, Ralf Lucklum, Thomas Iwert, Peter Hauptmann, Dirk Scholz, Erwin Peiner,
Andreas Schlachetzki, 1997. A low-frequency micromechanical resonant vibration sensor for
wear monitoring. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 62(1-3): 616-620. DOI: 10.1016/S09244247(97)01609-9
Jagadeesh Pandiyan, M Umapathy, S Balachandar, M Arumugam, S Ramasamy and Nilesh C
Gajjar, 2006. Design of Industrial Vibration Transmitter Using MEMS Accelerometer. Journal
of Physics: Conference Series, 34: 442-447. DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/34/1/072
Li Wang, Qingkai Han, Mo Zhang, Tianxia Zhang, and Bangchun Wen, 2007. An embedded
intelligent monitoring system for rotating machiney vibrations. Proceedings of SPIE, 6794:
67941D-1
67941D-6.
http://spiedigitallibrary.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=PSISDG006794
00000167941D000001&idtype=cvips
Marin Marinov, Todor Djamiykov, Ivan Topalov, Volker Zerbe, 2004. Remote machine
condition monitoring based on wireless connectivity. Proceedings of the ELECTRONICS
ET'2004 Conference, Technical University of Sofia, 22-24 September 2004, Sozopol, Bulgaria.
http://fett.tu
sofia.bg/et/2004/Papers/Electronic%20Systems%20in%20Measurement%20and%20Control/Pa
per-M_Marinov2.pdf
Odin Taylor and John Macintyre, 1998. Adaptive local fusion systems for novelty detection and
diagnostics in condition monitoring. Proceedings of SPIE, 3376: 210-218.
http://spiedigitallibrary.aip.org/getpdf/servlet/GetPDFServlet?filetype=pdf&id=PSISDG003376
000001000210000001&idtype=cvips
Paul Wright, David Dornfeld, and Nathan Ota, 2008. Condition monitoring in end-milling
using wireless sensor networks (WSN). Transactions of NAMRI/SME, 36: 177-183.
http://kingkong.me.berkeley.edu/PUBLICATIONS07_08/CONDITION_MONITORING%20_
IN_END-MILLING.pdf.