Instrumentation 71

6.9.3 Acceleration
Acceleration is measured based on the principle of the relative motion of
a suspended mass in a casing, where the base of the casing is subjected to a
motion. By measuring the motion of the suspended mass, the acceleration of
the base can be measured. A sensing element is attached to this suspended
mass, and the output is calibrated to provide a measure of the base accelera-
tion. Today, piezoelectric crystals are used as a sensing element, though in
the past, strain gauge–based accelerometers were used.
In a piezoelectric accelerometer, the piezoelectric element (which is the
sensing element) is placed between the base of the accelerometer and the top
of a mass on the accelerometer. The advantage of using piezoelectric c­ rystals
is that they do not require any external power supply and are relatively
stable at temperatures as high as 400°C. When compressed, the piezoelec-
tric crystals produce an electrical charge, and with appropriate conversion
of this charge to a voltage, the acceleration can be measured and recorded.
Another important characteristic of the piezoelectric crystals is that they are
sensitive to motion in a particular direction. Since vibration is measured
along a direction, the piezoelectric crystal is aligned along the most sensi-
tive axis inside the accelerometer housing. Along with a piezoelectric accel-
erometer, a preamplifier is required, to convert the high-impedance output
into a low-impedance voltage signal for direct transmission to measuring or
analysis equipment like an oscilloscope or a dynamic signal analyzer. This
­preamplifier is known as a charge amplifier.
A charge amplifier uses an operational amplifier at the input stage. The
­configuration of the operational amplifier with the capacitor in the feed-
back loop operates as an integration network and integrates the current at
the input. This input current is the result of the charge developed across the
high-impedance piezoelectric elements inside the accelerometer. The ampli-
fier works to nullify this current and in doing so produces an output voltage
proportional to the charge. The voltage output of a charge amplifier is propor-
tional to the charge at the input, and therefore to the acceleration m­ easured
by the accelerometer. The low-frequency response of a charge amplifier
is determined by the time constant set by the feedback circuit around the
operational amplifier and is unaffected by changes in the input load con-
ditions. The lower limiting frequency is changed by varying the feedback
resistance. The sensitivity of a charge amplifier is not significantly affected
by the change in capacitance caused by changing cable lengths. When very
long cables are used, the high-frequency response is slightly attenuated.
The use of very long accelerometer cables and low-gain settings will increase
the noise of the charge amplifier and hence reduce the signal-to-noise ratio
of the m­ easurement. If the resistive load at the input drops significantly, the
noise will also increase. There are two predominant sources of noise in a
­charge-type accelerometer—one is the triboelectric noise cable, and the other
is ground-loop noise. The triboelectric noise cable will generate a charge if