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Seismic accelerometer

Conference Paper in Conference Record - IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference · February 1999
DOI: 10.1109/IMTC.1999.776024 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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 DESIGN, MODELING, AND CONSTRUCTION OF A LOW FREQUENCY
BIMORPH-PIEZOELECTRIC ACCELEROMETER
1 2 3
F. García, C. I. Huerta, H. Orozco, and E. L. Hixson
Exploración y Producción/Geofísica de Explotación-IMP, Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas # 152,
07730 México, D.F. Tel/Fax. (525) 567-5476. Email: ogarcia@ece.utexas.edu

RESUMEN
En este artículo, el modelo analítico y experimental de un nuevo tipo de acelerómetro
piezoeléctrico a bajas frequencias es desarrollado. El diseño del acelerómetro está basado en el
efecto piezoeléctrico y en las leyes de transductores o convertidores de energía electromecánica,
representados con teoría de dos y tres puertos. La función de transferencia es obtenida
analíticamente y con la ayuda de un simulador de circuitos eléctricos. A fin de caracterizar y
calibrar nuestro prototipo, un analizar de espectros dinámico y un acelerómetro estándar fue
utilizado. Posibles aplicaciones industriales para este tipo de acelerómetro son discutidas.

ABSTRACT
In this paper, the analytical model for a new low frequency Bimorph-piezoelectric accelerometer is
developed and validated experimentally. The design is based on the piezoelectric effect and in the
transducer laws, represented by two and three-port electromechanical equations. The desired
relationship between voltage and free acceleration is obtained by using electrical and mechanical
circuit analogies, and an electrical circuit simulator. A dynamic signal analyzer and a reference
accelerometer were used to calibrate our prototype. Possible industrial applications are pointed
out.

1. INTRODUCTION
There are many types of sensing elements to detect acceleration. The most common ones are
capacitive, piezoresistive, piezoelectric, thermal, surface acoustic wave, and electromagnetic [1].
We decided to use the piezoelectric one because it offers advantage for measuring vibratory
acceleration occurring over a wide range of frequencies and amplitude. In addition, since the
piezoelectric effect generates free charges, piezoelectric accelerometers do not need bias voltage
and have good off-axis noise rejection, high linearity, and a wide temperature range (up to 120 C).
An accelerometer can then be defined as an electromechanical transducer that has an output
voltage proportional to acceleration. The accelerometers always operate below their resonance
frequency.   Thus   the   resonance   frequency   must   be   high.   The   useful   “flat”   range,   where   the   most  
accurate measurements can be made is shown in Figure 1, which is a typical frequency response
of an accelerometer. The flat range in this case is from 0.01 to 150 Hz at 3dB. Within the flat
region the calibration factor is a constant.

Figure 1. Frequency response and useful flat range for an accelerometer.

1
Departamento de Sismología, CICESE, Ensenada, B.C. México. Email: m-huerta@mail.utexas.edu
2
Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Instituto Tecnológico de Celaya, Celaya, Gto, México.
Email: orozcomh@mail.utexas.edu
3
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712
USA. Email: ehixson@mail.utexas.edu
2. THEORY AND BASIC CONCEPTS
Piezoelectricity  is  “pressure  electricity”.  When  an  external  force  strains  the  piezoelectric  elements,  
displaced electrical charge accumulates on opposing surfaces thus it becomes a force sensor. In
addition to natural quartz crystals, artificially man-made ceramics are used. These materials
become piezoelectric by the application of a large polarizing electric field. Some common materials
used as electromechanical transducers include Barium Titanate and variations of Lead Zirconate
and Lead Titanate  (PZT).  “Bimorph”  is  the  name  for  a  flexible-type piezoelectric element, which has
the capacity for handling larger motions and smaller forces than single piezoelectric plates. The
Bimorph consist of two transverse-expander plates of ceramic, secured together face to face in
such manner that a voltage applied to the electrode causes the plates to deform in opposite
directions, resulting in a bending action. Conversely, mechanical bending of the element will cause
it to develop a corresponding voltage between electrode terminals. Many different sizes and
shapes of piezoelectric force sensors can be used to sense acceleration. By measuring the force to
nd
a   seismic   mass   acceleration   is   sensed   by   virtue   of   Newton’s   2 law: A = F/M. The different
element configurations are shown in Figure 2. The compression design features high rigidity,
making it useful for implementation in high frequency applications. Its narrow frequency range
offsets the simplicity of the flexural design. The shear configuration offers a well-balanced blend of
wide frequency range, low off axis sensitivity, and low sensitivity to base strain.

Piezoelectric
Mass
crystals
Mass

Compression Flexural Shear

Figure 2. Material Configurations.

3. ANALYTICAL MODELING
The design used here to generate a signal proportional to acceleration is shown by Figure 3. A
bender Bimorph element was mounted as a cantilever beam with an external mass (M 1) at the free
end or port 1, and it is clamped at the other end (port 2).
Bender Bimorph External
M1 mass

Motion Port 1 free

with mass M1
Signal out
Test structure or shaker
Port 2 clamped with aluminum pads (electrodes)

Figure 3. Bimorph accelerometer for generating a signal proportional to acceleration.

According to the Fischer [2] and Hixson [3] approach, the piezoelectric accelerometers are
transducers based on the following principles of conversion of energy

Clamped force Fc me E 1
Short circuit current I sc emV 2
These lead naturally to the following general two-port equations

v
I Ye E emV 3
e
F me E Z mV 4
The me factor, is known as the electromechanical factor of the ideal transformer used to represent
the coupling of the mechanical port with the electrical one. Since this type of transducers are
reciprocal, em = me, we can then expressed it just as . Eqs. (3) and (4) include an electrical and
mechanical circuit. In the complete analysis we must also include the amplifier or instrument input
resistance (RL) and capacitance (CL), as well as that for the cable. The mechanical representation
for the piezoelectric accelerometer is shown by Figure 4.

Port 2, clamped end Port 1 Port 2

Port 1,
free end with mass M2
with mass M1 Acceleration (Ao)

F2, V2 reference
F1, V1
M1’ Cme M2’
Signal out (E0)
Series type Bimorph Where M1’  =  M1 + Mc/2 = 2.1 gr.
M2’  =  M2 + Mc/2 = 57.1 gr. reference

Figure  4.  Accelerometer’s  mechanical  circuit.

e
Where Cm is the Bimorph mechanical compliance, M1’ and M2’ is the Bimorph effective mass plus
v
the external mass M1 attached on it. The electrical parameter is Ce . Rm is the mechanical
resistance due to internal friction of the Bimorph. As we can see from Figure 4, what we really have
is a 3-port device, two mechanical ports and one electrical port. The complete electromechanical
model for the piezoelectric accelerometer is described by the following energy conversion 3-port
equations
v
I Ye E V1 V2 5
F1 E Z11V1 Z12V2 6
F2 E Z 21V1 Z 22V2 7

V1 V2

I (V1 + V2)
1: (V1 + V2)
F2
F1
Eo Yev

F = Eo

Figure 5. 3-Port electromechanical model for piezoelectric accelerometers.

The electrical impedance or admittance must be measured for both mechanical ports clamped. The
mechanical parameters are represented by Z-parameters measured with the electrical port shorted.
Figure 5 shows the 3-port representation for the piezoelectric accelerometer that satisfies Eqs. (5)
– (7). The impedance parameters are Za = Z11 – Z12, Zb = Z22 – Z21, and Zc = Z12 = Z21. This model
is then transformed into an electrical equivalent circuit, which it is a lot easier to simulate, by
transforming the mechanical to electrical parameters with the dual analog method. Figure 6 shows
the equivalent electrical circuit after the transformer is eliminated, yielding a two-node circuit.
 Rm M2’
Cme
2 2
RL Ce/
Eo M1’

Figure  6.  Electrical  piezoelectric  accelerometer’s  model.

The  electrical  and  mechanical  parameters  can  be  obtained  from  the  Bimorph  manufacturer’s  data
or from experiment. In our case, these elements were obtained experimentally. Table No. 1 lists the
electrical and mechanical parameters used in our simulation.

Table 1. Electrical and mechanical parameters.

Element Domain
Electrical Mechanical
Electrical capacitance (Ce) = 128 nf
Compliance (C2) = 345 f (Cme) = 345x10-6 m/N
Bimorph effective mass (L1) = 1.56 mH (M1’)  =  1.56x10-3 Kg
Support mass (L2) = 57 mH (M2’)  =  57x10-3 Kg
Mechanical resistance (R) 0.33 (Rm) = 0.22 Kg/sec
Electromechanical factor ( ) = 8.1x10-3 N/V ( ) = 8.1x10-3 N/V

At this point, we are interested to find the relationship between the output voltage Eo and the free
acceleration, Ao, of the object to which the accelerometer is attached. Analysis of the electrical
model node equations, assuming RL large and Rm small, the transfer function Eo/Ao is as follows
e
Eo Cm
8
Ao e 2 ' 2 e 2
Cm Ce / / M1 C m Ce /

3.1 Model Simulation

Figure 7 shows the electrical simulation of our accelerometer. The predicted resonance frequency
and gain of our accelerometer is 220 Hz and – 32dB, respectively. The flat range is from 1 to 130
Hz, at 3dB.

Figure  7.  Accelerometer’s  theoretical  frequency  response.

4. EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP AND MEASUREMENTS

Figure 8 shows the block diagram of the experimental set-up. The prototype and a calibrated
accelerometer were mounted on a mini-shaker. The characteristics of our prototype were
compared with the standard accelerometer. A two-channel dynamic signal analyzer was used to
determine the frequency response and sensitivity of our prototype.
 Dynamic Signal Reference Oscilloscope
Analyzer accelerometer
Tracking signal, white noise Accelerometer
or sine sweep (0 – 500 Hz) output voltage

Charge External
amplifier Motion mass M1

Power Mini Bimorph

amplifier Shaker

Figure 8. Experimental set-up for determining the accelerometer frequency response.

Figure 9 shows the experimental frequency response of both our prototype and the calibrated
accelerometer. The resonance frequency of our accelerometer is 220 Hz, as expected.

0
-5 Reference
Bimorph
-10
-15
-20

-25
-30
Amplitude (dB)

-35

-40
-45
-50
-55

-60
-65
-70

-75
-80
5 55 105 155 205 255305
Frequency (Hz)

Figure  9.  Bimorph  and  standard  accelerometer’s  frequency  response.

5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

According to the analytical model and experimental results, the gain and frequency response are in
agreement. This simple 3-port device can then sense acceleration with high sensitivity at low
frequencies. Adding an external mass in the port 1 can increase the sensitivity. However, the useful
flat range of the accelerometer decreases. It turns out that our prototype is better by 25 dB
compared to that of the reference. In other words, while the output voltage of the standard
2 2
accelerometer is 1mV/1m/sec , our device yields 18 mV/1m/sec . Finally, this project had shown
that Bimorph accelerometers make them attractive for low power, accurate, and sensitive
applications. In addition, the low-cost and small size of this element, make possible their use in
wide area seismic nets for earthquake and structural monitoring systems.

6. REFERENCES
nd
1. J. Fraden, Handbook of Modern Sensors: Physics, Designs, and Applications, 2 ed.
(American Institute of Physics, Woodbury, New York), (1997).
2. F. A. Fischer, Fundamentals of Electroacoustics, (Interscience Publishers, New York), (1955).
3. E. L. Hixson, Electromechanical Sensors and Actuators Class Notes (The University of Texas
at Austin), (Spring 1998).

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