2.

STATE OF THE ART

2.1 Tech nica! Introduction

2.1.1 The Physics of Accelerometer Applications

Analogous to the linear acceleronrster, an angular accelerometer utilizes the inertia I of a balanced proof mass to develop a torque in response to an applied angular acceleration a . This is in accordance with the angular form of Newtons Second Law; i.e.,

where T is the developed torque. These two fundamental relationships govern all accelerometer design. The great majority of accelerometer applications involve linear accelerometers; however, angular accelerometers exist and have been applied in space vehicles. In reality, the situation is not nearly so straightforward as it may appear above. A comprehensive treatment of the situation must carefully consider all of the components that influence the output of an accelerometer.

The vehicle acceleration includes gravitational and nongravitational effects. The accelerometer will respond to any effect that will induce relative motion between the proof mass and the case. This is a point of some confusion because gravityaffects a vehicle movement in inertial space even though it cannot be sensed by the accelerometer. Therefore, the effect of gravity must be accounted for in a computational way. It is helpful to consider the accelerometer output under various conditions to clarify this point:

(1) In free fall, the accelerometer has no input and the output is only the accelerometer bias. (2) With only thrust applied, as in space, the accelerometer output contains the bias and the acceleration due to thrust. ( 3 ) On the surface of the Earth, the accelerometer is supported by a force equal to the gravitational force, and free fall is prevented. Under these conditions, the accelerometer output contains bias and the acceleration due to the supporting force (equal to gravity). If the instrument is accelerated from a rest position (for example, by propulsive forces), that acceleration will also be coupled into the accelerometer.

The accelerometer is typically intended to sense linear acceleration along its input axis. However, the linear acceleration along the input axis produces only one of the many force components arising from factors both outside and inside the instrument. Outside the instrument, system considerations such as the mounting location and orientation in the vehicle and both the angular acceleration and angular velocity of the vehicle are important. Inside the instrument, nonlinear and cross-coupling effects can produce undesired components in the output signal. It is the task of the system engineer to minimize the external factors and the joint task of the system and instrument engineers to minimize the internal factors. The instrument engineer has control over the internal factors in the instrument design. The importance of these factors depends upon how the instrument is used in the system.

The external and internal factors are depicted in the block diagram of figure 1. At the left of the diagram, all of the components of inertial acceleration are listed. These include the acceleration of the vehicle in inertial space, various dynamic accelerations (centripetal and tangeqtial) of a

2.1.2 Accelerometer Principles

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