NBSIR 74-480

Evaluation and Calibration of

Mechanical Shock Accelerometers by

Comparison Methods

John D. Ramboz. Charles Federman

J

Vibration Section, Mechanics Division

Institute for Basic Standards

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, D. C. 20234

/

March 1974

Final Report

Prepared for Department of Defense

Calibration Coordination Group
I

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NBSIR 74-480

EVALUATION AND CALIBRATION OF

MECHANICAL SHOCK ACCELEROMETERS BY

COMPARISON METHODS

John D.Ramboz, Charles Federman

Vibration Section, Mechanics Division

Institute for Basic Standards

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, D. C. 20234

March 1974

Final Report

Prepared for Department of Defense

Calibration Coordination Group

•"•r.uVo» *J

U. S. DEPARTMEIMT OF COMMERCE, Frederick B. Dent, Secretary

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Richard W. Roberts. Director
FOREWORD

The evaluation of the shock accelerometers discussed In this report was sponsored by the Department of Defense Calibration Coordination Group (DoD/CCG)

consisting of: the Metrology Engineering Center, Bureau of Naval Weapons Representative^ Pomona, California 91766; the Aerospace Guidance and Metrology

Center, Newark Air Force Station, Newark, Ohio 43055; and the Metrology and

Calibration Center, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama 35809. The Atomic Energy Commission was represented by an observer from the Sandla Laboratory, Albuquerque,

New Mexico 87115.

The Dod/CCG project number assigned was CCG 72-64 and work was performed

under NBS cost center 2130426.

\
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Foreword ii

Abstract vi

1. Introduction 1

2. Laboratory Test Matrix 1

3. Shock Pulse Characteristics 2

4. Physical Description of the Equipment 2

4.1 Shock Test Machine 3

4.2 Acceleration Measuring Transducers 4

4.3 Analog-to-Digital Converter and Interface Control System . 5

4.4 Data Collection Device 6

4.5 Sequence of Test Events 6

5. Data Recording and Analysis 7

5.1 General Discussion 7 5.2 Sinusoidal Calibrations 7 5.3 Comparison Measurements in the Time Domain 9

5.4 Fast Fourier Transform Analysis 10

5.5 Post Calculations 12

6. Discussion of Results 16

6.1 Sensiti"vlty Results 16

6.2 Phase Component Results , 17

6.3 Comparisons 17

7. Conclusions 19

7.1 General Overview and Summary 19

7.2 Future Considerations 19

8. Acknowledgments 20

9. References 21

10. Bibliography 23

iii
LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 1. Laboratory Test Matrix 24

Table II. Acceleration Amplitudes and Durations .... 25

Table III. Weighting Factors for the Calculations of Weighted

Means of Accelerometers A and B 25

Table IV. Results of Sinusoidal Calibration of Accelerometers

A, B, and R 26

Table V. Peak Comparison Calibrations of Accelerometers A and

B 27

Table VI. Information for Averaging Over Frequency Ranges

for the Shock Data 28

Table VII. Accelerometer A Sensitivity and Standard

• •- Deviation 29

Table VIII. Accelerometer B Sensitivity and Standard

Deviation 30

Table IX. Accelerometer A Phase and Standard Deviation . 31

Table X. Accelerometer B Phase and Standard Deviation . 32

Table XI. Derived Ratio of Shock Data: A/B and Standard

Deviation 33

Table XII. Measured Ratio A/B of Shock and Sinusoidal Data

with Standard Deviation 34

Table XIII. Computed Phase Difference: A/B and Standard

Deviation 35

Table XIV. Phase Difference from Measured Ratio A/B and

Standard Deviation . 36

iv
LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1. Mechanical Shock Generating Machine 37

Figure 2. Typical Shock Pulses from Accelerometer B . . . 38

Figure 3. Exploded View of Shock Test Machine 39

Figure 4. "Piggy-Back" Configuration of Reference and

Test Accelerometers 40

Figure 5. Block Diagram of Shock Pulse Data Generation,

Retrieval, and Analysis 41

Figure 6. Data Processing and Analysis Steps for Sinusoidal

and Shock Calibrations 42

Figure 7a and 7b. Transforms of Half-Sine and Haversine Pulses . . 43

Figure 8. Transform of Actual 900 g Shock Pulse .... 45

Figure 9a - 9h. Sensitivity and Phase Characteristics with

Standard Deviation for Accelerometers A and B . . 46

Figure 10a - lOh. Ratio and Phase Difference Characteristics, with

Standard Deviation, for Accelerometers A and B. . 54

APPENDICES

Appendix A. Test Accelerpmeter A and B Specifications ... 62

Appendix B. Fortran Fast Fourier Transform Subroutine ... 64

V
EVALUATION AND CALIBRATION OF MECHANICAL SHOCK

ACCELEROMETERS BY COMPARISON METHODS

by

John D. Ramboz

and

Charles Federman

ABSTRACT

A means to calibrate mechanical shock accelerometers by a comparison

method has been developed. Detailed procedures and equipment xised to

generate mechanical shock pulses, collect data, and analyze the results

are discussed. Three accelerometers were subjected to haversine acceleration-time pulses of 50, 500, 900 and 1500 g peak amplitudes and time durations of 8.5, 1.2, 1.0, and 0.7 ms , respectively. Both time- and frequencydomain calibrations were performed. The shock calibrations agreed with

sinusoidal values to within a few percent. Problems encountered and future

developments are discussed.

vi
UNITS OF MEASURE

In this report, SI units are used throughout with the exception

of acceleration which is expressed in gravitational units of g. Also, all screw threads were a fine thread series and are designated by their screw

size number and the pitch in numbers of threads per linear inch. This was

done to facilitate commmication with intended readers. Conversion to SI

units may be accomplished using the following relationships: 1 g = 9.807

m/s2; 1 in = 2. 540 cm; and 1 deg = (tt/ISO) rad.

KEYWORDS: Accelerometer , calibration, comparison reference, mechanical

shock, shock generation, shock pickup, vibration.

vii

1. INTRODUCTION

There is a demonstrated need to measure mechanical shock accurately

over a wide range of amplitudes and wave forms. The improved design of

structures to withstand such loads and the efficient use of energy for

forming materials are only two of the more obvious benefits of a knowledge

of shock accelerations and their effects.

One of the problems in measuring mechanical shock has been the inability to evaluate and calibrate shock measuring systems in the frequency

domain, except by subjecting them to intense, steady state, sinusoidal

motion at a few discrete frequencies . Such calibrations are inherently

suspect because they are not characteristic of the environment to be

measured, and transducers are frequently damaged during such tests. Sinusoidal calibrations of this nature are often time consuming and expensive.

Shock measuring transducers can also be calibrated by measuring lumped re- sponse integrated over the total energy spectrum with no attempt to determine

response as a function of frequency.

This report describes an investigation and evaluation of comparison

methods for the calibration of accelerometers used for mechanical shock

measurements. The accelerometers used were piezoelectric types, but others,

such as the piezoresistive type, should pose no special problems. Two of

the accelerometers were of the same manufacturer and model, and of a "singleended, top-connector" shear design. A third accelerometer was a "piggyback" comparison standard of the compression design. Charge sensing was

used throughout. Shock pulses were generated by a pneumatic shock test

machine. See figure 1.

Comparison measurements were made in both the time and frequency

comains. For the time domain analyses, comparisons were made by the peak

ratio, the area ratio and instantaneoxis ratio methods. For the frequency

domain analysis, the accelerometer ' s response is transformed from the time

domain to the frequency domain through the use of a Fast Fourier Transform

(FFT) algorithm. Ratios of transforms lead to the comparison calibration

of one accelerometer in terms of another. The frequency domain analysis

yields the solution in complex terms, i.e., amplitude and phase angle.

2. LABORATORY TEST MATRIX

Three accelerometers were used in these tests. For purposes of this

report, the accelerometers are identified as A, B, and R. Units A and B are nominally identical while unit R is considered as a comparison reference.

Laboratory measurements were made by comparing A to R, B to R, and A to B.

This gives three basic accelerometer combinations.

1
The nominal amplitudes and durations of the pulses were:

Peak Acceleration Impact Duration

50 g

500 g

900 g

1500 g

8.5 ms 1.2 ms

1.0 ms 0.7 ms

Table I shows the test matrix used. The notation, for example, of

A/R indicates that accelerometer A was compared to accelerometer R, etc.

For any one set of conditions, there were five repeated shock pulses made.

This is indicated by the test number groups. In all, there were 60 pulses

produced, 15 for each of the four shock conditions, five for each of the

accelerometer combinations.

A perfectly elastic impact onto a linear spring would generate an ideal

half-sine acceleration wave shape. However, because of nonlinearities and

losses, the pulses generated in the laboratory take on the characteristics

of a degraded half-sine and appear similar to a haversine function.

Though the description of wave shape is qualitatively called haversine,

there are subtle differences in the time domain between a haversine and other

similar shapes such as so called half-sine or Gaussian pulses. Ideally,

the accelerometer calibration process should not be critically affected by

the wave shape, although threre are problems in the analysis for certain

wave shapes. This is more fully discxissed in Section 5.4.

Typical shock pulses are shown in figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, and are from one channel of the two used for test data in this report. They were

selected from accelerometer B, test number 4; test number 16; test number

31; and test number 46, respectively. These are samples from the 50 g,

500 g, 900 g, and 1500 g peak accelerations. Tke pulses measured with the

other channel were quite similar to these samples.

Table II shows measured values of the pulse amplitudes and durations

for the representative tests listed. In all instances, the measured amplitudes were within +15 percent of the nominal values. Because the calibration results are not a critical function of the shock amplitude, no special

care was taken to maintain any better control of the amplitude.

The laboratory equipment consists of four main items: (1) a mechanical shock generating machine, (2) acceleration measuring transducers,

(3) a data transfer system, and (4) a minicomputer for data storage and

manipulation. These items provide a means for transient data generation,

data collection and reduction, and calibration of test accelerometers

.

3. SHOCK PULSE CHARACTERISTICS

4. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE EQUIPMENT

2
4.1 Shock Test Machine

Mechanical shock pulses are generated In the laboratory with the

use of an AVCO SM- 105-2 Shock Test Machine [1]. This device is pneumatically controlled and actuated, with the capability of producing a variety of

shock pulses up to 10,000 g. The device can be adjusted to produce those

pulse shapes called out in established specifications [2-4]. A base, pneumatic cylinder, brake, carriage, control panel, and plate assembly make up

the six major structural units of the machine. Shock pulse levels can be

set rapidly by a simple adjustment of an air pressure regulator. An exploded

view of the shock test machine is shown in figure 3.

A concrete filled, reinforced, steel shell serves as a seismic mass which, because of the mass, absorbs the impact of the carriage. Air reservoirs, built into the base, maintain four air-type shock mounts which support

the block, so that only a small amount of energy is transmitted to the floor

during impact. This design produces a low natural frequency which is excellent for mechanical shock isolation. The brake and cylinder assemblies are housed in the base assembly. Air pressure in the pneumatic cylinder is

operator controlled to produce a range of forcing functions. The brake

assembly stops the carriage after impact to eliminate multiple rebounds, and

also holds and releases the carriage at the top of the stroke before the

impact. A solid, integral, aluminum casting is used for the carriage. It

is attached to the steel impact plate of the piston rod assembly, with guides

attached to the back side to keep the carriage from turning. This guide

also makes contact with the top and bottom limit switches which control the

drop height, brake actuation, and trigger pulse initiation. The carriage

and impact plate, as a unit, are forced down by air pressure onto any of a number of elastomer pads which are bolted to the base assembly.

The principle of operation is to suddenly drive a carriage into a spring element which decelerates the carriage, and then rebounds in the

opposite direction. The shock anplitudes , durations, and shapes are controlled by the impacting medixam, air pressure, and drop height. For all the

tests in this report, only elastomer pads were used. Initial height and air

pressure were adjusted to trim the shock pulse to the desired amplitude and

duration. The accelerometers all gave negative outputs for the mechanical

shocks because of the direction of the accelerometers mounting. A short

time after the rebound, a pneumatic brake is applied which then brings the

table to a controlled stop.

Numerals in brackets refer to references found at the end of this report.
4.2 Acceleration Measuring Transducers

4.2.1 Reference System . The reference system consists of a reference

accelerometer and a matched solid-state charge amplifier. Because the

accelerometer is of the "piggy-back" configuration, other test accelerometers can be flush mounted to its top without the requirement of an additional fixture (see figure 4). This permits calibration by the com- parison method, where the electrical outputs of the reference accelerometer and test accelerometer are compared, while both are subjected to the same motion. The accuracy of this method is directly dependent on the

accuracy of the calibrated reference.

Use of a piezoelectric element in the reference accelerometer permits

a flat temperature response and stability with time. An Insulating, integral mounting stud isolates the crystal and the case from the surface upon

which it is mounted. Erroneous signals generated by ground loops are minimized by use of a knurled nut on the output connector of the accelerometer.

This feature allows connection or isolation of the signal ground from the

case, thus providing a means of separating the reference and test signal

grounds, and can also insure that the accelerometer cases are always con- nected to ground. The case of the reference accelerometer provides mechanical strain isolation for the piezoelectric element.

Output voltages of the reference charge amplifier are directly proportional to the charge generated by the reference accelerometer. This

single-ended output had one side connected to circuit ground. According

to the manufacturer, variations in the length of the cable between the

accelerometer and the amplifier does not significantly affect the system

sensitivity. The manufacturer lists the harmonic distortion of the amplifier as less than 0.2 percent with a frequency response of +0.5 percent

from 10 to 10,000 Hz (100 Hz reference). It is also stated that the gain

stability varies within +0.1 percent change with variations in line voltage

over the range 105 to 125 vac There is less than 0.1 percent change in gain

1000 pF change in source capacitance, according to the manufacturers' specifications .

This accelerometer-amplifier reference system was calibrated at the

National Bureau of Standards. Both sinusoidal and interferometric methods

were used for calibration of the system.

4.2.2 Test Accelerometer Pickup Characteristics . Two identical, high

resonance frequency, shock accelerometers were used as the test accelerometers. Their small size, compact construction, stable operation, and high

resonance frequency (approximately 80,000 Hz) makes them useful devices for

measuring shock transients. The manufacturer's specifications for the two

accelerometers claim a measurement capability of 20,000 g. They are selfgenerating, shear design, piezoelectric transducers requiring no power for

operation.

4
During the testing sequence, an insulated mounting stud was placed

under one of the test accelerometers when they were placed side by side.

This procedure was done to insure electrical integrity between the two

pickups

.

The manufacturer's specifications list these transducers as having a nominal charge sensitivity of 0.7 pC/g. Other stated characteristics include a nominal voltage sensitivity (with 300 pF external capacitance) of

0.65 mV/g, a flat frequency response of 2 to 15,000 Hz, and a nominal transducer capacitance of 800 pF.

Physically, the transducers have an electrically grounded case made

of 300 series stainless steel. Moimting to a surface is achieved by the

use of a 10-32 UNF threaded hole in the base of the accelerometers. A

torque of 2 Nm was used in mounting. The output connector is located on

top of the case, and has 10-32 UNF threads, which mates with a miniature

coaxial cable. The complete accelerometer unit is epoxy sealed. Additional

specifications are listed in appendix A.

4.3 Analog-To-Digital Converter and Interface Control System

The analog-to-digital converter and interface control system (ADCICS) serves as an interface between the data generation and data collection cycles. Data, in the form of analog voltages, is converted and transferred via the ADC-ICS, from the accelerometer systems to a minicomputer.

An operator controlled initiation switch, on the front panel of the

ADC-ICS, activates the unit and turns on a ready status light. It then

waits until it is triggered before the next data collection cycle begins.

During the data collection cycle, two multiplexed channels are outputed to the minicomputer. This puts a restriction on the data in that

points from each channel are not time coincident. Thus a digitization

phase error is produced which is corrected for in the final analysis.

4.3.1 Analog-To-Digital Converter (ADC) . High-speed and high accuracy

are combined, through the use of compact solid-state electronics in the

ADC, to convert an analog input signal to an equivalent 14-bit plus sign

output digital word. A combined parallel-decision/serial-correction

technique is used as the method of conversion. Conversion rates of up

to 250,000 conversions per second are obtained using this technique.

5
4.3.2 Interface Control System (ICS) . The ICS section provides all the

signals required by the ADC to convert an analog Input voltage to a 14-bit

plus sign digital word. An updated 16-bit address word is generated for

each conversion. This address is used to indicate in which memory address

the data word is to be stored. The initial memory location is set by

front panel switches. The multiplexed data word and address are sent over

the same set of transmission lines to the minicomputer. This unit is

triggered by the trigger switch on the shock generating machine shortly

before the shock pulse occurs.

4.4 Data Collection Device

A 16 k-byte core memory Interdata 3 minicomputer controls the data

collection sequence of the calibration process. The memory is directly

addressable with ti.e primary instruction word. Sixteen general registers

of 16 bits each can be used as index registers or accumulators. Shock data

is sent by the ADC-ICS through the direct-memory-access port of the computer

This method insures that all the transient data can be captured and stored

in the core memory. After a block of data for a single run is stored in

memory, it can be written on either paper or magnetic tape for future transfer to a larger computer for analysis.

4.5 Sequence of Test Events

Through the use of data provided by the manufacturer of the shock

machine, the approximate pulse height and width is set by varying the

drop height, air pressure, and combinations of elastomer pads. During

a typical shock pulse measurement, the pneumatic s.iock machine is used

to generate a shock pulse that is sensed by the reference and test accelerometers , which are mounted on the carriage.' These transducers produce electrical signals proportional to the motion generated by the shock machine.

The electrical signals are first amplified by charge amplifiers, and then

the voltage analog outputs from these amplifiers are fed into variable gain

voltage amplifiers. Figure 5 shows a block diagram of the equipment used.

As the carriage is on its down stroke, it activates a trigger switch

just before the impact, which starts the data collection cycle in the

ADC-ICS. At the same time, a transient recorder, monitoring both test

and reference accelerometer signals, is activated to give the operator a refreshed trace (of the shock pulse as sensed by the transducers) on an oscilloscope.

After the ADC-ICS is triggered, it multiplexes and converts the data

from the accelerometers , and sends this information to the minicomputer.

While the data is still in the core memory, a software program is used to

control &n X-Y plotter to give a hard copy presentation of the shock pulse

data. From here, the data is transferred to nine-track magnetic tape and

taken to a larger computer for analysis.

6
5. DATA RECORDING AND ANALYSIS

5.1 General Discussion

The project goal was to determine the sensitivity factors of several

accelerometers and determine an estimate of error of the comparison calibration process. This was done at several acceleration amplitudes and

durations as previously discussed in Section 3.2. The shock pulse results were compared to values obtained by established sinusoidal calibration

methods. Figure 6 shows the data processing steps between the laboratory

test and the final results.

The figure is divided into five regions, one for each major area of

data processing. The laboratory tests were conducted where the test data

originated. One set was done by sinusoidal methods and the second by

mechanical shock pulse tests. For part of the simasoidal tests, a minicomputer was used for calibration control and data acquisition. For the

shock pulse tests, a minicomputer was used as a fast digital data storage

device. Some time- domain calculations were also made with the minicomputer.

The area identified as "large computer" is where the indicated involved

calculations were performed. Shock data were transferred from the minicomputer

to the large computer via magnetic tape. The large computer was used to calculate the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) , to curve fit the data, and to perform

other calculations which will be subsequently discussed.

Post calculations were necessary and consisted of averaging data and

applying correction factors for amplifier gains, filter phase shifts, etc.

Finally, the data were put in tabular form and plots made. These will be

individually discussed in later sections.

5.2 Sinusoidal Calibrations

5.2.1 Sinusoidal Calibration of Accelerometers A and B . Accelerometers

A and B were calibrated by sinusoidal comparison methods , referenced to

NBS vibration standards [5,6]. In April 19 70, both were calibrated on Dimoff Vibration Standards D102, D201, and on the high-frequency interferometer facility [7,8,9]. Both were calibrated again in December 19 72,

on Dimoff Vibration Standards D102 and D201/203. An arbitrary weighted mean

was calculated using the weighting factors shown in table III. More weight

was given to the more recent calibrations.

7
A least squares fit was then made to the weighted mean data. The general

shape of the sensitivity factor as a function of frequency is nearly

exponential. At frequencies less than about 1750 Hz, the charge sensitivity

decreases with increasing f requency . [ 10 , 11 , 12] At frequencies greater than

about 5000 Hz, the sensitivity increases with increasing frequency due

to mechanical resonance. In the frequency interval between 1750 and 5000 Hz,

both effects cause the response to be nearly flat.

The sensitivity factors can be expressed as given below:

Accelerometer A, S a

. .

: . • S

s a

Accelerometer B, S

D } %

S and are charge sensitivities of the accelerometers A and B,

respectively, in units of pC/g, and f is the frequency in Hz. Table IV

gives the weighted mean and fit values. The last decimal places are rounded approximations. The percent difference between the weighted

mean and the fit value uses the fit value as a reference value, and was rounded to the nearest one-tenth percent. The maximum difference

for either accelerometer was 0.7 percent, but in most instances was

±0.2 percent or less.

5.2.2 Sinusoidal Calibration of Accelerometer System R . The "piggy-back"

accelerometer and its charge amplifier were calibrated as a system. it was done by a comparison method referenced to NBS Standard 1490 in April 19 72.

Two repeated runs were made on each of two vibration generators. Equal

weighting was used in computing the mean. A least squares fit was made to

the mean. The system sensitivity factors are given below:

= 0.8827f ^-^-^-^^^

^ 10 1 f 1 1750 , (1)

= 0.8133 + 0.1810f x 10~^, 1750 ± f < 5000 , (2)

= 0.4631f°*^^^"^^ , 5000 1 f 1 10,000 . (3)

= 0.8586f"°'°-^^^^ , 10 < f < 1750 , (4)

= 0.7908 + 0.9564f x lO"^ , 1750 1 f £ 5000 , (5)

= 0.4510f°*°^^^^ , 5000 1 f < 10,000 . (6)

Accelerometer System R,

S^ = 9.9586f^*"^^°^^-'-° , 30 < f < 4000 , (7)

-2

S = 7.0736f^"°^^^^-^'^ , 4500 < f < 10,000 . (8)

r

» _ _

8
S is the system sensitivity in units of mV/g and f is the

frequency in Hz. Table IV gives the mean values and fit values.

The last significant place is a rounded approximation. The percentage

difference is rounded to the nearest one-tenth percent. The maximum

difference was 0.7 percent, while in most instances the differences

were ±0.2 percent or less.

5.3 Comparison Measurements in the Time Domain

5.3.1 Peak Comparison Method . A popular method for calibration of shock

accelerometers is by the peak comparison method.[13,14] This has been even

more useful in recent years with the availability of peak-holding meters.

For these tests, the time domain data for each channel were printed out as part of the analysis. It is relatively easy to search for the maximum

amplitude of the time domain signal for each of the two accelerometers

being compared. This could have been done by the large computer, but was

done manually.

The ratios of the peak values were calculated for each test of

accelerometers A compared to R and B compared to R. (See table I.) The

ratios from the repeated tests for any matching set of parameters were then

averaged. This usually consisted of 5 repeated tests. The standard

deviation was also calculated. The results are shown in table V.

The measured ratio of accelerometers A compared to B was also calculated

and the results are shown in table V. The results of the time-domain

measured ratios cannot be compared directly to other data because low-pass

filters were used to improve the waveform. Analysis of comparison will

be made in. a later section of this report.

5.3.2 Instantaneous Ratio Comparison Method . Referring to figure 6, an instantaneous ratio of two accelerometers can be obtained by reading the

data off the magnetic tape into the minicomputer and performing the

necessary calculations. This could have also been done by the large

computer. As shown in figure 5, an analog X-Y plotter was interfaced

to the minicomputer.

Prior to and after the mechanical shock, the ratio is that of two

noisy signals. The noise sources include mechanical vibration of the

shock machine carriage, accelerometer cable noise, electronic noise

from the amplifiers, stray pickup noise and possibly pyroelectric outputs

from the accelerometers. In addition to these noises, any dc-offset

voltages in the system from unbalanced amplifiers leads to inaccurate

ratios. After the impact, over-shoot likewise leads to inaccurate ratios.

9
The only region that the instantaneous ratio becomes reliable is

near the peak acceleration. As such, one could merely calculate the

peak value as in Section 5.3.1. The general conclusion is that the method

does yield a qualitative plot that is sometimes useful, but quantitative

data are limited t5 only the values derived near the peak amplitudes.

5.3.3 Change-of-Velocity Comparisons . It is possible to compare the

areas under the acceleration-time pulses. These areas are a measure of the

change of velocity of the accelerometers under test. Ideally, the ratio

of the velocities should lead to a satisfactory calibration process. In

instances where there is minor ringing on the pulses, the area tends to

average these effects. However, when there are dc off-sets or over-shoots

involved, these can add significantly to the area. Additionally, the

process becomes critical as to the time considered before and after the

shock pulse because of the integration of off-sets and over-shoots.

For this project, the digitization "window" was always approximately

20 ms and the shock pulses were captured somewhere in this time interval.

When the areas were computed large differences were apparent. For example,

for the comparison of accelerometers B to R and for the five tests of 50 g,

8.5 ms , the mean peak ratio was 0.8024 while the mean area ratio was

0.7089, or about 11.7 percent less. Moreover, the standard deviation

for the peak ratio comparison was about ±0.68 percent while the area

ratios had a standard deviation of about ±3.31 percent.

Other examples could be cited, but the same general conclusion

regarding these tests hold, namely, the area ratios are significantly

lower than the peak ratios for the same tests and the area ratios have

significantly larger standard deviations. Overall, this method cannot be

recommended without more effort to refine the process.

5.4 Fast Fourier Transform Analysis

The Fourier Integral Transform is a mathematical operation which

decomposes a time signal, in the form of a data array, into its complex

frequency components (amplitude and phase) . In order to efficiently

analyze a transient shock pulse in the frequency domain, a high speed

computational algorithm called the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is

utilized in the calculation of the Fourier Integral Transform of a time

signal. It is important to note that this mathematical process is not

dependent upon any particular input pulse shape or waveform. But, for

example, in transforming perfect half-sine and haversine pulses, the

Fourier amplitudes go to zero at a number of frequency points, as shown

in figures 7a and 7b respectively. The actual pulses generated in the

laboratory had frequency components which came close, but did not go

to zero over a long frequency span. A typical plot of transformed data

can be found in figure 8.

10
A version of the Cooley-Tukey Fast Fourier Transform algorithm is

used to analyze the shock pulse data [15], (See Appendix B.) The program

used works on a one-dimensional complex array, and outputs the Fourier

real and imaginary frequency components in a similar array. This

transform process is accomplished through the use of the UNIVAC 110&

Computer.

Data from each channel is reduced from 1024 real, time domain

measurements to 512 complex frequency components. The frequency range

obtainable (Nyquist folding frequency) is a direct function of the

sampling rate [ 16]

:

Frequency Range = (1/ 2) (Samp ling Rate).

Resolution between frequency points is limited not only by the sampling

rate, but also by the sample size:

Resolution/Line = (Sample Rate) / (Number of Data Points).

For exan^jle, if the sample rate is 50 kHz and the number of samples taken

is 1024:

Frequency Range = (1/2) (50 kHz) = 25 kHz,

Resolution/Line = (50 kHz)/ (1024 Points) = 48.8 Hz/Point.

This means that the data taken can be transformed into components out to

25 kHz in steps of 48.8 Hz.

5.4.1 Ratio of Transformed Data . After the time domain data from the

test and reference accelerometers have been read from a nine-track

magnetic tape, a software program transforms this data from the time to

the frequency domain. Immediately after the transformation, this complex

data output is converted to amplitude and phase relationships for the

two transducers. The amplitude is obtained by taking the square root of

the sum of the squares of the real and imaginary parts of each frequency

component. For each discrete frequency point, the ratio is taken of the

test and reference amplitudes. This ratio is then used as a base for

calibration of the test accelerometer by comparison techniques.

5.4.2 Phase of Transformed Data . Phase information is calculated from the

arctangent of the division: imaginary part divided by the real part. Then

by using an identity for the conversion from radians to degrees, the phase

angle is displayed as a positive or negative number of degrees from -90°

to +90°. To determine the phase relationship between the two accelerometers,

the calculated phase angle of the preference accelerometer is subtracted

from the calculated test accelerometer phase angle. This result indicates

whether the test accelerometer output is leading or lagging the reference

accelerometer output.

11
5.5 Post Calculations

The post calculations consist of calculating averaged values of

repeated tests, determining standard deviations of the repeated tests,

averaging these results over selected frequency spans, and finallycorrecting the results for amplifier gain, filter response, and phase

shift. These steps are shown in figure 6.

5.5.1 Test Ratio Means . The test mean is the unweighted average

of the repeated tests performed for any one set of conditions.

Generally, this was five repeated tests. In two instances, test data was lost during the overall process. These were test numbers 30 and 54,

which resulted in a data set of four repeated tests for those two groups.

Equation 9 below expresses the solution for the test means in general

terms

.

N^ 1 K

\-

^ '

where = the test mean for any one frequency,

K = the individual test ratios of the FFT amplitude at any one frequency, and

N = the number of repeated tests for any one combination of

accelerometers

.

5.5.2 Test Phase Means . The .phase angle differences were averaged to

yield an unweighted mean of the phase. The discussion in Section 5.6.1

applies to the test data. Equation 10 below expresses the solution for

the phase mean in general terms.

N

S — (J) n=l ^tn

N

(10)

where ())^ = the phase mean.

tn

= the individual phase differences of the FFT phases at any one frequency, and

= as described for equation 9.

12
5.5.3 Standard Deviation . The standard deviations were calculated for

the groups for which the means were calculated. For the test ratios,

the standard deviations are all expressed In percent of the test mean. For the test phase, the standard deviation is expressed in degrees.

The statistical validity of standard deviation when only a few

measurements are made is open to question. It does, however, give some measure of the quality of the measurement in a qualitative way.

5.5.4 Averaging Over Frequency Intervals . It is convenient to plot and

examine the results on a logarithmic frequency scale. When this is done,

it is not practical to plot at each frequency for frequencies much greater

than 1 kHz or so. This, of course, depends, on the frequency of the

harmonics from the FFT. In order to summarize data, averaging over selected frequency ranges was done. In addition, it also serves to reduce

the randomness of the data. The averaging, or more appropriately smoothing,

over frequency was accomplished by averaging together the results for

an arbitrary interval of frequency components.

The harmonic frequency (Af) of the FFT for these tests was approximately

50 Hz. The data were averaged and are presented every 100 Hz for 600£f<^1000

Hz, every 250 Hz for 1250£f^2000 Hz and every 500 Hz for 2500<^f£5000 Hz. No

averaging over frequency was done below 500 Hz. Table VI shows these f requeue

ranges and the number of points that were included in the averages. At a frequency of 200 Hz and above, the plotted data is distributed at frequency

intervals of between one- third and one-sixth octaves. For accelerometers

having a relatively smooth response, this is adequate to describe their

performance. If narrow band resonances were to occur, this method Xvould

have to be altered to keep from "averaging out" the effect of the resonance.

No such resonances occurred in the data reported herein.

13
When considering the repeated tests and the frequency averaging

as a whole, the total number of measurement values in the final average

becomes sizeable above 1000 Hz. This makes the measurement statistics

much more meaningful.

The standard deviations were "pooled" over the same frequency range

as above. This process involved squaring each deviation, summing them,

dividing by the number of points, and then extracting the square root.

This is valid for equal sized samples.

5.5.5 Amplifier Gain Corrections . The amplifier gains for the two test

accelerometer channels were divided out of the final results. This

yields the sensitivity factor of the accelerometer in units of pC/g.

Additionally, for those tests where a low pass filter was used, the

amplitude response of the filter also was taken into account. Nominal

values were used for the unfiltered gain. Measured values were used

for the filter responses.

5.5.6 Phase Shift Corrections . Phase shifts originate in the measurement

and analysis from the following sources:

1. Relative motion between the two accelerometers

,

2. Mechanical time delay within the accelerometers,

3. Electronic time delay of the amplifiers,

4. Low-pass filter phase shift, and

5. Non-coincident digitization delay.

No analytical corrections can be made for phase shifts due to relative

motion between the two accelerometers being tested. In a good back-to-back

configuration, this effect should not be of any consequence at frequencies

below about 3 to 5 kHz. However, when the accelerometers are mounted

side-by-side, there could be significant problems due to rocking motions.

The phase shift due to mechanical time delay within the accelerometer,

is of course, one of the parameters for which the test is being performed.

For accelerometers having very low damping, the phase shifts are small

until the accelerometer or other mechanical resonance is approached.

In a good quality, wide-band amplifier, the electronic phase shift is

small. In ac-coupled amplifiers, shifts can occur at very low frequencies.

Amplifier phase shift generally occurs as a constant time delay. This

creates a lagging phase shift which varies llnearily with frequency. No

pulse distortion will result from this condition. Additionally, these

shifts, even though small, can be measured and corrected for.

14
Low-pass filters usually create the largest phase shifts in typical

systems. Once the filter characteristics are measured, this effect can be corrected out of the final measurement of the accelerometer sensitivity

and phase. A low-pass filter always creates a phase lag condition by

itself. However, because the accelerometer sensitivity results from a ratio, the filter can have an effect of either a lag or lead depending on whether the filter is in the channel that becomes the numerator or the

denominator of the ratio calculation. Moreover, if a filter is used in

both channels, then the difference of phase shift between the two filters

can cause either a lag or lead phase condition.

A phase shift can also be synthesized into the process by non-coincident

sampling of the two accelerometer outputs. [17] As was discussed in

Section 4.2.1, the input of the analog-to-digital converter was multiplexed

between the two accelerometer inputs. As such, channel 2 is measured at a slightly later time than channel 1. This length of time is equal to the

reciprocal of the sampling rate. This time delay in this project was approximated lOys. The uncorrected FFT assumes that coincident time

sampling occurred. When coincidence is assumed, it appears that channel 1

lags channel 2 by lOiJs. This phase shift is described by

where cf)^ = phase error in degrees due to multiplexing time delay (leading

angle as described above),

V[ = harmonic line number from the FFT algorithm, (n=l for f=0 Hz) ,

N = number of points sampled,

f = harmonic frequency, and

f^ = analog-to-digital sampling frequency.

For the testing described in this report, N=l024 points, and f ~ 100 kHz.

s Using these values

,

m

0.1758 (n-l) ~ 0.0036 f. (12)

The correction of this synthesized error can be easily made. Because

ri and N are exact integers, and f and f can be measured with accuracy,

<l>^ can be computed to almost any required accuracy.

15
All the data presented in the next section were corrected for the

phase shifts due to amplifier delay, filter shift, and the multiplexing

shift.

6. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

6.1 Sensitivity Results

6.1.1. Sensitivity Data and Plots . The sensitivity data for both

accelerometers , tables VII and VIII, are plotted graphically in figures 9 and 9c, to get an overall view of the trends and limitations of the shock

calibration process. On these same graphs, the fitted values for the

sinusoidal calibrations are also plotted for reference purposes. The

sensitivity data for each pickup are divided into separate acceleration

levels: 50, 500, 900, and 1500 g.

Both figures have very similar characteristics, which is expected

because the two accelerometers used are of the same manufacturer and

configuration. For the 50 g curves, the sensitivity tends to drop off

much sooner than the other acceleration levels. The drop off is readily

seen to begin at approximately 300 Hz. This indicates that there is a lack of high frequency information in the 50 g pulse. The curves of

sensitivity for the 500 and 900 g pulses are similar because there is

not much difference in their acceleration waveforms . Both follow a smooth exponential curve until they reach the 2000 Hz frequency point,

where the curves rise upward. One exception for this trend is the 500 g

pulse of accelerometer B, which instead of rising at this point, falls

to a lower level, and then rises at 3000 Hz. The 1500 g plotted

sensitivity follows similar trends in the 500 to 5000 Hz ranges, but at

the low frequency end, below 500 Hz, the data become erratic. This

inconsistency shows that there was very little or poor low frequency

information in the high g pulses.

6.1.2 Standard Deviation of Sensitivity Data . The plotted standard

deviations of the sensitivity data, figures 9b and 9d, are directly

related to the characteristics of the sensitivity plots. At the same frequency point where the sensitivity for an accelerometer falls or rises abruptly, the standard deviation rises. This is an indication of

the points where the process breaks down because of the limitations in

the frequency content of the shock pulses.

An unusual trend sets the 1500 g standard deviation plots at higher

levels than the other plots. This difference is due to the fact that one out of the 5 sets of data has values which are far from the other four, over the complete frequency range plotted. Because this apparent shift

shows up in both accelerometers A and B, it is considered a systematic

error orginating in the laboratory.

16
6.2 Phase Component Results

6.2.1 Phase Data and Plots . PLase relationship data can be found in

tables IX and X. These data are plotted in figures 9e and 9g to

provide an overall view of the phase characteristics. Plots for each

of the accelerations are found on the same graph. In phase response,

as in the plots of sensitivity, the two accelerometers , A and B, have

a resemblance, so that one description gives an overall view of both

sets of data. It should be noted that this phase relationship is

between the test accelerometer , either A or B , and the reference

standard R.

The phase plots are flatter out to higher frequencies than the

sensitivity curves. This indicates that the shape and frequency content

of the pulse do not affect the phase as much as the accelerometer

amplitude versus frequency. The 50 g level pulse is unstable after

300 Hz, but continues within 5 degrees of the other curves, while the

others continue in a stable manner out to 2000 Hz.

6.2.2 Standard Deviation of Phase Data . Standard deviations for the phase

components which are tabulated in terms of degrees, found in tables IX and

X, show trends that are more stable than the standard deviations of the

sensitivity data. Plots of the standard deviations of the phase data are found in figures 9f and 9h.

In both accelerometers the trends for standard deviations are similar.

At approximately 300 Hz, the standard deviation for the 50 g level pulse

rises. The other pulses are linear out to 2000 Hz, where, there too, the

standard deviations rise. This rise is not as distinct on the 1500 g level

pulse, since phase information from this pulse tends to be more stable at

the higher frequencies.

6.3 Comparisons

6.3.1 Comparison to Sinusoidal Data . The curve fitted sinusoidal

calibration data are listed in table IV, and plotted on figures 9a and 9c.

As seen from the graphs, the sensitivities derived from the shock calibrations closely approximate the sine wave calibrations. In general, the

values from the shock process tend to be lower than the sinusoidal until

a point near 2000 Hz is reached. This trend of the shock data shows a constant difference of approximately one percent from the sinusoidal data

over the frequency range from 50 to 2000 Hz. Inherent errors in the

data processing or the laboratory measurement techniques can cause

such errors as described above. The shock and sinusoidal data demonstrate

graphically that two independent systems can provide accelerometer sensitivities to within ±1 percent of each other over long frequency intervals.

17
6.3.2 Comparison to Time Domain Data . There Is an Important distinction

between the shock calibration results In the time domain and the frequency

domain. All the calibration methods directly using time domain shock

pulse measurements yield a single value of accelerometer sensitivity. For

purposes of precision calibration, this is usually Inadequate Inasmuch as the accelerometer' s sensitivity is not a constant value over a frequency

range.

A comparison is made between time domain data of shock pulses and

frequency domain data derived from these pulses. The time domain data

Is used to get a peak ratio measurement, and is only one value of sensitivity

for each shock pulse. Therefore, it is not a truly valid comparison to the

frequency domain data, but should be close to those calculated values. This

method of peak comparison in the time domain is widely used as a means for

calibrating shock accelerometers , but does not provide any frequency or phase relationships since it only deals with peak amplitudes.

Discrete values of sensitivity, for peak comparison of the time

domain data listed in table V, are plotted in figures 9a and 9c. Note

that the abclssa, for the time domain values, is not labeled in terms

of frequency. In the region from 500 to 2000 Hz, the sensitivity values

from the time domain data, of the 500, 900, and 1500 g pulses, closely

approximate the frequency domain sensitivities. This shows good agreement

between the two methods. One exception from this correspondence is the

time domain sensitivity for the 50 g pulse. In both accelerometers, A

and B, this point is almost three percent lower than the other time domain

values. At this time, this shift remains unexplained.

6.3.3 Intercomparlsons Between Test Accelerometers . Phase and ratio data

for this section are found in tables VII through XIV. Plots of the computed

and measured ratio A/B can be found in figures 10a and 10c respectively.

The major benefit of taking the computed ratio is that the errors due to

the calibration factors of the reference accelerometer drop out. Thus,

one source of error is eliminated. Phase relationships for the computed

and measured ratios are plotted in figures lOe and lOg respectively. The

standard deviations for these intercomparlsons of the computed and measured

ratios are plotted and shown in figures 10b, lOd, lOf, and lOh. The

computed ratio of sinusoidal data are listed in table XII.

The ratio and phase relationships reveal that while the computed data

are smooth curves with small standard deviations, the measured data ratios

are erratic, but also have small standard deviations. This can be accounted

for from the physical test conditions under which the two accelerometers,

A and B, were tested in relation to each other. The measured data for this

relationship were taken when the two pickups were mounted side-by-slde , to

the left and right of the center of the shock machine carriage. Therefore,

any rocking motion would force one accelerometer to sense different motion

from the other accelerometer. This difference would also Introduce a false

phase relationship. To lessen the errors in this kind of situation, pickups

should be mounted as close to each other as possible.

18
7. CONCLUSIONS

7.1 General Overview and Summary

The results obtained from this project demonstrate that a fast,

accurate method for shock calibration, by comparison methods, is

feasible. The fast Fourier Transform algorithm makes this possible,

because of its ability to handle large data blocks, its relative speed

in analysis, and its accuracy. Use of a minicomputer, as a data collection

device, provides a means to do preliminary processing and to transport the

data to a larger computing machine via paper or magnetic tape. Shock

calibrations in the frequency domain agreed to about one percent of the

sinusoidal calibrations on^each of the two accelerometers tested. Time

domain, peak amplitude ratio calibrations agreed to about five percent

of the sinusoidal calibration, depending on what frequency is selected.

Frequency domain calibrations become unreliable when the Fourier amplitudes

at high frequencies become less than a few percent of the low frequency

amplitude.

For the 50 g, 8.5 ms shock pulses, calibration was reliable from

50 to about 300 Hz. For the 500 g, 1.2 ms and 900 g, 1.0 ms pulses,

calibration was reliable from 50 Hz to about 2000 Hz. For the 1500 g,

0.7 ms pulse, the calibration appeared reliable from about 300 Hz to

4000 Hz or more; the analysis was not extended beyond 4000 Hz.

7.2 Future Considerations

Because the results obtained from the NBS developed shock calibration

facility are favorable, further improvements are anticipated to

account for any of the small problems encountered. These can include:

(1) experimentation on the jnounting locations of an accelerometer on the

shock machine carriage, (2) implementation of a faster, more accurate FFT

algorithm, (3) use of higher frequency content and amplitude pulses,

(4) minimization of errors introduced by discontinuous data or data having

steps, and (5) use of an algorithm which generates a finer frequency

resolution (i.e, smaller Af) for low frequencies.

A system incorporating a laser interferometer to measure instantaneous

velocity is being developed. This interferometer system can, in principle,

provide an absolute calibration facility for measuring shock induced motion

19
8 . ACKNOWLEDGMENT S

The authors wish to thank the following members of the Vibration

Section for their aid and support in the development and assistance on the

experimental work: Robert S. Koyanagi, James D. Pollard and Oliver W. Price.

B. F. Payne is credited with the preliminary programming of the minicomputer.

Thanks are due William H. Walston, Jr. for his assistance in the final

stages of this work. Lowell D. Ballard and William Epstein are acknowledged

as the original workers on this project and were responsible for most of the

hardware and many of the initial concepts of shock calibration by use of

Fourier analysis.

This paper reflects several stimulating and helpful discussions

with Hans J. Oser, Walter L. Sadowski, and Daniel W. Lozier of the

Mathematical Analysis Section. Acknowledgements are also due Richard N.

Freemire for his magnetic tape reading routine and programming assistance.

20
9. REFERENCES

1. AVCO Technical Manual RAD-DM-STM51-1 , AVC 0 Electronics Division,

Tulsa Operation, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

2. American National Standard, "Methods for Specifying the Performance

of Shock Machines", ANSI 32.14-1973.

3. Military Standard, "Enviromnental Test Methods", MIL-STD-810B

,

Method 516, 1967.

4. Military Standard, "Test Methods for Electronic and Electrical

Co-mponent Parts", MIL-STD-202 C, Method 213, 1963 (new method 213

added by change notice 2, May 1965).

5. Payne, B. F. , "Absolute Calibration of Vibration Generators with

Time-Sharing Computer as an Integral Part of System", Shock and

Vibration Bulletin No. 36, Part 6, February 1967, pp. 193-194.

6. Payne, B. F. , "An Automated Precision Calibration System for

Accelerometers" , Instrument Society of America 17th National

Aerospace Instrumentation Symposium, May 10-12, 19 71 (Las Vegas,

Nevada)

.

7. Dimoff, T. , "Electrodynamic Vibration Standard With A Ceramic Moving

Element", Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 40,

No. 3, September 1966, pp. 671-676.

8. Jones, E., Yelon, W. B. , and Edelman, S., "Piezoelectric Shakers

for Wide-Frequency Calibration of Vibration Pickups", Journal of

the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 45, No. 6, June 1969,

pp. 1556-1559.

9. Schmidt, V. A., Edelman, S., Smith E. R. , and Pierce, E. T., "Modulated

Photoelectric Measurement of Vibration", Journal of Acoustical Society

of America, Vol. 34, No. 4, April 1962, pp. 455-458.

10. Bouche, R. R. , "Ensuring the Accuracy of Shock and Vibration

Measurements", Proceeding of the Institute of Environmental

Sciences, 1965, pp. 409-415. (Also reprinted by the Endevco

Corporation as Publication TP 231.)

11. Bouche, R. R. , "Accurate Accelerometer Calibrations by Absolute

and Comparison Methods", Endevco Tech-Data Publication TP 233,

March 1966.

21
i

12. Bouche, R. R. , "Vibration Standards for Performing Comparison

Calibrations", ISA reprint No. M18-3-MESTIND-67 , 1967. (Also

reprinted by the Endevco Corporation as Publication TP 241.)

13. Klstler, W. P., "New Precision Calibration Techniques for Vibration

Transducers", Shock and Vibration Bulletin No. 35, Part 4, pp. 49-54, i January 1966.

14. Bouche, R. R. , Anspach, R. B., "Comparison Shock Motion Calibrations",

1968 Proceedings of the Institute of Environmental Sciences,

(Also reprinted by the Endevco Corporation as Publication TP 240.) ,

15. Cooley, J. W. and Tukey, J. W. , "An Algorithm for the Machine

Calculation of Complex Fourier Series", Mathematics of Computers,

Vol. 19, April 1965, pp. 297-301.

16. Peterson, A. P. G. , and Gross, E. E., Handbook of Noise Measurements , General Radio Company, Concord, Massachusettes , 1972.

17. Bendat , J. S. and Plersol, A. G. , Random Data; Analysis and Measurement

Procedures , Wiley-Inters clence , New York, 1972, pp. 233.

t

j

22
10. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Favour, J., "Transient Data Distortion Compensation", Shock and

Vibration Bulletin 35, Part 5 , pp . 231-238, February 1966.

2. Galef, A. E. and Mitchell, D. H. , "Aerospace Industry Applications

of the Fast Fourier Transform", Presented at Meeting of the Acoustical

Society of America, Boston, Massachusetts, April 1973.

3. Favour, J. D., "Calibration of Accelerometers by Impulse Excitation

and Fourier Transform Techniques", ISA Reprint Number P13-1-PHYMMID-6 7

,

1967.

4. Bracewell, R. , The Fourier Transform and Its Applications , McGraw-Hill,

New York, 1965.

5. Hamming, R. W. , Numerical Analysis for Scientists and Engineers , McGraw-Hill, New York, 1962.

6. American National Standard, "Acoustical Terminology (Incliading Mechanical

Shock and Vibration)", ANSI SI. 1-1960.

7. American National Standard, Methods for the Calibration of Shock and

Vibration Pickups", ANSI S2. 2-1959.

8. American National Standard, "Specifying the Characteristics of

Auxiliary Equipment for Shock and Vibration Measurements",

ANSI S2. 4-1960.

9. American National Standard, "Selection of Calibrations and Tests for

Electrical Transducers used for Measuring Shock and Vibration",

ANSI S2. 11-1969.

10. American National Standard, "Specifications for the Design, Construction,

and Operation of Clash HI (High Impact) Shock Testing Machine for

Lightweight Equipment", ANSI S2. 15-19 72.

23
TABLE I. Laboratory Teat Matrix

Nominal Shock

Pulse Parameters

Accelerojneter

Cocmbinations

Test

Nxnabers

A/R 1-5

50 g, 8.5 ms B/R 6-10

A/B 11-15

A/R 16-20

. 500 g, 1.2 ms B/R 21-25

A/B 26-30

A/R 31-35

900 g, 1.0 ms B/R 36-40

A/B 41-45

A/R 46-50

1500 g, 0.7 ms B/R 51-55

A/B 56-60

See Section 2 and 4.4 for description of accelerometers

.

24
TABLE II. Acceleration Amplitudes and Durations.

Naminal Shock

Pulse Parameters

Mean

Amplitude

Amplitude

Range

Measured from

Test N^tmbers

50 g, 8.5 ms 52.4 g 49.4-55.8 g

'—————————————

1-10

500 g, 1.2 ms 517.5 g 488-560 g 16-25

900 g, 1.0 ms 894 g 864-927 g 31-40

1500 g, 0.7 ms 1419 g 1346-1524 g 46-54

TABLE III. Weighting Factors for the Calculations of Weighted Means of

Accelerometers A and B. Data from Sinxisoidal Calibrations.

System and Date

Frequency

Interval

D201/203

Dec 1972

D102

Dec 1972

D201

Apr 1970

D102

Apr 19 70

Interferometer

Apr 19 70

Hz Run 1 Run 2 Run 1 Run 2 Run 1 Run 2 Run 1 Run 2

Weighting Factors

a

10-900 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 • 1 0

1000-2500 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 4

3000-4000 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 4 4500-10,000 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 8

o date was available in regions where a zero is indicated.

I

i' 25
TABLE IV. Results of Sinusoidal Calibration of Accelerometers A, B, and

Values given for A and B are in units of pC/g and values for

are units of jaV/g.

Accelerometer A

-— - -----y Accelerometer B Sens

.

Accelerometer R

a Sens

.

Frequency

Wt'd. Fit

Hz

Wt ' d. Fit % Wt'd. Fit % /o Mean Value Diff

.

Mean Value Diff. Mean Value Diff. -

10 0.870 0. 848

.

15 0.857 0.834

30 0.840 0.826 —.— 9 .99 Q Q 7 +0.2 1 50 0.842 0.846 —U . J 0.819 0.823 -D 5 9.98 9.9/ +0 . 1 i 100 0. 834 0.839 —U . D 0.811 0. 817 -0.7 9 .96 O Q 7 9.9/ -0.1 ] zOO 0. 830 0. 833 —u . o 0. 808 0.811 -0.3 9 .95 9.9/ -0.2

300 0. 830 0.829 -un 1 0.806 0. 807 9 .94 9.9/ -0.3

400 0.826 0. 826 — U . X 0.803 0.805 -0 .

2

9 .96 9.97 -0.1

500 0. 823 0.824 —U . z 0.801 0.803 -0 ? 9.97 r\ n "7 9.9 7 0.0

600 0.822 0.823 -I) . i 0.800 0. 801 9.97 9.97 0.0

700 0. 820 0.821 — U . ± 0.799 0. 800 9.97 9.97 0.0

800 0.819 0.820 —U . 1 0.79 8 0.799 9.97 9.9 7 0.0

900 0. 819 0.819 U . U 0.79 7 0. 798 9.98 9.9 7 +0.1

1000 0. 819 0.818 tU . X 0.799 0.79 7 +0 3 9 .99 A AO 9.98 +0.1

1500 0.816 0.815 +U . Z 0.795 0. 793 4-0 9 9 .99 A AO 9.98 +0.1

1700 0.815 0. 794 9 . 99 O Q Q y . y o +0.1

ZUUU 0. 813 0.814 —nU 1 . X 0.794 0. 793 +0.1 9 .99 rv AO 9.98 +0.1

0.812 0. 814 -n 9 0. 793 0. 793 0.0 9.98 A AO 9.98 0.0

3000 0.814 0.814 U . U 0.792 0.794 9.98 9.98 0.0

3500 0. 815 0.814 +U . X 0. 793 0.794 9.9 7 9.98 -0.1

4000 0.814 0.814 U . U 0.794 0.795 -0 1 9.97 9.98 -0.1

45U0 0. 814 0. 814 n n 0.795 0.795 0.0 9.97 rv A A 9 .99 -0.2

5000 0. 814 0.814 U . U 0.79 8 0.796 10.09 10 .03 +0.6

5500 0.819 0. 800 10.06 10.07 -0 .

1

6000 0.828 0. 824 0.803 0.806 -0 4 10.07 10.11 -0 .

4

6500 0. 827 0 . 816 in n

7

xu . u / in 1

A

xu . X't -0.7

7000 0. 832 0. 832 -0.1 0.814 0.814 -0.1 10.15 10.17 -0.2

/ _)UU 0.833 0.818 10.19 10.20 -0.1

8000 0.844 0.840 +0.5 0.822 0.822 0.0 10.22 10.23 -0.1

8500 0. 846 0.827 10.25 10.25 0.0

9000 0.848 0. 846 +0.2 0.827 0.828 -0.1 10.30 10.27 +0.3

9500 0. 852 0.834 10.34 10.30 +0.4

10000 0. 853 0.852 +0.1 0.836 0.834 +0.2 10.32 10.32 0.0

^Amplifier was at nominal setting of 10 mV/g and the filter out. For sensitivities

at a setting of 1 mV/g, divide fit values by 10.

26
TABLE V. Peak Comparis.on Calibrations of Accelerometers A and B.

iN Ulll 1 ndx Accelerometer Sensitivity, pC/g Sensitivity Ratios, A/B

Impact

Parameter

Accelerojneter A Accelerojneter B Measnred Calculated

Sena.

% Std.

Dev.

Sens

% Std.

Dev.

Ratio % Std.

Dev. Rati©^

% Std.

Dev. ^

50 g, 8.5 ms 0. 7894 0.1 0. 7750 0.7 1.0261 0.1 1.0186 1.3

500 g, 1.2 ms 0. 8125 0..1 0.7947 0.2 1.0069^ 0.3 1.0224 0.2

900 g, 1.0 ms 0.8180 0.2 0. 7930 0.2 0.9539^ 0.1 1.0315 0.3

1500 g, 0.7 ms 0. 8135 0.1 0.7955 0.9 0.9049 0.2 1.0226 0.9 r

Group Mean 0. 8147^ 0.1^ 0.7896^ 0.6^ b e 0.9730 ' 0.2^ 1.0238^ 0.8^

^ A system sensitivity of accelerometer R at 100 Hz of S = 9.969 mV/g was used for

these calculations.

^Low pass filters were used to improve time-dcmain wave shapes for indicated

, measurements. It is not possible to correct for the filter effects.

cCalculated from columns 2 and 4 of this table.

"^Calculated from columns 3 and 5 of this table on root-sum-squared basis.

^Column means

^Group standard deviation calculated rms basis, i.e., /(oj'^ + 02"^ + 03'^ + Oi.'^)/^ .

27
TABLE VI. Information for Averaging Over Frequency Ranges for

Shock Data.

Freciupn rv Range

Hz

...

Interval

Data Points Tnf;ql Nn nf

MeasAarement

Results in Ave.

Number of

Points

Freqxiency Span, Hz

1 f _>

600£f£l000 100 3 f±50 15

1000£f£2000 250 11 f±250 55

2500^f£5000 500 21 f±500 105

6000£f£l0000 1000 41 f±1000 205

28
TABLE VII. Accelerometer A Sensitivity and Standard Deviation.

Frequency

Hz

50 g ^^50 500 g ^500 900 g °900 1500 g ^1500

pc/g % pC/g % pc/g % pc/g %

50 . 832 0.1 .846 0.3 .824 0.2 .885 2.1

100 . 828 0.2 .828 0.4 .830 0.2 .827 1.1

150 . 824 0.0 . 826 0.5 . 831 0.2 .852 1.3

200 . 832 0.8 . 822 0.6 .825 0.3 .827 2.0

250 . 800 0.5 .821 0.2 .825 0.1 .822 1.6

300 . 796 4.6 . 819 0.2 .820 0.2 . 817 1.6

350 . 817 2.5 .816 0.2 .821 0.1 .830 2.2

400 . 723 7.0 .814 0.2 .817 0.2 . 812 0.6

450 . 769 6.0 .817 0.3 .816 0.0 .819 1.9

500 1 . 787 9.1 . 814 0.3 . 816 0.1 . 820 1.3

600 .810 0.4 .814 0.2 .820 1.6

700 . 809 0.5 . 813 0.1 .820 1.0

800 . 807 0.3 .812 0.1 .818 1.1

900 . 806 1.0 .811 0.1 .816 1.4

1000 . 805 1.2 .811 0.1 .817 1.2

1250 . 807 0.8 .813 0.3 . 816 1.4

1500 . 810 1.5 .817 0.4 .813 1.7

1750 t . 810 1.8 .821 0.4 . 813 1.8

2000 . 811 2.4 . 824 . 0.4 . 809 1.5

2500 .808 4.9 .821 1. 7 .816 1.3

JUUU ft 1 Q inXU . D

7 1

. OZ.1 1 . D 3500 . 824 13.3 .834 7.3 .826 1.7

4000 .905 63.5 .831 3.7 .829 1.5

4500 .827 90.0 .815 4.9 .840 1.6 i

1

29
TABLE VIII. Accelerometer B Sensitivity and Standard Deviation.

Frequency

nz

50g ^ 50 500 g ^^500 900 g ^900 1500 g ^1500

7/a 7/a 7/a 7Jo

50 .805 0.1 . 814 0.7 .819 0.3 .836 10. 7 100 .800 0.1 .812 0.4 .808 0.2 .785 4.4

150 .79 7 0.2 .804 0.4 .806 0.2 .814 6.2

200 .800 0.4 .802 0.1 .806 0.2 .812 A.

9

250 . 789 0.6 .808 0.4 .803 0.1 .800 4.6

300 .791 1.5 . 802 0.4 .802 0.2 .788 2.9

350 . 754 1.6 .802 0.3 .800 0.4 .794 3.6

400 .781 7.0 . 79 7 0.1 .800 0.3 .79 7 3.1

450 . 712 5.6 .798 0.2 .797 0.2 .791 3.2

500 . 741 5.9 . 79 8 0.3 .796 0.3 .796 2.8

600 .793 0.3 .794 0.2 . 793 3.1

700 .793 0.3 .793 0.3 . 798 3.6

800 . 791 0.2 .792 0.2 . 793 3,4

900 . 790 0.2 . 791 0.2 .799 3.6

1000 . 788 0.3 .791 0.1 . 790 2.7

1250 . 788 0.4 . 794 0.6 . 789 2.1

1500 . 787 0.7 .79 7 0.8 .789 2.0

1750 . 785 0.7 .797 0.7 . 790 3.2

2000 . 782 1.0 . 794 0.5 .778 2.1

2500 . 773 1.9 . 79 8 1 .

2

. 79 7 2.0

3000 . 771 4.3 .803 1.8 .803 2.0

3500 .790 8.1 .809 2.2 .811 1.9

4000 . 803 20.2 .826 3.6 .826 2.4

4500 .817 45.4 . 880 7.4 .836 2. 7

30
TABLE IX. Accelerometer A Phase and Standard Deviation in Degrees.

Frequency

tlZ 50 g ^0 500 g o 500

900 g a 900

1500 g

A, 0

1500

50 -0.8 0.0 -0.2 0.3 -0.7 0.2 -2.6 1.5

100 -0.7 0.1 -0.4 0.2 -0.8 0.1 -1.5 0.8

150 -0.7 0.1 -0.5 0.1 -1.0 0.1 -0.7 1.2

200 -0.4 0.5 -0.9 0.1 -1.0 0.1 -1.6 1.3

250 -1.0 0.6 -1.0 0.1 -1.2 0.1 -2.6 0.7

300 -1.2 0.7 -0.7 0.2 -1.3 0.2 -1.9 0.6

350 +0.3 1.4 -0.9 0.1 -1.3 0.1 -2.0 0.6

400 -1.0 5.3 -1.0 0.2 -1.3 0.1 -1.7 0.8

450 -0.4 2.4 -1.1 0.1 -1.5 0.2 -2.4 1.1

i 500 -1.3 1.2 -0.9 0.3 -1.4 0.1 -2.1 1.7

600 -1.6 4.2 -1.0 0.2 -1.4 0.1 -1.4 0.7

700 -2.7 3.9 -1.0 0.2 -1.5 0.2 -1.8 0.9

800 -1.3 5.3 -0.9 0.2 -1.4 0.2 -1.4 1.1

900 -3.3 7.6 -1.1 0.3 -1.6 0.2 -2.2 1.0

1000 -0.9 0.2 -1.5 0.2 -2.8 0.8

1250 -1.0 0.3 -1.5 0.2 -2.6 0.9

1500

1 -1.0 0.3 -1.9 0.3 -2.6 1.1

: 1750

1 -1.1 0.5 -2.4 0.3 -3.0 1.1

2000 -1.1 0.7 -2.5 0.3 -3.2 1.1

2500 -1.0 1.2 -3.1 2.0 -3.4 1.2

; 3000 +0.1 2.4 -3.7 1.1 -3.9 1.2

\ 3500 —U . J ^ . o —4 . 1

1 n 1 . U i . J

! 4000 -1.8 10.0 -4.2 1.3 -4.8 1.5

4500 ^6.4 5.8 -6.3 1.7

31
TABLE X, Accelerometer B Phase and Standard Deviation in Degrees.

Frequency

Hz

50 g ^^50 500 g ^500 900 g ^900 1500 g ^^1500

50 -1.1 0 .

1

-0.1 0.1 -0.7 0.2 -1.2 0.8

100 -0. 7 0.1 -0.3 0.3 -0.5 0.2 -1.1 0.6

150 -1.0 0.1 -1.0 0.2 -1.3 0.0 -0.7 0.7

200 -0.6 0.2 -0.9 0.2 -1.1 0.1 -2.5 1.1

250 -3.0 0.6 -1.0 0.1 -1.2 0 .

1

-1.6 0.9

300 +0.7 1.4 -0.9 0.1 -1.3 0.0 -1.1 0.9

350 +0.3 1.5 -0.9 0.4 -1.4 0.0 -1.7 0.6

400 +0.1 1.3 -1.3 0.3 -1.3 0.0 -1.6 1.4

450 -3.9 2.1 -1.0 0.3 -1.5 0.1 -1.4 0.6

500 -1.9 6 . 7 -0.9 0.1 -1.4 0 .

1

-1.1 0.9

600 -1.9 2.0 -1.0 0.2 -1.4 0.0 -1.6 0.8

700 -2.5 5.1 -1.1 0.4 -1.5 0 .

1

-1.8 0.9

800 -2.6 3.2 -0.9 0.4 -1.5 0.1 -2.0 0.8

900 -2.0 5.5 -1.0 0.2 -1.7 0.1 -2.4 0.6

1000 -0.8 0.2 -1.6 0.1 -2 .

2

0.6

1250 -0.6 0.7 -1.6 0.1 -2.5 0.9

1500 -0.5 0.7 -1.8 0.2 -2 .9 1.1

1750 -0.6 0.9 -2.1 0.2 -3.2 1.1

2000 -0. 7 1.2 -2.6 0.4 -3.5 0.8

2500 -0.7 3.4 -3.7 1.2 -3.6 0 . 7 3000 -2.1 8.1 -3.7 3.9 -4.0 0.9

3500 -4.7 4.2 -4.8 1.0

4000 -5.8 2,3 -5.0 0.9

4500 -6.1 2.4 -5.0 0.8

32
TABLE XI. Derived Ratio of Shock Data: A/B (From Tables VII and VIII)

and Standard Deviation

.

Hz

50 e 0 cn50 500 g 5UL) 900 g 900 1500 e 1500

pC/g % pC/g % pc/g 7/o pC/g 7o

1 '° 1.03 0 .

1

1. 04 0.5 1.03 0.3 1.06 7. 7 100 1.04 0.2 1.02 0.4 1.03 0.2 1.05 3.2

150 1.03 0.2 - 1. 03 0 .

4

1.03 0 .

2

1 .05 4.5

200 1.04 0 . 7 1. 02 0.4 1.02 0.2 1.02 3. 7 250 1.01 0.6 1. 02 0.3 1 .03 0 .

1

1.03 3.5

1 300 1.01 3.4 1.02 0 .

3

1.02 0 .2 1.04 2 .

3

350 1.08 2.1 1 . 02 0.2 1.03 0.3 1.04 3.0

1 400 0 . 93 7.0 1. 02 0.2 1.02 0 .

2

1.02 2 .

2

450 1.08 4.4 1.02 0.3 1.02 0 .

1

1.04 2.6

500 1.06 7 .

7

1. 02 0 . 3 1.03 0 .

2

1 .03 2 .

2

600 1.02 0.3 1.02 0 .

2

1 03 9 5

i 700 1.02 0 .

4

1 .03 0 .

2

1.03 2 .

6

800 1.02 0. 3 1.03 0 .2 1.03 2 5 900 1 (12 n 7 X • DV • X1 X • w ^ Z.? • 8CJ 1000 J-1 • 0?^ 0 8 1 n 3 1 0 3 Z. • X 1250 1 09 U • D 1 n 9 n A X1 • 0uo X • o 1500 1 0 ^ J- * 1 09 1 0 X1 • Q-/ 1750 J-1 • n'^ yj o J- • H X1 • 0u o n ft X1 • 0U J 9 2000 X1 • Ro X1 • OAU H U.J 1 OA X1 • Ro 2500 1.04 3.8 1.03 1.4 1.02 1.6

3000 1.06 8.1 1.03 5.2 1.02 1.8

3500 1.04 11.0 1.03 5.4 1.02 1.8

4000 1.13 47.1 l.Ql 3.7 1.00 2.0

4500 1.01 71.3 0.93 6.3 1.00 2.2

33
TABLE XII. Measured Ratio A/B of Shock and Sinusoidal

Standard Deviation.

Data with

Frequency

Hz

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1250

1500

1750

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

50 g

1.00

1.03

0.98

1.04

1.20

0.65

50

0.2

Q.2

3.0

6.7

15.3

37.2

500 g

0.99

1.02

1.08

1.06

1.04

1.05

1.03

1.04

1.03

1.05

1.02

1.02

1.02

1.02

1.02

1.02

1.02

1.02

1.03

1.06

1.14

1.35

500

0.4

0.0

0.3

0.4

0.2

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.3

0.6

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.5

0.4

0.4

0.5

0.8

0.8

2.6

5.7

14.3

900 g

1.01

0.97

1.10

1.09

1.07

1.02

1.03

1.08

1.06

1.02

1.06

1.05

1.08

1.07

1.10

1.12

1.15

1.20

1.28

1.57

900

0.1

0.5

0.2

0.1

0.2

0.1

0.2

0.1

0.2

0.6

0.8

0.8

1.2

0.5

0.7

1.0

1.3

1.7

3.3

9.8

1500 g

1.10

1.05

1.16

1.07

1.19

1.05

1.12

1.08

1.09

1.12

1.11

1.11

1.12

1.12

1.12

1.14

1.15

1.16

1.17

1.20

1.23

1.26

1.31

1.36

^1500

0.8

1.1

1.0

0.3

1.5

0.6

1.0

1.2

0.7

0.9

0.7

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1.1

1.1

1.1

1.3

1.7

2.1

2.4

2.9

34
TABLE XIII. Computed Phase Difference: A/B (From Tables IX and X)

and Standard Deviation in Degrees.

Frequency

Hz

50 g 0

50

500 g 0

500

900 g a900

1500 g a 1500

50 -0 .

3

0 .

1

+U . 1 A O A A A O U • Z

1 1 / 1 . Z 100 -0 .

0

r» 1

(J . 1 +U . 1 A O -rU . 4 A T(J . 1

1 A /. A "7 (J . 7 150 -0.3 0.1 -0 .

5

A O 0 .

2

A / -0 .4 A T 0 .

1

A A -0 .

0

1 A

1 .

0

200 -0.2 0 . 4 -0 .

0

A O A T -0 .

1

A 1 0 .

1

A A 1 . Z 250 -2

.

0 0 .

6

+0 .

0

A T U . 1 A A -0 .0 U . 1

1 1 A A O

(J . O

300 +1.9 1.

1

-Q . 1 A O A A -0 .

0

A 1 0 .

1

_l_ A O +0 . 8A O

350 +0 .

0

1.5 1 A A +0 .

0

A O 0 .3 A T —0 .

1

A 1 0 .

1

_I_ A O +0 .

2

A /I

400 +1 .

1

3.9 A O -0 .3 A O 0 .3 1 A A +0 .0 A 1 0 .

1

_I_A A +0 .

0

1 .

1

450 -3 .

5

2 . 2

_L A A +0 .

0

A O

(J . Z

_I_A A +0 .

0

A T 0 .

1

+1 . u 0 .

9

500 -0 .

6

4 .

8

-0.0 A O 0 .

2

-0 .

1

0 .

1

1 1 A +1.0 1. 4

600 -0.3 3.3 -0.0 A O 0 .

2

1 A A +0 .0 A 1 0 .

1

A O -0 .

2

A O 0 .

8

700 +0 .

2

4.5 -0 .

1

0.3 -0 .

0

0 .

1

-0 .

1

0.9

800 -1.3 4.4 +0 .

0

0 .

3

-0 .

1

0 .

1

-0 . 7 0 .9 900 +1.3 6.6 +0 .

1

0 .

2

-0.1 0 .

2

-0 .

2

0 .

8

1000 +0.

1

0 .

2

-0 .

1

0.2 +0.5 0. 7

[ 1250 +0.4 0.5 -0 .

1

0.3 +0 .

1

0.9

! 1500

1 +0.5 0.6 -0.1 0.2 -0.3 1 .

1

1 1750 +0.5 0. 7 +0.3 0 .

3

-0.2 1.1

2000 +0.4 0.9 -0.1 0.4 -0.2 1.0

2500 +0.3 2.6 -0.6 1.6 -0.2 1.0

3000 -2.2 6.0 -0.1 2.9 -0.1 1.0

3500 -0.6 3.0 -0.5 1.1

4000 -1.6 1.8 -0.2 1.2

4500 +0.3 4.4 +1.4 1.3

!

35
TABLE XIV. Phase Difference from Measured Ratio A/B and Standard

Deviation in Degreea.

Hz

50 g ^50 500 g ^500 900 g

1

^900 1500 g ^150a

50 +2.5 0.0 -0.2 0.7 -0.7 0.1 +4.7 0.6 J 100 +0.5 0.1 +3.7 1.5 +4.1 0.2 +4.6 0.7

150 +1. 7 0.3 +1.2 0.1 +3.7 0.2 +3.1 0.6

200 +15. 3 1.4 +0.4 0.3 +0.7 0.2 +1.3 0.7

250 -73.7 11.8 -1.4 0.5 -1.6 0.1 +1.9 0.2

300 +34.9 115.7 -0.0 0.9 -0.5 0.2 -2.9 0.4

350 +33.6 73.4 -1.1 0.5 +2.1 0.3 +3.2 0.9

400 -0.3 0.9 +1.0 0.3 -1.6 0.3

450 -0.7 0.9 -0.9 0.6 +3.3 0.5

500 -1.1 1.2 +0.2 0.3 +0.3 0.5

600 -1.0 1.3 +0.8 0.7 +0.9 0.6

700 -1.0 1.4 +1.1 0.7 +1.1 0.5

800 -0.9 1.7 +1.5 0.9 +1.5 0.6

900 -1.0 2.0 +1.3 0.8 +1.4 0.6

1000 -1.0 2.2 +1.5 1.1 +1.3 0.5

1250 -1.0 2.3 +1.6 1.5 +1.0 0.5

1500 -0.9 3.6 +2.2 1.9 +0.7 0.5

1750 -0.6 4.4 +3.0 2.5 -0.5 0.6

2000 -0.0 5.3 +3.7 3.1 -0.1 0.7

2500 +2.4 8.1 +4.5 3.8 -0.5 0.8

3000 +7.5 12.2 +0.9 4.7 -0.6 1.0

3500 +19.2 21.7 -15.2 11.8 -1.8 1.1

4000 -40 . 8 15.6 -2.3 1.5

4500 -61.1 14.1 -2.9 1.6

36
37
pqU

4-1 uo

1-1 0) rH

>(U oo

<JaoM

<4-l

CO '

0)

09 iH

PL4 o O (D

O

O (D CN l/l

005 6 0051 I

<si\ I

+j

ca

(U H

ut1H

COo

•rlft>^ H

C3oH I

4-1 cn H

O

O 0)

Csl if) f 6 006 iI 38
FIGURE 3. Exploded View of Shock Test Machine

39
40
UJ

41
COdo

•H

+J

CO

•HH

03 OOO

-ad

CD

r-iCO XI

•HO

Cfi 3G

•H

CO^o

M-lW

a.

dj u

cn

•Hd

COd

•H

Cfi

(Uoo

}-l Cm

CO oM

42
\

\

\

50 100 1000 10,000

Frequency (Hz)

FIGURE 7a. Transform of 900 g Half-Sine Pulse.

43
\

50 100 1000

Frequency (Hz)

10,000

FIGURE 7b. Transform of 900 g Haversine Pulse.

44
0 o U—

\

\

0\0\

\o\

\

o\

0\

0\

3\

o\

0

o\

'S\o

\

o\

o

\%

\

\0

\\

s \o

0o%%oo

100 1000 10,000

Frequency (Hz)

FIGURE 8. Transform of Actual 900 g Shock Pulse.

45
46
g § S 0051 + U -H 4-1 CO M CO t 006 +

<u e c Q O -H O CO

CO ^CO

QO S 005 +^

CO s § og+

cn o H t I I I I 1 I I I I 0*01 0'8 . 0*9 0•^7 O'Z 0

47
N

o

0

0)3

IT' M

06*0 98*0 28*0 8Z*0 i7Z '0 OZ -0

48
ooooooooo

49

o

o

o

o

O'OI 0'8 0'9 0-<7 O'Z 0

51

53
o C J o C'J C3O

- -3

_io

<j +

o

o

o

s oogi X

S 006 X

§ oog X

s og X

so

•U m CO o Q

•Hu d

•H

COe

oQ

>

•H

(U •H Q H

o

o

o

u

cu

cuu

O

o

9-T 2*T O-I

g/V ' oT3P>i paATasQ

8'0 9*0

54
oo

0*01 oooooo

55
4-

"'' l\ \

C> '-.5 C3 O C> >'-> .0

f:> o ,-1

\ \ f W 1

i V. ; - 1— \ - — + - V >, - V >

'

1 ' 1 V

\/ r

_ 0

y

1

1 /

§ ooa X

°

o nj S 006 X "li

^ oog X § MO

m CU

o

d

cud

cr

(U

9'T Z-\ O'l

g/V oxriB-a paansBBK

56

8 '0 9*0
57
(•Sap) aDuaaajjTQ ss^qj

58
o

o

o

o

59
60
o

o

o

o

O'OT 0*8 0'9 0*V 0*2 0

(•Sap) uoT^BTAaa panpuB^s

61
APPENDIX A

TEST ACCELEROMETER A AND B SPECIFICATIONS

The following specifications were excerpted from the manufacturer's

description data sheets. Units of measure are given as stated by the

manufacturer.

Dynaiwic Characteristics

Charge Sensitivity

Voltage Sensitivity-^

Frequency Response (+10%)^

Mounted Resonant Frequency

Transverse Sensitivity

Amplitude Linearity

Transducer Capacitance

Resistance

0.7 pC/g, noJDlnal

0.65 inV/g, nominal

0.55 TnV/g, TninlTnum

2 to 15,000 Hz

80,000 Hz, nominal

5% maximum, 3% on special

selection

Sensitivity Increases approximately

1% per 2000 g, 0 to 20,000 g. 800 pF, nominal

20,000 m minimum, at +25 °C

Physical Characteristics

Design

Weight .

. Crystal Material

Case Material

Mounting ,

Grounding

Connector

Shear

13 grams

PZT

300 Series Stainless Steel

Hole for 10-32 x 1/8 in. , mounting

stud. Recommended mounting torque;

18 In-lb.

Case grounded

Coaxial, 10-32 thread

Notes : .

'•With 300 pF external capacitance.

^In shock measurements minimum pulse duration for half-slne or triangular

pulses should exceed 75 ys to avoid high frequency ringing.

62
Environmental Characteristics

Acceleration Limit

Zero Shift

Base Strain Sensitivity

Temperature

Altitude

Humidity

Shock: ±20,000 g, any direction

±750 pC, jnaximum, for 16,000 pk

pC output

0.02 equivalent g per microinch

per inch, nojninal

-54°C to +177°C

Not affected

Epoxy sealed

63
APPENDIX B

FORTRAN FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM SUBROUTINE

A'-'^&Y *'"ATA* "^ISST '^^ IN CO'^^'LTX ^'^'^ W^Z IN ^ OU T

I

'-.'E FFT

1 :? li^; Z^^~ '' V.'L'i^S Ar-r Rflb^Nf:"' A"'t^AY 'naTA*, 'p^laCIN'^ T'-iE INPUT

IF ft \' T^:r\'r-] TRANSFORM T FOLL '^WFD ft .V I

r.f.-- i t N' F 0 ^ ( r R A

'-^V V T : T f^^'- -1 ) » T HP 0-T'">TNAL O/iTA ^FA.^-'Efl^» "IIL'^TPLTEO BY

SUB^ OUT I'M r FFT IS a F AST FOU^T"P T?A:JSFr-M ALf'^^TTHM WHICH IS

(!TILIZ'"0 T\' Tn^" C A L"" l.)L M 10 N OF THE FOi'"^I="P T '? p. fo T n ?M OF A "^IVF SIGNAL

THE F'^i!'^!'"^ I

-^'"^ E- AL hilF IS A V i 'H "^M T I c L 0"FRATTrrj WHICH

-F CO i^P^ ''^'^ S A T"rME SIGtvflL, T .v xur pOv^* OF A PA ^ A P^AY* I'vfTO ITS

rO'^^L^^ FPr.QljrfrY '~OMPC^'E^'T^ ( A m ->l I T'S AVO A )

SU^^^CiJTTK^c c^T(nflT;^»N^;I<^T C'' ) n T V r •

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NBS-lUA (REV. 7-73)

>.'.S. DEPT. OF COMM. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

SHEET

1. I'UHLK'A-] ION OR RHPOR'I'NO.

NBS IR 74-480

2. tiov't Accc s-sion No.3. Recipient '.s Acccs.sion Ni

TITLE AND SUFVriTLE

EVALUATION AND CALIBRATION OF MECHANICAL SHOCK

ACCELEROMETERS BY COMPARISON METHODS

5. Publication Date March 1974

6. Performing Organization Codi

7. AUTHOR(S)

John D. Ramboz, Charles Federman

8. Performing Organ. Report No. I^SIR 74-480

9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20234

10. Pro)ect/Task/Work Unit No.

11. Contract/Grant No.

12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Complete Address (Street, City, State, ZIP)

Metrology Engineering Center, Bureau of Naval Weapons Representative, Pomona, California 91766; the Aerospace Guidance and

Metrology Center, Newark Air Force Station, Newark, Ohio 43055; and the Metrology and Calibration Center, Redstone Arsenal,

Alabama 35809

13. Type of Report & Period Covered

Final

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

CCG 72-64

15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

16. ABSTRACT (A 200-word or less factual summary of most sigriilicant information. If document includes a significant

bibliography or literature survey, mention it here.) A means to calibrate mechanical shock accelerometers by a conparxson

method has been developed. Detailed procedures and equipment used to

generate mechanical shock pulses, collect data, and analyze the results

are disctissed. Three accelerometers were subjected to haversine acceleration-time pulses of 50, 500, 900 and 1500 g peak amplitudes and time durations of 8.5, 1.2, 1.2, and 0.7 ms, respectively. Both time- and frequencydomain calibrations were performed. The shock calibrations agreed with

sinusoidal values to within a few percent. Problems encountered and future

developments are discussed.

17. KEY V.'ORDS (six to twelve entries; alphabetical order; capitalize only the first letter of the first key word unless a proper name; separated by semicolons)

Accelerometer , calibration, comparison reference, mechanical

shock, shock generation, shock pickup, vibration.

18. AVAILABILITY |

' Unlimited

IX For Official Distribution. Do Not Release to NTIS

1

' Order From Sup, of Doc, U.S. Government Printing Office

Vi'ashincton, D.C. 20402. SD Cat. No. CH

1

' Order From National Technical Information Service (NTIS)

Springfield, Virginia 22151

19. SECURITY CLASS

(THIS REPORT)

UNCLASSIFIED

21. NO. OF PAGE

65

20. SECURITY CLASS

(THIS PAGE)

UNCLASSIFIED

22. Price

USCOMM-DC 29042-P