Calibration of Three-axis Accelerometers as a Three-Dimensional Accelerometer Using a Three-Dimensional Vibration Generator and Laser Interferometers (Proposal of the New Technique from the Viewpoint that the Acceleration is a Vector Quantity)

This paper describes the system for the calibration of accelerometers using a three-dimensional vibration generator and laser interferometers. The vibration generator is an electrodynamic type, IMV TS-1030 S, which can generate motion with the arbitrary direction in the three-dimensional coordinate system under sinusoidal, random and shock operation mode. It has five actuators in total, two actuators each for X-axis and Y-axis and one for Z-axis motion. Motion of the table is monitored during the operation by the three piezoelectric-accelerometers, BK 4393. The signal from them is used for the control of the table, feed forward and feed back. Motion of the table in three-dimensional space is measured by three laser interferometers, Neoark MLD 301 K. The sensitivity of an accelerometer is defined in the form of a matrix including the cross sensitivity. Size of the matrix is 1×3, 2×3 and 3×3 for one-axis accelerometer, two-axis accelerometer and three-axis accelerometer, respectively. Since acceleration is a vector quantity, input signals and output signals of an accelerometer make a vector space. An accelerometer is mathematically a device executing a projection between two vector spaces. This system is the realization of this concept.