Amplitude–phase calibration of tri-axial accelerometers in the low-frequency range by a LDV

Abstract

A method for amplitude–phase calibration of tri-axial accelerometers in the low-frequency range (0 to 20 Hz) is proposed, based on a linear slide, used to excite all the axes of the accelerometer at the same time, and a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) as a reference. For the phase evaluation different methods, like cross-correlation analysis and cross-spectrum analysis, have also been used for validation purposes. The procedure includes many further validation actions in order to verify the correctness of modelling of the systems being tested, of the data processing and to reduce the calibration uncertainty. Results show that the phase is a critical aspect to consider in calibration, more than the amplitude, and the comparison with the theoretical model is useful to verify the hypotheses. Different behaviours result depending on the elements of the measurement chain and not only on the type of accelerometer.