Novel acceleration measurement method during attenuation vibration of inertial sensor based on time domain sensing mechanism

This paper for the first time reports a novel characteristic of the time domain acceleration sensing mechanism. Acceleration measurement is insensitive to changes of vibration amplitude and resonant frequency because these two parameters are updated in real time during the measurement process, which is thoroughly different from other traditional acceleration sensing mechanisms. With this characteristic, an acceleration measurement method during the process of attenuation vibration is proposed. Furthermore, the analytic expression of acceleration measuring during the process is deduced. Thus, even if the signal, which is used for driving the proof mass of the time domain sensor in the resonant state, is cut off, the sensor can still work as normal. Finally, the theoretical analyses are experimentally verified. These results provide a theory foundation for designing an accelerometer that can be used in harsh environments, e.g., during sudden malfunction of the driving power supply.