Accuracy Characterization of a MEMS Accelerometer for Vibration Monitoring in a Rotating Framework

Abstract

Active and passive vibration control systems are of paramount importance in many engineering applications. If an external load excites a structure’s resonance and the damping is too low, detrimental events, such as crack initiation, growth and, in the worst case, fatigue failure, can be entailed. Damping systems can be commonly found in applications such as industrial machines, vehicles, buildings, turbomachinery blades, and so forth. Active control systems usually achieve higher damping effectiveness than passive ones, but they need a sensor to detect the working conditions that require damping system activation. Recently, the development of such systems in rotating structures has received considerable interest among designers. As a result, the development of vibration monitoring equipment in rotating structures is also a topic of particular interest. In this respect, a reliable, inexpensive and wireless monitoring system is of utmost importance. Typically, optical systems are used to measure vibrations, but they are expensive and require rather complex processing algorithms. In this paper, a wireless system based on a commercial MEMS accelerometer is developed for rotating blade vibration monitoring. The proposed system measurement accuracy was assessed by means of comparison with a reference wired measurement setup based on a mini integrated circuit piezoelectric (ICP) accelerometer adapted for data acquisition in a rotating frame. Both the accelerometers were mounted on the tip of the blade and, in order to test the structure under different conditions, the first four blade resonances were excited by means of piezoelectric actuators, embedded in a novel experimental setup. The frequency and amplitude of acceleration, simultaneously measured by the reference and MEMS sensors, were compared with each other in order to investigate the viability and accuracy of the proposed wireless monitoring system. The rotor angular speed was varied from 0 to 300 rpm, and the data acquisitions were repeated six times for each considered condition. The outcomes reveal that the wireless measurement system may be successfully used for vibration monitoring in rotating blades.

The Impact of Vibrating Screen Startup Time on Vibration Amplitude and Energy Consumption in Transient State

“…Vibration measurements using this setup were carried out using a three-axis PCB (piezoelectric) accelerometer, which was mounted on the screen of the screener. Accelerometers have many advantages and are often used for precise vibration measurements and in machine diagnostics [27][28][29][30]. The signal from the sensor was recorded by a NI9232 data acquisition card housed in a CompactDAQ (National Instruments Corporation: Austin, Texas, USA) enclosure and then processed using custom software developed in the LabVIEW environment.…”

A Fully Programmable DAQ Board of Vibrational Signals from IEPE Sensors: Hardware and Software Design, Performance Analysis

“…Therefore, these motivations have pushed the scientific community to look for alternative and customized DAQ solutions, characterized by lower costs, improved performances, and a wider range of functionalities tailored to each specific application (machinery monitoring, structure monitoring, automotive suspension monitoring, etc.) [6][7][8]. Different works were proposed in the scientific literature to overcome these limitations, including low-cost microcontroller sections and commercial inertial sensors, supporting the previous motivations and extending the functionalities and processing capabilities compared to DAQ solutions available on the market.…”

“…Various sensor technologies are available for vibration monitoring, including piezoelectric (PZT) sensors, micro-electromechanical sensors (MEMS), proximity probes, and laser Doppler vibrometers [8][9][10]. PZT sensors are particularly prevalent, as they generate voltages when subjected to deformation.…”

Implementation in Microcontrollers of an Algorithm for the Simple Generation of Speed Profiles in a Stepper Motor and Their Associated Kinematics

“…It is possible to identify oscillations by measuring system displacement, velocity, or acceleration [64]. MEMS accelerometers are devices that have undergone several controlled mechanical tests to characterize their response when exposed to vibrations [63], [65], [66]; some of their attractiveness is related to their small dimensions and low cost compared to those based on the piezoelectric phenomenon [65]. MEMS accelerometers have great potential for extensive application in fault detection or diagnostics of bearings and motors [62], [64], [67]- [78].…”

“…There are a variety of reports on MEMS accelerometers for measuring vibrations. Some of these include circuits with analog output from the company Analog Devices such as ADXL335 [16], [63]- [65], [72], [73], [76], ADXL356 [66], ADXL322 [68], and ADXL203 [77]; those of NXP USA Inc., such as MMA6270QT of [62], and MMA7260Q [43]. Various researchers have also employed those having digital output, some from Analog Devices: ADXL345 [16], [63], [65], [67], [74], and ADXL355 [73]; those of NXP which includes the MMA8451Q [75], and the FXLS8471Q [70]; the LSM6DS3TR of STMicroelectronics [71]; and TDK's MPU-6050 [63], [65], [78].…”