Accelerometer

Gonzales, Jamil M.
Tengedan, Billy R.

Accelerometer

An accelerometer is an electromechanical device

that will measure acceleration forces.

These forces may be:

1.

Static, like the constant force of gravity pulling at

your feet.

2.

Dynamic - caused by moving or vibrating the

accelerometer.

Common Functions
By measuring the amount of static
acceleration due to gravity, you can
find out the angle the device is tilted at
with respect to the earth.
By sensing the amount of dynamic
acceleration, you can analyze the way
the device is moving.

How do accelerometer
work?
Piezoelectric effect - they contain microscopic
crystal structures that get stressed by
accelerative forces, which causes a voltage to be
generated.
Sensing changes in capacitance - If an
accelerative force moves one of the structures,
then the capacitance will change.
Piezoresistive effect, Hot air bubbles, and Light.

 Number of axes - For most projects, two is

enough. However, if you want to attempt 3d
positioning, you will need a 3 axis
accelerometer, or two 2 axis ones mounted
at right angles.

 Maximum swing - If you only care about

measuring tilt using earth's gravity, a
1.5g accelerometer will be more than
enough. If you are going to use the
accelerometer to measure the motion of a
car, plane or robot, 2g should give you
enough headroom to work with. For a
project that experiences very sudden
starts or stops, you will need one that can
handle 5g or more.

 Sensitivity - Generally speaking, the more sensitivity the

better. This means that for a given change in acceleration,
there will be a larger change in signal. Since larger signal
changes are easier to measure, you will get more accurate
readings.
Bandwidth - This means the amount of times per second
you can take a reliable acceleration reading. For slow
moving tilt sensing applications, a bandwidth of 50Hz will
probably suffice. If you intend to do vibration measurement,
or control a fast moving machine, you will want a
bandwidth of several hundred Hz.

Applications
Engineering

Accelerometers can be used to measure vehicle acceleration.

 Accelerometers can be used to measure vibration on

cars, machines, buildings, process control systems
and safety installations.

 Accelerometers are increasingly being incorporated

into personal electronic devices to detect the
orientation of the device, for example, a display
screen.

Specification
(ADXL335)
From Analog Devices

THEORY OF OPERATION

The ADXL335 is a complete 3axis

acceleration
measurement system. The
ADXL335 has a measurement
range of 3 g minimum. It
contains a polysilicon surfacemicromachined sensor and
signal conditioning circuitry to
implement
an
open-loop
acceleration
measurement
architecture.
The
output
signals are analog voltages
that
are
proportional
to
acceleration.
The
accelerometer can measure
the static acceleration of
gravity
in
tilt-sensing
applications
as
well
as
dynamic
acceleration
resulting from motion, shock,
or vibration.

The sensor is a polysilicon surfacemicromachined structure built on

top of a silicon wafer. Polysilicon
springs suspend the structure over
the surface of the wafer and
provide a resistance against
acceleration forces. Deflection of
the structure is measured using a
differential capacitor that consists
of independent fixed plates and
plates attached to the moving
mass. The fixed plates are driven
by 180 out-of-phase square
waves. Acceleration deflects the
moving mass and unbalances the
differential capacitor resulting in a
sensor output whose amplitude is
proportional
to
acceleration.
Phase-sensitive
demodulation
techniques are then used to
determine the magnitude and
direction of the acceleration.

Block Diagram

Pin Configuration

Pin Description

Sources

https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Components/
SMD/adxl335.pdf