Aviation and Aerospace

Acceleration Measurement

Accelerometers and Force Sensor Solutions

Sour

ce: S

wis

s In

tern

atio

nal A

ir L

ines

2 www.kistler.com

PiezoStar® – Kistler has been growing their own crystals with high sensitivity and

temperature stability for more than ten years

Aviation and Aerospace Acceleration Measurement

Accelerometers are commonly used for

aviation and aerospace applications to

measure and understand performance

criteria and at times force sensors supple-

ment these measurements. Such measure-

ments complement research, development

and testing to ensure that the operational

specifications are satisfied.

Kistler IEPE accelerometers offer many application benefits. For example, PiezoStar® and K-Shear® quartz accelero-meters have very low temperature sensitivity which is ideal for minimizing measurement errors for dynamic temperature applications common in flight testing.

Similar Kistler IEPE accelerometer technol-ogy is also used operationally on the International Space Station (ISS) in con-junction with the control moment gyro that provides attitude control of the ISS.

PiezoBeam® modal accelerometers provide high dynamic range and low mass for ground vibration testing (GVT) while

Kistler's quartz shear shock sensors ac-curately measure transient events as well as high level cyclical events as found in separation events and landing gear/brak-ing testing.

High impedance accelerometers provide measurements to 250 °C (482 °F) and measurement range flexibility with an external charge amplifier for environ-mental testing or measurement of engine vibration.

Aviation and aerospace testing require-ments associated with space payloads and aircraft flight/ground applications demand sensor technologies that span the applications needs – as provided by Kistler accelerometers and force sensors.

Many countries have one or more accredit-

ing bodies responsible for the accreditation

of their nation's laboratories. These accredi-

tation bodies have adopted ISO/IEC 17025

as a uniform standard to accredit testing

and calibration laboratories.

Globally, over forty International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) accredita-tion bodies are included in mutual recogni-

Kistler Product Centers worldwide offer a wide range of capabilities to provide instrumentation solutions to satisfy avia-tion and aerospace application needs, such as:

• ISO/IEC 17025 accredited cali- bration and test laboratories• Custom product development and testing services per specific applica- tion requirements, including RTCA or MIL testing services • ATEX quality assurance notification • CSA certification for hazardous [classified] areas• CUS certification for hazardous [classified] areas• IECEx QAR (Quality Assurance Registration)

Kistler Product Center Capabilities

complementing DAQ systems and analysis software with IEEE 1451.4 compliant Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) technology.

PiezoStar and K-Shear quartz IEPE accelerometers have also been engineered to satisfy demanding cryogenic (–196 °C) applications to test and qualify space based equipment.

Kistler single and three-component piezo-electric force sensors provide the ability to measure imparted forces in structures for mechanical transfer function and FRF measurements as well as environmental testing to simulate the launch environ-ment using force limited vibration.

K-Beam® variable capacitance accelero-meters provide DC response with low noise and stability with temperature to measure low frequency vibrational modes for large structures, motion measurement and dynamic structural response during ground and flight testing.

tion arrangements which greatly enhance the acceptance of data worldwide.The Kistler North American Product Center is ISO/IEC 17025 accredited by ACLASS and Kistler's European Product Centers are ISO/IEC 17025 accredited by the Swiss Accredi-tation Service (SAS Switzerland) or Deutscher Kalibrierdienst (DKD-Ger-many). These accrediting bodies are ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA) signatories ensuring full compliance with ISO/IEC 17025.

Kistler ISO/IEC 17025Accredited Calibration and Testing Services

www.kistler.com 3

Space Payload: Cryogenic Environmental and Modal Testing

Cyrogenic environmental and modal

testing is associated with systems, sub-

systems and components for R&D.

Space based equipment is exposed to en-vironmental conditions including vibration, shock and temperature.

Types 8730A and 8793A500M8 quartz single and triaxial accelerometers provide 10 kHz response at cryogenic tempera-tures. These sensor types have performed in liquid Helium environments.

Modal analysis, at cryo temperatures, is performed with the low mass PiezoStar 100 mV/g, Type 8703A500M8 accelero-meter and Type 9712M011 IEPE internally preloaded force sensor to measure the input force to resolve the FRF's.

GOCE – Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer

Type 8730A500M8Miniature K-Shear®

accelerometer (–196 ... 120 °C)

Type 8793A500M8Triaxial K-Shear® accelero-

meter (–196 ... 120 °C)

Type 8703A50M8PiezoStar® IEPE accelerometer

for cryogenic application (–196 ... 120 °C), ultra high

stability for dynamic temperature application

Type 9712M011 Quartz low impedance

load cells (–196 ... 120 °C)

Imag

e: E

SA –

P. C

arri

l

4 www.kistler.com

Space Payload: Shock and Vibration Testing

Testing of space payloads may utilize

higher g range accelerometers to perform

a variety of testing due to the complexity

of sensor mounting for the application.

Testing includes vibro-acoustic, environ-mental and modal analysis where a single sensor is selected by a measurement resolution compromise. Single axis accel-erometers such as Types 8715A5000M5 and 8730A500... may also be mounted on a cube for triaxial measurement. Triaxial accelerometers may also be used.

At times, accelerometers are not removed after testing, and will reside with the pay-load during the mission.These accelerometers have hermetic titanium construction and have materials which to not out gas.

When modal analysis is performed with separate sensors, Type 8688A... offers high dynamic range and low mass as well as IEEE 1451.4 Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS).

Type 8715A5000M5Miniature through hole

mounted PiezoStar® accele-rometer for vibro-acoustic testing on space structures

under large amplitudes (–55 ... 165 °C); ultra high

stability for dynamic temperature application

Type 8730A500...Miniature K-Shear®

accelerometer for low mass loading (–55 ... 120 °C)

Type 8763B...Triaxial miniature Ceramic Shear IEPE accelerometer

for 50 ... 2 000 g range, op-tional TEDS (–55 ... 120 °C)

Type 8793A500M5Triaxial K-Shear® IEPE ac-

celerometer, optional TEDS, (–55 ... 165 °C)

Type 8688A... Triaxial PiezoBeam®

IEPE accelerometer in 5 g, 10 g or 50 g range for mo-dal testing, optional TEDS

(0 ... 55 °C)

Environmental and ground modal testing of space structure

Commercial satellite

Sour

ce: E

SA

Sour

ce: N

ASA

www.kistler.com 5

Space Payload: Force Limited Vibration

Space payload test vibration specifica-

tions are representative of the enveloped

actual flight environment.

In actual flight, input acceleration is notched at the payload resonant frequen-cies, as the mechanical impedance of the structural mount and payload is similar.

In shaker testing, space payload interface forces are higher at the payload reso-nances because the shaker has very high mechanical impedance and is controlled by the enveloped interface acceleration.

By measuring and limiting the reaction forces between the payload and the slip table, the acceleration at the payload resonances will be notched; preventing over testing which could damage expen-sive space payloads.

Interface force measurement is performed by a force dynamometer to resolve the forces (and moments) during vibration testing. Kistler 3-component force sensors are sandwiched between 2 metal rings. The ring assembly is attached to the slip table and to the payload under test to measure the reaction forces.

Types 9027C... and 9077C... are exam-ples of un-preloaded 3-component force sensors. Types 9327C... and 9377C... are externally preloaded force links which interface directly to the force rings and do not require additional preloading.

Kistler 3-component force sensors provide extremely low crosstalk resulting in more accurate measurements. These quartz PE force sensors can be easily ranged with an external charge amplifier to support vari-ous payload sizes.

Type 8793A500 IEPE triaxial accelerome-ters complement FLV testing and may include optional IEEE 1451.4 Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS).

3-component force links mounted on base plate which is connected to the shaker. A force ring is mount-ed to this load cells sandwiched between a top and bottom ring. The space payload is mounted on the top ring for the FLV-test

Diagram of force ring for a force limited vibration test

Type 9027C... 3-component force sensor

quartz sensor with extended maesuring range, high rigidity

and minimal crosstalk

Type 9077C...3-component force sensor

quartz sensor with extended maesuring range, high rigidity

and minimal crosstalk

Type 8793A500Triaxial K-Shear® IEPE

accelerometer, optional TEDS (–55 ... 165 °C)

Sour

ce: E

SA

Type 9327C...3-component force link,

extended measuring range, high rigidity and minimal

crosstalk

Type 9377C...Quartz force link,

extended measuring range, high rigidity and minimal

crosstalk

UUT mounting ring

UUT mounting bolt hole (6 pl)

1693Asp8 cable terminated into 5429 distr box, 12 each.

12

3

4

567

8

9

10

1112

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Y

X

Z(down)

X

Y

Z

1601Bsp5 cable 36 each1743 BNC Tee (connects physically to 5010B0 amp input BNC), 12 each

9068B or 9078B load washers, 6 each. (no's 1-3 & 10-12)

9067B or 9077B loadwashers, 6 each (no's 4-9)

Tosignalconditioners

6 www.kistler.com

Space Payload and Launch Vehicle Shock and Mid-Far Field Pyroshock

Wide bandwidth and high-level shocks re-

sult from mechanical and explosive separa-

tion events. Quantifying these shock levels

is required to ensure structural integrity and

survivability of equipment to support the

mission requirements.

IEPE quartz accelerometers such as Type 8742A… and 8743A... provide over 100 kHz natural frequency to accurately measure such wide-band events. 3-component measure-ments are performed by mounting the shock sensors on an electrically isolated cube. Type 8044 is a high impedance shock accelerome- ter which can be mounted similar to Type 8742A… however an external charge amplifi-er is needed to range the measurement chain.

Investigation of pyroshock initiated separation processes

Type 8742A... or 8743A... for up to 100 000 g range

Environmental Test – Components and Subsystems

Environmental testing subjects test items

to one, some, or all of the following:

temperature, humidity, altitude/pressure,

sinusoidal vibration, random vibration

and shock.

Such testing is performed to verify pro-duct design, manufacturability and reliability as well as to ensure survivability in the application.

Type 8703A...PiezoStar® IEPE accelerometer

for high temperature appli-cations up to 165 °C

with 50 g or 250 g range

Type 8278A...Ultra miniature Ceramic

Shear accelerometer with charge output for

up to 180 °C

Type 8778A500Ultra miniature Ceramic

Shear IEPE accelerometer; 0,4 gram weight

Type 8714B Miniature Ceramic Shear,

high temperature IEPE, through-hole accelerometer

Shaker and environmental chamber

Miniature accelerometers such as Types 8278A500, 8778A5000 and 8714B can be mounted in the tightest locations and have low mass loading.

PiezoStar Type 8703A500 provides the lowest temperature sensitivity, minimizing temperature errors in both control and response accelerometers.

Type 8044High impact quartz accelerometer So

urce

: NA

SA

www.kistler.com 7

Ground Vibration Test (GVT)

Modal/structural tests – systems, subsys-

tems and components.

Triaxial modal accelerometers, like PiezoBeam Type 8688A… and CeramicShear Type 8762A… offer inexpensivesolutions for SIMO or MIMO structuraltesting.

Such investigations typically require a large number of high performing acceleroometers at low cost. Kistler modal accelerometers have three measurement ranges of 5 g, 10 g and 50 g and offer an accurate frequency and phase response in the specified frequency range.

Modal analysis is regularly performed onthe Space Shuttle. Computing the resultsto original baseline data is used to detectstructural changes and potential damage.

Types 8688A… and 8772A… provide anoptional IEEE 1451.4 Transducer ElectronicData Sheet (TEDS). TEDS provides auto-matic transfer of sensor parameters toTEDS capable signal conditioning minimiz-ing transcription errors and record keeping tasks.

Space Shuttle Discovery

Modal accelerometers mounted to Space Shuttle body flap

Type 8772A...Uniaxial PiezoSmart® cube accelerometer,

5, 10 and 50 g range for modal testing, optional TEDS

available (0 ... 65 °C)

Type 8688A...Triaxial PiezoBeam® IEPE ac-celerometer in 5 g, 10 g or

50 g range for modal testing, optional TEDS available

(0 ... 55 °C)

Type 8762A...Triaxial annual Ceramic Shear

light weight IEPE mode accelerometer; in 5 g, 10 g or 50 g range for modal testing

available (0 ... 65 °C)

Sour

ce: N

ASA

Sour

ce: N

ASA

Type 8640A...PiezoBeam® IEPE accelerom-eter in 5 g, 10 g or 50 g range

for modal testing, optional TEDS is available

(0 ... 55 °C)

8 www.kistler.com

Type 8703A50M1 Uniaxial high temperature PiezoStar® IEPE accelero-

meter, ultra high stability for dynamic temperature

application (–55 ... 165 °C)

Type 8766A...H Triaxial miniature PiezoStar® accelerometer, 250 and 500 g

(–55 ... 165 °C)

Type 8765A250M5Triaxial PiezoStar® miniature IEPE accelerometer; ultra high

stability for dynamic temperature application

(–55 ... 165 °C)

Type8794A500M5Triaxial K-Shear® miniature low profile IEPE accelero-

meter (–55 ... 165 °C)

Flight Vibration Testing

Quartz IEPE Accelerometers like Type

8794A500M5 historically have delivered

good performance in dynamic tempera-

tures common to Flight Testing.

However, new PiezoStar accelerometers,

like Types 8765A250M5, 8766A...H and

8703A...M5, offer the lowest temperature

sensitivity.

Accelerometers mounted on the outside of the aircraft must have a low profile and low drag. Quartz triaxial accelerometers like Type 8794A500M5 provide such benefits for on-wing mounting.For accelerometers mounted outside the aircraft it is common to use a sandable 2-part rapid cure epoxy over the sensor and cabling to reduce drag.Accelerometers are also mounted throughout the aircraft including the fu-selage, control surfaces, inside wings and near avionics.

K-Beam variable capacitance accelerome-ters like Type 8315A... are low profile and provide DC response to measure in-flight motion as well as lower frequency vibra-tion such as flutter.

Sour

ce: N

ASA

Sour

ce: S

wis

s In

tern

atio

nal A

ir L

ines

Airbus A340, Swiss International Air Lines

Flutter test under flight operation

Type 8315A... K-Beam® light weight low profile capacitive accelero-

meter for low frequency ranges down to DC

(–55 ... 85 °C)

www.kistler.com 9

Type 8703A250M1Uniaxial high temperature PiezoStar® IEPE accelero-

meter, ultra high stability for dynamic temperature

application (–55 ... 165 °C)

Type 8742A5Shock accelerometer

(–55 ... 120 °C)

Type 8838/40Axial/lateral rotational

accelerometer for angular acceleration up to

150 krad/s² (–55 ... 120 °C)

Landing Gear/Brake Testing

Flight and ground based testing.

Landing exerts high level forces and shocks onto the landing gear strut and aircraft structure. PiezoStar single axis accelerometer Type 8703A250M1 pro-vides 10 kHz response as well as stability with temperature to assess strut integrity.Quartz rotational accelerometers providea durable solution with the capabilityto reject high level linear accelerations toresolve the torsional components whenlanding the aircraft.

Maintenance of landing gear/braking iscritical to safety. Aircraft brake dynametertesting simulates actual operating condi-tions including taxiing, take-offs, andlandings. The resulting high-level cyclicvibration may not be easily measured withconventional shock sensors.Kistler Type 8742A5 provides a durable solution suitable for both transient events and high level cyclic vibrations. Such sen-sors are typically be mounted on a cube for 3-axis measurement.

Aircraft landing gear/brakes

Sour

ce: N

ASA

Sour

ce: N

ASA

10 www.kistler.com

Product Overview

Type Range g

Sens. mV/g

Freq. Res.(5 %)

Temperature °C

Threshold g

Mass gram

Gnd Iso

Axes TEDS

Cry

ogen

ic

Payl

oad

Test

Shoc

k

Envi

ro T

est

Gro

und

Test

Flig

ht T

est

8730A500M8 ±500 10 2 ... 10 000 –195 ... 120 0,02 1,9 w/pad 1 No

8793A500M8 ±500 10 2,5 ... 10 000 –195 ... 120 0,002 11 w/pad 3 No

8703A50M8 ±50 100 1 ... 10 000 –195 ... 120 0,0012 10 w/pad 1 No

8715A5000M5 ±5 000 1 2 ... 10 000 –55 ... 165 0,04 2,1 Yes 1 Yes

8730A500 ±500 10 2 ... 10 000 –55 ... 120 0,02 1,9 w/M1 1 No

8763B500 ±500 10 1 ... 10 000 –55 ... 120 0,01 3,3 w/pad 3 Yes

8793A500 ±500 10 2,5 ... 10 000 –55 ... 120 0,002 11 w/pad 3 Yes

8688A5 ±5 1 000 0,5 ... 3 000 –40 ... 55 0,00012 6,7 w/pad 3 Yes

8742A20 ±20 000 0,25 1 ... 10 000 –55 ... 120 0,5 4,5 w/pad 1 No

8044 ±30 000 –0,3 pC/g 0 ... 8 000 –195 ... 200 0,07 7 w/pad 1 No

8703A250M1 ±250 20 0,5 ... 10 000 –55 ... 165 0,006 8,1 Yes 1 No

8278A500 ±500 10 1 ... 10 000 –75 ... 180 Based on CA

0,7 No 1 No

8778A500 ±500 10 2 ... 9 000 –55 ... 120 0,001 0,4 Yes 1 No

8714B500M5 ±500 10 1 ... 10 000 –55 ... 165 0,003 4,2 Yes 1 Yes

8762A5 ±5 1 000 0,5 ... 6 000 0 ... 65 0,0003 23 Yes 3 Yes

8772A5 ±5 1 000 1 ... 5 000 0 ... 65 0,0004 8 Yes 1 Yes

8765A250M5 ±250 20 1 ... 9 000 –55 ... 160 0,002 6,4 Yes 3 No

8794A500M5 ±50 20 2,5 ... 10 000 –55 ... 165 0,002 7,6 w/pad 3 No

8703A50M1 ±50 100 0,5 ... 10 000 –55 ... 160 0,0012 10 Yes 1 No

8315A100 ... 8315A0AC01

±100 40 0 ... 1 000 –55 ... 85 0,0039 12 Yes 1 No

8742A5 ±5 000 1 1 ... 10 000 –55 ... 120 0,13 4,5 w/pad 1 No

8766A250AH 250 20 0,5 ... 10 000 –55 ... 165 0,006 3,7 w/pad 3 Yes

8766A500AH 500 10 0,5 ... 10 000 –55 ... 165 0,01 4,0 w/pad 3 Yes

8640A5 5 1 000 0,5 ... 3 000 –40 ... 55 0,0014 3,5 w/pad 1 Yes

8838/40 ±150 krad/s2

34 µV/rad/s2

1 ... 2 000 –55 ... 120 4 rad/s2 18,5 Yes 1 No

Accelerometers

www.kistler.com 11

Force Sensors

Type Z Range, kN

Z Sen. pC/N

X, Y Range

kN

X, Y Sen. pC/N

Temperature °C

Crosstalk Fz –> Fx, Fy

%

Pre-loaded

Axes

Cry

ogen

ic

Payl

oad

Test

Shoc

k

Envi

ro-T

est

Gro

und

Test

Flig

ht T

est

9027C ±8 –3,8 ±4 –7,8 –40 ... 120 <±0,5 No 3

9327C ±8 –3,8 ±4 –7,8 –40 ... 120 <1 Yes 3

9077C ±150 –2 ±75 –4,2 –40 ... 120 <±0,5 No 3

9377C ±150 –1,95 ±75 –3,9 –40 ... 120 <1 Yes 3

9712M011 –22 N, +66 N 76 mV/N –– (1) –– (1) –196 ... 120 –– (1) Yes 1 (1) Does not apply to a single component force sensor

Selected sensors and measurement ranges are shown in the tables. Re-fer to Kistler Accelerometer Catalog (900-380) or www.kistler.com for the entire Kistler product portfolio and all measurement ranges.

Technical Literature

Accelerometer Catalog 900-380 PiezoStar Crystals – A New Dimension in Sensor Technology 920-240 PiezoStar Accelerometers – A Unique Piezoelectric Measuring Technology for Vibration and Dynamic Temperature Applications 700-340 Force and Moment Measurements in Aerodynamics 920-363 NASA Discovery Modal Test 920-243

Additional Information

PiezoStar®, K-Shear®, K-Beam® and PiezoBeam® are registered trademarks of Kistler Holding AG

12 www.kistler.com

700-

360e

-01.

11

M

at2

000

©

2011

, Kis

tler

Gro

up

FranceKistler FranceZA de Courtabœuf 115, avenue du Hoggar91953 Les Ulis cedexTel. +33 1 69 18 81 81info.fr@kistler.com

GermanyKistler Instrumente GmbHDaimlerstrasse 673760 OstfildernTel. +49 711 34 07 0 info.de@kistler.com

ItalyKistler Italia s.r.l.Via Ruggero di Lauria, 12/B20149 MilanoTel. +39 02 481 27 51sales.it@kistler.com

NetherlandsKistler B.V. NederlandLeeghwaterstraat 252811 DT ReeuwijkTel. +31 182 304 444 sales.nl@kistler.com

Korea, Republic ofKistler Korea Co., Ltd.Gyeonggi Venture AnyangTechnical College Center 801572-5, Anyang-Dong, Manan-Gu,Anyang-City, Gyeonggi-Do 430-731Tel. +82 31 465 6013sales.kr@kistler.com

SingaporeKistler Instruments (Pte) Ltd.50 Bukit Batok Street 23#04-06 Midview BuildingSingapore 659578Tel. +65 6316 7331sales.sg@kistler.com

TaiwanKistler Branch Office in Taiwan5F.-17, No. 6, Lane 180Sec. 6, Mincyuan E. RoadTaipei 114Tel. +886 2 7721 2121sales.tw@kistler.com

ThailandKistler Instrument (Thailand) Co., Ltd.26/56 TPI Tower, 20th FloorNanglingee Rd., (Chan Tat Mai Rd.)Thungmahamek, SathornBangkok 10120Tel. +66 2678 6779-80 sales.thai@kistler.com

Europe

AustriaKistler GmbHLemböckgasse 49f1230 WienTel. +43 1 867 48 67 0sales.at@kistler.com

Czech Republic/SlovakiaKistler, s.r.o.Zelený pruh 99/1560140 00 Praha 4Tel. +420 296 374 878sales.cz@kistler.com

DenmarkKistler Nordic DKGrønlandsvej 44681 HerfølgeTel. +45 70 20 85 66info.dk@kistler.com

FinlandKistler Nordic ABSärkiniementie 300210 HelsinkiTel. +358 9 612 15 66info.fi@kistler.com

Asia

China, People’s Republic ofKistler China Ltd.Unit D, 24/F Seabright Plaza9-23 Shell Street North PointHong KongTel. +852 25 915 930sales.cn@kistler.com

IndiaKistler Instruments (India) Pvt .Ltd.TA-3,3rd floor, Crown Plaza,Sector-15 A, Faridabad - 121 007Haryana/IndiaTel. +91 129 4113 555sales.in@kistler.com

JapanKistler Japan Co., Ltd.23rd floor, New Pier Takeshiba North Tower1-11-1, Kaigan, Minato-kuTokyo 105-0022Tel. +81 3 3578 0271sales.jp@kistler.com

Kistler Worldwide

SpainKistler Ibérica S.L, UnipersonalC/Pallars, 6 Planta 208402 GranollersBarcelonaTel. +34 93 860 33 24info.es@kistler.com

Sweden/NorwayKistler Nordic ABAminogatan 34431 53 MölndalTel. +46 31 871 566info.se@kistler.com

Switzerland/LiechtensteinKistler Instrumente AG Eulachstrasse 228408 WinterthurTel. +41 52 224 12 32sales.ch@kistler.com

United KingdomKistler Instruments Ltd.13 Murrell Green Business ParkHook, Hampshire RG27 9GRTel. +44 1256 74 15 50sales.uk@kistler.com

America

USA/Canada/MexicoKistler Instrument Corp.75 John Glenn DriveAmherst, NY 14228-2171Tel. +1 716 691 5100sales.us@kistler.com

Australia

AustraliaKistler Instruments Australia Pty LtdUnit 1.23/202 Jells Rd.Wheelers Hill, Victoria 3150Tel. +61 3 9560 5055sales.au@kistler.com

Other Countries

Kistler Instrumente AGExport SalesEulachstrasse 22, 8408 WinterthurSwitzerlandTel. +41 52 224 11 11sales.export@kistler.com

Headquarters

SwitzerlandKistler GroupEulachstrasse 22, 8408 WinterthurTel. +41 52 224 11 11Fax +41 52 224 14 14info@kistler.com

www.kistler.com