Development and Testing of a Reference Installation Mock-up for Verification and Calibration of Shock Acceleration Transducers

Requirements for the accuracy and width of measurement ranges of shock accelerations increase as the production base in science and technology becomes more complex. In this regard, a relevant metrological task is to reduce errors in the verification and calibration of shock accelerometers. One way to increase the accuracy of shock acceleration measurements is to reduce the errors in reference means that arise when reproducing and transferring units of shock acceleration.

The reproduction of shock accelerations is implemented in many installations operating on different physical principles. However, none of the existing installations, nor a series of identical installations, can cover the entire range of peak acceleration values and pulse durations encountered in practice. Domestic metrological laboratories need a reference installation capable of covering the range of medium-intensity shock accelerations, which is widely required for verification and calibration of shock accelerometers, as well as for testing during the development and production of such equipment.

The objectives of the research are to develop, manufacture and test a shock installation mock-up that, after validation, could be used as a prototype of a reference shock installation for verification and calibration of shock acceleration transducers.

The starting point of the research was a review of the characteristics and capabilities of the State Primary Special Standard of the unit of acceleration during shock motion GET 57–84, working standards of the 2nd class (shock testing installation and vibration exciters operating in shock mode), and global analogues. Based on the analysis of literature data, an optimal scheme with a pneumatic piston was selected, implemented in the design of the shock installation for the secondary calibration method of accelerometers SE‑201 (manufacturer: SPEKTRA Schwingungstechnik und Akustik GmbH). Equipment used in the research: data acquisition module D002 (manufacturer: GTLAB LLC); charge conditioning amplifier NEXUS2692-A (manufacturer: Brüel & Kjær Sound and Vibration Measurement); accelerometer 1C301HA (manufacturer: GTLAB LLC). Methods of numerical simulation and numerical calculation, experimental and measurement methods were implemented. Software used: GTL (developed by GTLAB LLC); Ansys LS-DYNA (developed by ANSYS, Inc.).

Models of the hammer and anvil (two colliding bodies) with masses of 1 kg each made of hardened 40X steel were developed, manufactured and tested. Based on them, a shock installation mock-up was developed and manufactured. The results of numerical simulation of the impact interaction between the hammer and the anvil on the developed mock-up were experimentally confirmed: the shock installation reproduces the required shock pulse modes corresponding to a working standard of the 2nd class (peak shock accelerations in the range up to 10⁵ m/s² with pulse durations from 0.1 ms). The influence of plastic deformations of the hammer and anvil on the amplitude and duration of the shock pulse was estimated. Dependences of peak accelerations and pulse durations on the material and thickness of damping pads and on the drop height of the hammer are presented. Finally, the capabilities of the developed installation to serve as a prototype of a reference shock installation for verification and calibration of shock acceleration transducers are shown. In continuation of the topic described in the article, the author has planned research aimed at optimizing the hammer and anvil models, for example, reducing their weight. The influence of the geometry and mass of the anvil on its natural frequencies will also be studied. The possibility of incorporating a laser interferometer into the reference installation to provide calibration and verification by an absolute method is being considered.

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