Office National D'etudes Et De Recherches Aerospatiales

Pierre Touboul

Alain M Bernard

Measuring instruments, such as ultra-sensitive accelerometers, are attached to a support inlcuding three pairs of electrodynamic or piezoelectric actuators. Each actuator pair is associated with one respective common axis of a reference trirectangular system. An electronic speed and phase slaver chains the actuators to induce translational and rotational accelerations in the support. Electrical signals delivered from the instruments to be calibrated are analyzed by synchronous demodulations and processed to determine sensitivity, orientation and position of the instruments in relation to the reference axes. The instrument support can be carried on-board a satellite.

Device for calibrating ultra-sensitive accelerometers

An acceleromter having a test weight movable in relation to a frame includes three pairs of mutually electrically orthogonal conducting parallel faces (1-6). Electrodes connected to the frame form capacitors with faces of the test weight. The six faces form two sets of three faces (1-3) and (4-6). The faces of a set form a first conductor insulated from the faces of the second set which form a second conductor. Position sensing voltages are applied to first and second conductors through very flexible leads (7 and 8). Position control voltages derived from the position sensing voltages are applied to the electrodes.

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Guyancourt, France

Pierre Touboul