Watt’s Linkage Based High Sensitivity Large Band Monolithic Seismometers and Accelerometers for Geophysics and Seismology

Abstract eng:
In the last two decades the need of mechanical seismometers (and accelerometers) for very different typologies of application is largely increased as well as their requirements: large measurement bands (10−8 ÷ 103 𝐻𝑧), very high sensitivities (down to 10−14 𝑚/√𝐻𝑧), high directivities (> 104 ), compactness (< 10 𝑐𝑚 (𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒)), lightness (< 2 𝑘𝑔), high thermal stability very often coupled with ultra-high vacuum (< 10−5 𝑃𝑎) and/or cryogenic compatibility. For this task, strong efforts are being produced for the development of sensors able to globally satisfy the above quoted requirements. Among the different mechanical architectures present in literature, the Watt’s linkage is one of the most promising for the implementation of mechanical seismometers and accelerometers (horizontal, vertical and angular). In this paper, we present a generalized model describing the dynamic behavior of monolithic seismometers and accelerometers based on the UNISA Folded Pendulum, an inertial sensor based on an innovative version of the Watt’s linkage architecture, optimized for low frequency characterization of sites and structures. Typical applications of this class of monolithic sensors are in the field of earthquake engineering, seismology, geophysics, civil engineering (buildings, bridges, dams, etc.), and, in general, in scientific research and in all the applications requiring sensors characterized by large bands and low frequency performances coupled with high sensitivities.

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