RUNNING HEAD: AN ANGULAR-ACCELERATION SYSTEM FOR GEOPHYSICS 1

A micromachined angular-acceleration sensor for geophysical applications

Hahnbee Lee

September 21, 2017

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Abstract

In the scientific journal A micromachined angular-acceleration sensor for geophysical

applications, physicists from the Imperial College of London successfully created an angular-

acceleration detector that can be applied to be either used as a gravity gradiometer or angular

accelerometer. The advantages of this system is that it is built off of a micro electromechanical

system (MEMS) that is used to measure differences and gradients and thus this sensor will be

built at a much smaller scale and at a cheaper price. Additionally, the real world application of

these sensors can be used to detect oil and gas deposits deep in the earth. They can also act to

detect earthquakes at a more precise level than seismometers because in the case of seismometers

they cannot detect shifts in the earth due to acceleration due to gravity. Overall, it will help

scientists, researchers and geophysicists to more easily collect data about our planet and in space.
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Materials & Methods

Like previously stated, the angular-acceleration system can either be applied as an

angular accelerometer or a gravity gradiometer. The machine consists of two weights at the end

of a weightless bar that is suspended from the ground from rotary suspension similar to a spring

(Figure 1). The weights oscillate when an angular acceleration is asserted on mechanism, and

thus this creates a torque around the pivot. And so, this mechanism continues to rotate, but due to

gravity gradients a gravity gradient torque occurs on the mechanism in relation to the object that

is affecting the mechanisms mass and location. With the usage of the previously mentioned

micro-electronics which are used to measure the changes in torque, we can use the equation

= 2 2 ; where g = change in gravity, z = parallel to gravity vector, = spring
0

constant, d -= half of the bars length, = in plane angular acceleration.

Also, to make sure the gravity gradiometer is not interfered by angular accelerations in

the surrounding areas, two identical gravity gradiometer chips are placed on a parallel field,

sensing and calibrating with each other to reject any outside angular acceleration interferences.

Tests were then made to test how accurate the machinery was. A mechanical crank rocker

(Figure 2) was rocked nearby the system to observe angular acceleration interference and the

transfer function of the sensor (Figure 3a). A noise test was also made to make sure that the

device will not be interfered by any noise (Figure 3b).

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Figure 1 The mechanism: weights on the end of a bar on a spring.

Figure 2 The lever arm experiment used to detect angular acceleration.

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Figure 3 Measurements of interferences with angular acceleration and noise.

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Analysis

This experiment was proven successful because this team of physicists were able to

successfully create a cost and size effective gravity gradiometer using micro electromechanical

components. They were able to prove this by conducting experiments where real life effects are

tested on their mechanism. They applied a sound test to see if the accelerometers can negate the

noise and proved that there was a noise floor of 0.003 rad/s2/(sqrt)Hz within a bandwidth of

0.1Hz to 10Hz (Figure 3b). They were also able to prove that angular acceleration did not have

an effect on the accuracy of the device (Figure 3a).

All of this information is applicable to my foreseeable experiment because I plan on

creating a communication system using the naturally occurring oscillation caused by the force of

gravity. And so, if I were to conduct this experiment it would be necessary for me to create a

gravity gradiometer similar to the one made in this experiment. This experiment also showed me

that in order to measure my angular differences I could use an angular accelerometer (Figure 4),

it would be relatively accurate and it will be easy to process all of the data electronically.

Figure 4 Angular Accelerometers that I can implement to measure difference in angles.

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References

Liu, H., & Pike, W. T. (2016). A micromachined angular-acceleration sensor for geophysical

applications. Applied Physics Letters,109(17), 173506. doi:10.1063/1.4966547