DEVELOPMENT, EVALUATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A SURFACE-MOUNT, HIGH-G ACCELEROMETER

Abstract

The Endevco model 7270A high-g accelerometer has been used successfully in numerous flight tests at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. The accelerometer is available in ranges as low as 6,000 g’s up to 200,000 g’s so they can be used in a variety of situations to measure setback, set forward and balloting in artillery rounds, mortars and tank projectiles to name a few. However, one of the disadvantages of the model 7270A is its physical size, in the era of die level and surface mount components, the 7270A is relatively large. The sensing element is packaged inside a metal case with screw holes for mounting to a rigid surface. In addition, there are wires protruding from the case for electrical connections. In the area of munitions, small cavities don’t always afford the room for a large gauge. It was desirable to repackage the die in a smaller container and make it a surface mount component for a printed circuit board. A contract was developed for Endevco to repackage the die and to develop a tri-axial version with the repackaged die. The newly developed accelerometers were tested and evaluated by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.