Glossary · Sensors and measurement
Accelerometer
Also known as: Acceleration sensor
German: Beschleunigungssensor
In measurement technology, an accelerometer is a sensor that measures acceleration along one or more axes and converts it into an electrical signal. Common principles are piezoelectric, piezoresistive and capacitive MEMS designs.
- Sensors
In one sentence
An accelerometer measures acceleration along one or more axes; in automation it is mainly used for vibration, shock and tilt monitoring.
Example
A piezoelectric accelerometer mounted on a pump bearing housing delivers the vibration signal that a condition monitoring system analyzes for bearing damage.
How it applies
- Engineering: Choose the principle by frequency range and measuring task. Piezoelectric accelerometers suit dynamic vibration measurement but not static acceleration; capacitive MEMS accelerometers also measure static acceleration such as tilt relative to gravity.
- Installation: Mounting has a strong influence on the result. A stud mount transmits high frequencies better than a magnet or adhesive mount, and the mounting point should be close to the bearing or structure of interest.
- Operation: Accelerometers are a common input for Predictive maintenance, where trends of vibration values are used to plan maintenance before a failure.
- Documentation: Record the sensor type, mounting method, measuring axis and position for each measuring point. Without this, vibration trends from different measurements cannot be compared.
Accelerometer vs. vibration sensor
An accelerometer measures acceleration as a physical quantity. A Vibration sensor is defined by its task; it may contain an accelerometer, but also a velocity or displacement pickup, and often outputs a processed value such as a vibration velocity.