Development of an optical accelerometer

Abstract

In this project an optical mount-on accelerometer is designed, that measures acceleration of many vibration systems. A spring-mass-damper system with a seismic mass vibrating under base excitation is built, mass motion is sensed by an optical sensor, the output signal ( pulses ) is sent to a PIC – microcontroller to be treated. A liquid crystal display (LCD ) views the measured acceleration , and a computer software ( matlab ) is used to plot the vibrating systems displacement curve. This device will be used as a laboratory device to help students understanding accelerometers usage and vibration measurements.