High Temperature Charge Mode Accelerometers

Charge mode output accelerometers from PCB^® use piezo-ceramic sensing elements that output an electrostatic charge signal proportional to the applied acceleration. These sensors can operate at extremely high temperatures because they do not contain the built-in signal conditioning electronics that limit the temperature range of ICP^® accelerometers. Charge mode sensors are used in the testing of gas and steam turbines, jet engines, high power motors, exhaust systems and automobile engines where temperatures can range from 500° F (260° C) to 1200° F (649° C).

External signal conditioning is required to interface charge mode measurement signals to readout or recording instruments. The charge output signals can be conditioned with either a laboratory style charge amplifier or an in-line fixed charge converter. Each of these products convert the charge output to a low impedance voltage signal.

It is important to note that measurement resolution and low-frequency response for charge mode sensing systems are dependent upon the noise floor and discharge time constant characteristics of the signal conditioning and readout devices used.

Applications