ASC Acceleration and Rotation Rate Sensors, and Inertial Measurement Units

Advanced Sensors & Calibration (ASC) designs and manufactures angular rate sensors (gyroscopes), IMUs (inertial measurement units), and capacitive, piezoresistive and piezoelectric accelerometers, as well as 6-DOF inertial sensors.

The company’s customisable products are used in a wide range of industries such as aerospace, automotive, rail, windpower, monitoring, and agriculture.

Test sensors for the aerospace industry

ASC sensors are used for testing ground vibration, flight and structural analysis in the aerospace sector.

Ground vibration testing (GVT) measures the dynamic response characteristics of an airframe using multiple shakers and accelerometers such as natural frequencies, mode shapes, and damping ratios, to provide critical information for flight safety assessments.

In flight flutter tests, critical speeds are determined and shifted to higher velocities. In the wind tunnel, the aeroplane is instrumented with accelerometers at the extremities of the airframe to detect the vibrations experienced during flutter tests.

During modal analysis or component testing applications, ASC sensors measure accelerometers, vibration amplitude and phase response to the excitation at multiple locations, and frequency response functions (FRF) are calculated.

Sensors for health and usage monitoring systems

Vibration monitoring using accelerometers is a well-known predictive maintenance technique used for preventing catastrophic failures of rotating components such as helicopter gearboxes.

Health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS) are used in monitoring gearboxes and to detect incipient bearing and gear failures.

Navigational gyroscopes for adverse environments

ASC’s precision navigation and pointing gyroscopes are made of robust silicon, microelectromechanical (MEMS) vibrating-ring elements.

The gyros are used typically in rugged environments due to their high-shock and vibration rejection capabilities. ASC gyroscopes are offered in both uniaxial and triaxial models and both come with a range of 75°/s to 900°/s.

Inertial measurement units for measuring motion

ASC offers inertial measurement units (IMUs) that comprise a six-axis sensor that measures linear and angular motion using a combination of gyroscopes and accelerometers.

The company’s MEMS-based IMUs incorporate an assortment of precision inertial sensors, including a three-axis accelerometer and a three-axis gyroscope.

The IMU 7.X.Y system uses either the LN (low-noise) or MF (medium-frequency) MEMS capacitive accelerometers, featuring an acceleration range from ±2g to ±50g. The unit features MEMS vibrating ring gyros with a rate range from ±75°/s to ±900°/s.

Sensor repair and calibration services

In April 2013, ASC received accreditation from German industry body DAkkS to provide accelerometer calibrations in accordance with DIN EN ISO / IEC 17025: 2005. The company offers additional services such as maintenance, repair and calibration for proprietary and third-party products.

The company also offers accelerometers produced by Honeywell, and gyroscopes produced by Systron Donner Inertial in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.