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Field Tests of a Portable MEMS Gravimeter

Gravimeters are used to measure density anomalies under the ground. They are applied in many different fields from volcanology to oil and gas exploration, but present commercial systems are costly and massive. A new type of gravity sensor has been developed that utilises the same fabrication methods...

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Autores principales: Middlemiss, Richard P., Bramsiepe, Steven G., Douglas, Rebecca, Hough, James, Paul, Douglas J., Rowan, Sheila, Hammond, Giles D.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5713048/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29117099
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s17112571
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author Middlemiss, Richard P.
Bramsiepe, Steven G.
Douglas, Rebecca
Hough, James
Paul, Douglas J.
Rowan, Sheila
Hammond, Giles D.
author_facet Middlemiss, Richard P.
Bramsiepe, Steven G.
Douglas, Rebecca
Hough, James
Paul, Douglas J.
Rowan, Sheila
Hammond, Giles D.
author_sort Middlemiss, Richard P.
collection PubMed
description Gravimeters are used to measure density anomalies under the ground. They are applied in many different fields from volcanology to oil and gas exploration, but present commercial systems are costly and massive. A new type of gravity sensor has been developed that utilises the same fabrication methods as those used to make mobile phone accelerometers. In this study, we describe the first results of a field-portable microelectromechanical system (MEMS) gravimeter. The stability of the gravimeter is demonstrated through undertaking a multi-day measurement with a standard deviation of [Formula: see text] ms [Formula: see text]. It is then demonstrated that a change in gravitational acceleration of [Formula: see text] ms [Formula: see text] can be measured as the device is moved between the top and the bottom of a 20.7 m lift shaft with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 14.25. Finally, the device is demonstrated to be stable in a more harsh environment: a [Formula: see text] ms [Formula: see text] gravity variation is measured between the top and bottom of a 275-m hill with an SNR of 15.88. These initial field-tests are an important step towards a chip-sized gravity sensor.
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spelling pubmed-57130482017-12-07 Field Tests of a Portable MEMS Gravimeter Middlemiss, Richard P. Bramsiepe, Steven G. Douglas, Rebecca Hough, James Paul, Douglas J. Rowan, Sheila Hammond, Giles D. Sensors (Basel) Article Gravimeters are used to measure density anomalies under the ground. They are applied in many different fields from volcanology to oil and gas exploration, but present commercial systems are costly and massive. A new type of gravity sensor has been developed that utilises the same fabrication methods as those used to make mobile phone accelerometers. In this study, we describe the first results of a field-portable microelectromechanical system (MEMS) gravimeter. The stability of the gravimeter is demonstrated through undertaking a multi-day measurement with a standard deviation of [Formula: see text] ms [Formula: see text]. It is then demonstrated that a change in gravitational acceleration of [Formula: see text] ms [Formula: see text] can be measured as the device is moved between the top and the bottom of a 20.7 m lift shaft with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 14.25. Finally, the device is demonstrated to be stable in a more harsh environment: a [Formula: see text] ms [Formula: see text] gravity variation is measured between the top and bottom of a 275-m hill with an SNR of 15.88. These initial field-tests are an important step towards a chip-sized gravity sensor. MDPI 2017-11-08 /pmc/articles/PMC5713048/ /pubmed/29117099 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s17112571 Text en © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Middlemiss, Richard P.
Bramsiepe, Steven G.
Douglas, Rebecca
Hough, James
Paul, Douglas J.
Rowan, Sheila
Hammond, Giles D.
Field Tests of a Portable MEMS Gravimeter
title Field Tests of a Portable MEMS Gravimeter
title_full Field Tests of a Portable MEMS Gravimeter
title_fullStr Field Tests of a Portable MEMS Gravimeter
title_full_unstemmed Field Tests of a Portable MEMS Gravimeter
title_short Field Tests of a Portable MEMS Gravimeter
title_sort field tests of a portable mems gravimeter
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5713048/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29117099
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s17112571
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