Noncontacting Vibration Measurement Using a Massless Interferometric Accelerometer
Abstract An interferometric strain measurement technique is extended to vibration measurements. The technique is based on two micro-indentations placed on an object surface using a combination of diffraction and interference of laser light. Relative displacements between the two indentations and derivatives of in-plane and out-of-plane vibrational displacements are measured by analyzing the phase shift of the interference fringe patterns. The technique can be used to study bending stress and deflection problems in vibrational beams, plates and shells. The displacement derivatives are measured in real time, from which time derivatives or the velocity and acceleration of the displacement derivative as well as vibrational frequency can be determined. The technique has advantages over an accelerometer in that it is noncontacting and does not require attachment of the transducer to the object which could alter the object behavior. In addition, it has many desirable features such as being extremely compact, massless, and applicable to hostile environments such as those associated with production and elevated temperatures.