Primary shock calibration with fast linear motor drive

This paper describes the implementation of a new, fast and precise linear motor drive for PTB’s primary shock calibration device. This device is used for monopole shock calibrations of accelerometers using the “hammer-anvil” principle according to ISO 16063-13:2001 and operates in a peak acceleration range from 50 m/s² to 5000 m/s². <br />The main challenge of implementing this kind of shock generator is accelerating a hammer to velocities up to 5 m/s within distances of less than 70 mm. <br />In this paper, a few helpful improvements are described which lead to an enhanced repeatability of pulse generation over the full shock intensity range as well as a substantial decrease of harmonic disturbing signals.