How to calculate the acceleration of a longitudinal wave (seismics)

[shmolky]

My question is - is it appropriate to calculate the acceleration of a wave passing through an accelerometer as a=Aw²sin(wt). I've assumed my maximum amplitude, A (in meters) is no more than that created by my vibrating device (or at least at that order of magnitude, 10um). I basically created a spreadsheet in excel that uses the wave equation where I've calculated w for 1kHz and used times from about 0 to .001 seconds (one period). Is it safe to assume 'a' is in m/s²? so that I can divide 'a' by 9.8 and have 'a' in terms of g's? The absolutely magnitude of the numbers (again assuming m/s²) vary from about 0 to about 400.

This is part of some master's research I'm doing in geology and geophysics, I've built a small scale seismic acquisition system that uses accelerometers, a magnetostrictive vibrator, and a digital acquisition card to output signals to the vibrator and input them to the accelerometers (I'm oversimplifying here for brevity).

I'd like to have a ballpark value for expected voltages received on the accelerometers and thus need to know the acceleration the accelerometers will feel.

If anyone has feedback on whether or not it's appropriate to consider the magnitude of the vibrators vibrations as the amplitude going through my media that would be very helpful as well.

 

[LightHero]

It is appropriate to calculate the acceleration of a wave passing through an accelerometer as a=Aw2sin(wt). However, it is important to note that the units of 'a' must be in m/s2 in order to properly divide 'a' by 9.8 and have 'a' in terms of g's. Additionally, it is safe to assume that the maximum amplitude, A (in meters) is no more than that created by your vibrating device. Regarding the expected voltages received on the accelerometers, it is difficult to provide a ballpark value without additional information such as the type of accelerometer being used and the type of media the wave is travelling through. It is also important to consider whether or not the magnitude of the vibrator's vibrations is sufficient to be considered as the amplitude going through the media in question.