What Factors Should I Consider when Building an Accelerometer Vibration Circuit?

[Shaggy1505]

Good afternoon. I am currently attempting to build a circuit for my university dissertation. I am looking to build a cct that would use an accelerometer to sense vibration from say a gearbox of a helicopter to a storage device before being transferred via Bluetooth to a laptop. My questions are. 1) would this be feasible 2) how and what materials would I require in order to build a prototype? Thank you very much in advance for your time over this

 

[phinds]

Uh ... you've chosen this for a dissertation and you have no idea where to start or if it's even possible? Sounds weird. What research HAVE you done? What have you found so far?

 

[Shaggy1505]

I know it’s possible as it is already in use to some capacity on different aircraft. Obviously I need to build a prototype and can’t exactly purchase a Wildcat aircraft so I am asking for ideas as to how I would produce a example on a smaller scale. I have carried out in depth research into areas of the Wildcat HMA aircraft that would benefit from upgrade or new design. I understand the use of accelerometers for sensing vibration but I am unsure how I would integrate this into a cct board and what components I would need to build a cct board and storage option before transferring it via Bluetooth to a laptop for the purpose of producing a prototype

 

[JRMichler]

Expanding what phinds said. Before you even start looking for a sensor or components for a board, you need to know:

Frequencies of interest - minimum to maximum.
Approximate amplitude of vibration - minimum to maximum.
Temperature range of surface to which the accelerometer will be attached.
Ambient temperature range for electronics.
What you will do with the readings - alarm, record, display, etc.
Electrical power supply - voltage range, spikes.
What signal processing will be needed.
What is minimum MTBF?

In order to pick board components, you need to study the sensor data sheet. Which will trigger another list of questions to answer...