Newton's Law And Accelerometer Integration Applied To Impact Analysis

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental technique which illustrates to the student an application of Newton's law, the use of an accelerometer, and numerical double integration of the acceleration to obtain displacement. The simple impact experiment consists of a falling rigid projectile striking a sample. Data analysis utilizes Newton's law and double integration of the accelerometer output to obtain the dynamic load-deflection curve for the sample. An oscilloscope, digital data transfer to a PC, and manipulation of the data using spreadsheet software are incorporated in the experiment.