Computer simulation of a piezoelectric angular rate sensor

The paper presents the finite element (FE) modeling of operation of a rotational motion sensor that uses a balanced oscillator (tuning fork) to sense the angular rate. The 3D FE model has been employed for the investigation of the dynamic properties of the sensor. The sensitivity functions have been obtained for adjusting the geometric parameters of the quartz element in order to achieve the desired values of natural frequencies. The performance of dynamic computations has been improved by truncating the dynamic contributions of higher modes of the vibrating structure.Results are presented in terms of performance characteristics of the sensor against the design parameters in various modes of operation.