Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Publication Date

4-14-1969

Abstract

The output of seismic transducers is proportional to the input only for inputs in specific frequency range. This paper presents a method for extending the usable frequency range of seismic transducers through the use of a digital data processing technique. The method is based on the assumptions that a seismic transducer may be represented by a damped single degree of freedom system and that the output of the transducer is proportional to the relative displacement between the seismic mass and the surface on which the transducer is mounted. The computational technique utilizes a new, efficient, and accurate method of numerical differentiation. The computer program developed requires only natural frequency and damping ratio of the transducer, and the digitized data. For each data point the program generates a set of 28 values of the desired parameter and finds the mean of the set. To check the technique, simulated accelerometer data rounded off to three significant figures was generated for several types of input acceleration pulses. In all cases, including cases where discontinuities exist in the input or the simulated output, application of the technique reduced the error in the output to less than 6%. In some cases, where the input acceleration and simulated output were continuous, the error was reduced to less than 3%.

Degree Name

Mechanical Engineering

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Mechanical Engineering

First Committee Member (Chair)

William Ernest Baker

Second Committee Member

Marion Marvin Cottrell

Third Committee Member

Howard Linn Schreyer

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

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