Theoretical and Experimental Study and Compensation for Temperature Drifts of Micro Thermal Convective Accelerometer

We present an ambient temperature compensation method for micro thermal convective accelerometers (MTCA) to improve the performance of temperature drift of sensitivity (TDS) and temperature drift of bias (TDB). Based on the theoretical and experimental analysis, we revealed that the temperature drift of sensitivity (sensitivity attenuation) of the MTCA is not only attributed to the changing properties of the working fluids under varying ambient temperature but also resulting from the redistribution of the temperature field within the enclosing chamber of MTCA. Besides, the temperature drift of bias is analyzed, which is proportional to the changing ambient temperature. By means of the newly proposed one-dimensional (1D) model, the sensitivity attenuation function could be easily predicted without time-consuming experiments. Furthermore, with the characterized linear function of temperature drift of bias, and the digital signal processing (DSP) programming (Arduino Yun), the sensitivity compensation error could be controlled within 4% and the temperature drift of bias could be controlled within ±0.05V (sensitivity: 1.4V/g) based on on-site test results. Above all, it is meaningful that this newly designed MTCA is promising to be implemented to ambient temperature changing the environment for precise detection.