A novel sensitive piezoelectric mass balance used for weightless environment

Abstract

A novel sensitive piezoelectric mass balance (PEMB) was developed for using in weightless environment. The mass of the measured object was obtained by detecting the resonant frequency shift of the PEMB. This weighing method was illustrated systematically. In order to build the relationship between the resonant frequency shift and the measured mass, the equivalent stiffness coefficient and the equivalent concentrated mass of the PEMB were analyzed theoretically. The influence of the structural and material parameters on the sensitivity was analyzed, which provided the design reference to improve the sensitivity. The finite-element-method (FEM) static analysis of the PEMB was carried out with ANSYS software to investigate its shock resistance. Furthermore, the vibration test and calibration experiment effectively verified the theoretical analyses results. The developed PEMB holds merits of independence on acceleration field, independence on properties of the measured object and with shock resistance. Consequently, it can be a suitable candidate for measuring mass of solid samples with unknown properties in the weightless environment.