Operating principles of the monolithic cylinder gyroscope

This work outlines the operating principles, design and fabrication of the monolithic cylinder piezoelectric gyroscope. The cylinder gyro is closed at one end and open at the other, the closed end providing a means of attaching the gyro to the supporting structure. The vibrating body is made of lead zirconate titanate and it provides the drive and detection mechanisms via eight electrodes deposited on the surface of cylinder. A periodic voltage with correct phase applied to driving electrodes drive the cylinder into resonant vibration via piezoelectric action (primary motion). If the cylinder starts to rotate about its main axis a secondary motion is produced by Coriolis inertia forces. The primary and secondary motions of the cylinder are coupled through rigid body rotation about the central axis. The value of the voltage generated at secondary motion electrodes can be measured as an applied rate of turn. The monolithic piezoceramic cylinder is constructed entirely from PZT material and the operation is discussed both theoretically and experimentally. The performance of the prototype gyro under constant and transient angular rates of turn has been tested. The gyro responded very well to fast changes and showed good linearity output up to 800 deg/sec. The experimental results showed the potential of this type of sensors as a low cost and fast response gyroscope with application in many areas such as: guided weapons, automotive, navigation, robotics and aerospace.