ISO 5347-12:1993

Overview

ISO 5347-12:1993 specifies the instrumentation and procedural requirements for testing the transverse shock sensitivity of rectilinear accelerometers. The procedure applies to strain-gauge, piezoresistive and piezoelectric transducers and is intended to support calibration activities and quality control in test laboratories and sensor manufacturing.

Key scope points from the standard:

• Applies to rectilinear accelerometers of the strain-gauge, piezoresistive and piezoelectric type.
• Applicable impulse duration range: 0.01 ms to 10 ms.
• Dynamic acceleration range: 100 m/s² to 100 000 m/s².
• Limits of uncertainty applicable: ±20% of reading.
• Ambient temperature control recommended at 23 °C ± 3 °C.

Key Topics

• Apparatus and mounting: The shock machine must provide a fixture for delivering transverse shocks to the sensor under test and allow mounting the accelerometer at different angles about its sensitive axis.

• Pulse durations and amplitudes: The standard identifies preferred impulse durations (in ms): 0.01; 0.02; 0.05; 1; 2; 5; 10. Preferred acceleration values (in m/s²) include: 100; 200; 500; 1 000; 2 000; 5 000; 10 000; 20 000; 50 000; 100 000.

• Test procedure: Submit the transducer to shock pulses matching the durations and accelerations used for its calibration (see ISO 5347-2). Record the maximum and minimum transverse sensitivity values observed at different angular positions.

• Result expression: Compute the transverse sensitivity S (in percent) as:

  S = (A_trans / A) × 100

  where A_trans is the amplitude of the transverse response and A is the amplitude of the shock in the test direction. Report maximum and minimum values and the corresponding mounting angles.

Applications

• Calibration laboratories performing shock calibration on accelerometers.
• Sensor manufacturers validating transverse sensitivity as part of production testing and quality control.
• Test houses and R&D facilities comparing sensor behaviour under transverse shock loading.

Benefits and practical value:

• Provides a repeatable, standardized method to quantify transverse coupling and cross-axis sensitivity under shock conditions.
• Supports traceable calibration workflows when used alongside ISO 5347 series primary and secondary calibration procedures.
• Helps identify mounting sensitivities and limits relevant to high-acceleration applications.

Related Standards

• ISO 5347-0: Concepts of basic methods for calibration of vibration and shock pick-ups.
• ISO 5347-2: Primary shock calibration methods (reference for matching calibration shock conditions).
• Other parts of the ISO 5347 series cover secondary calibration methods, vibration sensitivity tests, temperature and mounting sensitivity tests.

For practitioners, ISO 5347-12:1993 should be used in conjunction with other ISO 5347 parts to ensure consistent, traceable calibration and reporting of accelerometer shock sensitivity.