In development and operation of the rocket-space technology products the linear acceleration check is one of major and most urgent problems, which are solved in Research Institute of Physical Measurements (RIPhM) since 1970.

Some generations of the linear accelerometers are developed in RIPhM lately. Such accelerometers feature is the measurement capabilities of static-dynamic accelerations from hundredth to tens of thousands of g under simultaneous attack by the powerful vibrations, being brought about by the operation in the rocket-space technology products. Quantitatively this feature is expressed by the wide unified rows of ranges and normalized dynamic characteristics.

According to accepted in Russia terminology RIPhM's accelerometers can be divided between 2 classes: direct action and balancing conversion (servoaccelerometers). This classification is presented. It is subject to further refinement, but it gives general representation about the trends of performed works, applicable methods of conversion, nomenclature of the serial devices. It differs from the known classifications by exist of attributes, describing the ways of formation and the forms of representation of dynamic characteristics. The features of the decision of development problems are depended from the device class and are considered separately for each type.

The results of development of strain-gage and inductive direct-action accelerometers are presented briefly, the characteristics of which corresponded to the standard of technology development from 1970 to 1985.

Those accelerometers suffered from the shortcoming, namely liquid damping, and so it was necessary to bring into use the temperature compensators of liquid volume, complicating the design and increasing the dimensions of the sensing element, as well as significant labour input for selection of fluid viscosity in order to minimize the dynamic errors.

The complexity of overcoming the above mentioned shortcomings has resulted in necessity of using the gas damping, comparable on efficiency with the liquid damping only in case of use the small initial gap of the displacement converter (5-30m m instead of 200-500 m m), as for example in the piezoresistive accelerometers. The series of piezoresistive accelerometers AAY is intended for measurement of accelerations more the 1000 m/s² at the frequency ranges up to 3000 Hz. The nomenclature of the servoaccelerometers is very wide. In the first development of such accelerometers the priority is given back to the introduction of microelectronic technology, maintenance of stability of the performance characteristics, the solution of the problems of dynamic characteristics formation. The research of that problem has allowed making the following conclusions:

• the adjustment of accelerometer dynamic characteristics over a wide range can be fulfilled only with parallel or parallel-series correction;
• the transfer function (TF) of the correcting devices of differentiation type is analogous to TF series connection in the ideal differentiating and aperiodic (of the first order) links, the time constants of such devices are functionally related, and the degree of interrelation defines not only the correction errors, but the principled possibility of using the link;
• imperfection of the correcting circuits substantially affects the linearity of the dynamic characteristics over the frequency measurement range and the degree of vibration resistance.

The researches have shown that the functional relation T₁=f(t ) can be considered a weak one at T_1? 1/6 w ₀. Note: the minimal values of t for the accelerometers with parallel correction are 1/0,7 w ₀. The formation of the dynamic characteristics of the compensating accelerometers is related to the development and use of the correcting devices, where the functional relation T₁=f(t ) either is absent or can be negligible.

To the greater degree this condition is satisfied by the gas damper in conjunction with the feedback adjustment, used in the up-to-date accelerometers with the capacitive displacement converter. The results of researches are presented. The features of the accelerometer designs, being in popular demand, are described briefly. The precision and small servoaccelerometers with the capacitive displacement converter are exceptional ones. AEA 037 and AEA 051 accelerometers are on a par with the accelerometers QA 1300 of the firm Sundstrand Data Control and MA 200 of the firm Japan Aviation Electronics.

There are no domestic and foreign analogues of AEI 034, the high-sensitive servoaccelerometer based on thin fibers from fused quartz, intended for measurement of accelerations over the range from ± 0,011 m/s² to ± 11 m/s².

The prospects of the further improvement of AEA- and AEI-types accelerometers provide the solution of the problems, concerning long-term permanency of the metrology characteristics.For this it is necessary the creation and the use of new high technologies for sensing elements.

During last years the greatest efforts of the design engineers and production facilities in RIPhM are bent on the production of the capacitive silicon accelerometers of AEA 049 and AEA 050 versions. The servoaccelerometers with electrostatic balancing are intended for measurement over the range from ± 1,4 m/s² to ± 90 m/s² and the direct action accelerometers measure over the range above ± 180 m/s². The prospects of its further improvement are related with the application of advanced technologies and with the optimization of the designs.