STUDY OF A SONIC LOAD RECORDER

The feasibility of a compact instrument to measure the accumulated acoustic exposure of a flight vehicle is considered. The output data of the instrument will aid the estimation of fatigue life. A study of the conditions and parameters involved together with general requirements of the instrument is presented. Design criteria are discussed such as techniques for amplitude analysis, sampling and accumulation of data in a directly readable and usable form. A specific design of a breadboard model of the sonic recorder is given with test and performance data under laboratory conditions. A discussion of the effects of temperature, vibration, and power supply variations is also included. Complete circuit diagrams are provided.