Sigma-Delta digital technology enhances acoustic/vibration measurements

Abstract

The traditional method for making acoustic and vibration measurements for aerospace and defense applications involves the use of analog tape recorders. After a test is completed the analog tapes must be digitized for analysis. This process could require weeks or months to accomplish, depending upon the number of channels involved. The new VXI-based acoustic/vibration system that is described uses sigma-delta analog conversion techniques to directly digitize a large number of channels at a high rate and store the digitized data. This results in an economical approach that reduces the initial analysis time to hours or days from the previous weeks or months.