A NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF ENERGY LOSS MECHANISMS IN TUNING-FORK GYROSCOPES

This paper presents a comprehensive investigation of energy loss mechanisms in tuning-fork gyroscopes from both numerical and experimental perspectives. Two main energy loss mechanisms, anchor loss and thermoelastic damping (TED), are investigated through numerical models and later experimental investigation. In order to predict the qualify factor of tuning-fork gyroscopes, a separation-and-transfer method is employed to predict anchor loss and a thermal energy method is utilized to calculate thermoelastic damping. The experimental investigation is conducted to verify the developed models. It is found that HF release in fabricating these devices is a critical factor to the measured quality factor of tuning-fork gyroscopes. The calculated Quality factors are compared with the measured data, showing good agreement.