Shock Sensors for High-G Impact and Shock Measurement

Shock Sensors are specialized measurement devices designed to capture high-magnitude, short-duration acceleration events, commonly referred to as mechanical shock. These events occur during impacts, drops, collisions, explosions, or sudden changes in motion, where acceleration levels can reach hundreds or thousands of g within milliseconds or microseconds.

Unlike standard vibration sensors, which are optimized for continuous or periodic motion, shock sensors are engineered to survive and accurately measure extreme acceleration peaks without signal saturation or mechanical damage. They are essential in applications where understanding peak loads, impact severity, and transient response is critical to safety, reliability, and design validation.

What Is Shock Measurement?

Shock measurement focuses on capturing transient acceleration events with very fast rise times and short durations. Typical shock events include:

• Drop and impact tests

• Pyrotechnic or explosive shock

• Transportation and handling impacts

• Mechanical collision or sudden stop events

Because these events happen extremely quickly, shock sensors must offer very high bandwidth, high overload resistance, and fast response time to faithfully reproduce the acceleration time history.

Measurement Principle

Most shock sensors operate using piezoelectric sensing technology. When subjected to rapid acceleration, the piezoelectric element generates an electrical charge proportional to the applied shock. This sensing principle is ideal for shock measurement due to its inherent stiffness, fast response, and ability to withstand very high g-levels.

Some shock sensors are specifically designed with mechanical filtering or damping to tailor the frequency response and avoid resonance during extreme impacts, ensuring accurate peak measurement.

Key Characteristics

Shock sensors are defined by several critical performance attributes:

• High g-range capability, supporting extreme acceleration levels

• Wide frequency response, capturing fast transient events accurately

• Short rise-time response, essential for shock pulse fidelity

• Rugged construction, surviving repeated high-energy impacts

Their compact and robust design allows mounting directly on test articles, fixtures, or structures without compromising measurement integrity.

Typical Applications

Shock sensors are widely used in:

• Shock and drop testing, validating product durability and packaging design

• Aerospace and defense, measuring pyrotechnic and mechanical shock

• Automotive testing, evaluating crash-related and impact events

• Electronics and consumer products, assessing damage risk during handling

• Military and industrial research, studying shock propagation and response

In these applications, accurate shock data is essential for predicting failure, improving design robustness, and meeting regulatory or qualification standards.

System Integration and Data Correlation

Shock sensors integrate seamlessly with Dynatronic high-speed data acquisition systems. When synchronized with strain gauges, displacement sensors, or pressure sensors, shock data becomes part of a multi-parameter event analysis.

This correlation is especially valuable for AI-driven failure analysis, digital twins, and predictive modeling, where accurate peak and time-history data improve model reliability and decision-making.

Why Shock Sensors Matter

Mechanical shock is one of the most destructive loads a system can experience. By accurately capturing shock acceleration, engineers can:

• Identify peak loads and failure thresholds

• Validate protective designs and packaging

• Improve safety and reliability

• Support AI-based diagnostics and design optimization

Shock sensors provide the critical data needed to understand and mitigate extreme transient events.