The effect of amplifier saturation on the vibrational stability of instruments with electric springs

In gimballess navigation systems, accelerometers and angular-rate sensors operate under conditions of large vibrational disturbances and angular oscillations, whose parameters can exceed the linearity range of the instruments. In such cases, a 'trapping' effect is observed in the electric-spring circuit: vibrations occur whose amplitude exceeds the linearity region and which maintain, with decreasing amplitude, the input excitation at a level less than the saturation range. The present paper examines this trapping effect and suggests ways to suppress it.