IFOG Technology for Gyrocompass Applications
Published in: Proceedings of the 51st Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, June 5-7, 1995, Antlers Doubletree Hotel, Colorado Springs, CO, p. 585-594
Posted on RAND.org on June 01, 1995
Interferometric fiber optic gyros (IFOGs) were fabricated and evaluated to demonstrate the feasibility of their use as rotation rate sensors within replacement gyrocompass systems. Bias repeatability of 0.008 deg/hr, input axis misalignment repeatability of 0.68 arcsec, scale factor repeatability of 4.5 ppm, and angle random walk of 0.0034 P deg/ hr were demonstrated. The measured gyro performance was included within system simulations to predict overall system performance for a series of gyrocompass scenarios. The results of the simulations showed that when mechanized with IFOGs similar to those tested, the performance specifications of the ANIWSN-U2A gyrocompass can be achieved without the need for a vertical axis turntable for periodic self-calibration. IFOGs were shown to be a strong candidate for the rotation rate sensors within upgrades and future Navy gyrocompass systems.
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