The properties of small size, low noise, high performance and no wear-out have made the hemispherical resonator gyroscope a good choice for high-value space missions. To enhance the precision of the hemispherical resonator gyroscope for use in tasks with large angular velocities and angular accelerations, this paper investigates the standing wave precession of a non-ideal hemispherical resonator under nonlinear high-intensity dynamic conditions. Based on the thin shell theory of elasticity, a dynamic model of a hemispherical resonator is established by using Lagrange\'s second kind equation. Then, the dynamic model is equivalently transformed into a simple harmonic vibration model of a point mass in two-dimensional space, which is analyzed using a method of averaging that separates the slow variables from the fast variables. The results reveal that taking the nonlinear terms about the square of the angular velocity and the angular acceleration in the dynamic equation into account can weaken the influence of the 4th harmonic component of a mass defect on standing wave drift, and the extent of this weakening effect varies with the dimensions of the mass defects, which is very important for steering the development of the high-precision hemispherical resonator gyroscope.

As an inertial sensor with excellent performance, the hemispherical resonator gyro is widely used in aerospace, weapon navigation and other fields due to its advantages of high precision, high reliability, and long life. Due to the uneven distributions of material properties and mass of the resonator in the circumferential direction, the frequencies of the two 4-antinodes vibration modes (operational mode) of resonator in different directions are different, which is called frequency splitting. Frequency splitting is the main error source affecting the accuracy of the hemispherical resonator gyro and must be suppressed. The frequency splitting is related to the structure of the resonator. For the planar-electrode-type hemispherical resonator gyro, in order to suppress the frequency splitting from the structure, improve the accuracy of the hemispherical resonator gyro, and determine and optimize the equivalent bottom angle parameters of the hemispherical resonator, this paper starts from the thin shell theory, and the 4-antinodes vibration mode and waveform precession model of the hemispherical resonator are researched. The effect of the equivalent bottom angle on the 4-antinodes vibration mode frequency value under different boundary conditions is theoretically analyzed and simulated. The simulation results show that the equivalent bottom angle affects the 4-antinodes vibration mode of the hemispherical resonator through radial constraints. The hemispherical resonator with mid-surface radius R=15 mm and shell thickness h=1 mm is the optimization object, and the stem diameter D and fillet radius R1 are experimental factors, with the 4-antinodes vibration mode frequency value and mass sensitivity factor as the response indexes. The central composite design is carried out to optimize the equivalent bottom angle parameters. The optimized structural parameters are: stem diameter D=7 mm, fillet radii R1=1 mm, R2=0.8 mm. The simulation results show that the 4-antinodes vibration mode frequency value is 5441.761 Hz, and the mass sensitivity factor is 3.91 Hz/mg, which meets the working and excitation requirements wonderfully. This research will provide guidance and reference for improving the accuracy of the hemispherical resonator gyro.

Due to complicated processing technology, the mass distribution of a hemispherical resonator made of fused silica is not uniform, which can affect the azimuth of the standing wave of a resonator under the linear vibration excitation. Therefore, the analysis of standing wave evolution of a resonator with mass imperfection under linear vibration excitation is of significance for the improvement of the output accuracy of a gyroscope. In this paper, it is assumed that the resonator containing the first-third harmonics of mass imperfection is excited by horizontal and vertical linear vibration, respectively; then, the equations of motion of an imperfect resonator under the second-order vibration mode are established by the elastic thin shell theory and Lagrange mechanics principle. Through error mechanism analysis, it is found that, when the frequency of linear vibration is equal to the natural frequency of resonator, the standing wave is bound in the azimuth of different harmonics of mass imperfection with the change in vibration excitation direction. In other words, there are parasitic components in the azimuth of the standing wave of a resonator under linear vibration excitation, which can cause distortion of the output signal of a gyroscope. On the other hand, according to the standing wave binding phenomenon, the azimuths of the first-third harmonics of mass imperfection of a resonator can also be identified under linear vibration excitation, which can provide a theoretical method for the mass balance of an imperfect resonator.

The hemispherical resonator gyroscope (HRG) has attracted the interest of the world inertial navigation community because of its exceptional performance, ultra-high reliability and its potential to be miniaturized. These devices achieve their best performance when the differences in the frequencies of the two degenerate working modes are eliminated. Mechanical treatment, laser ablation, ion-beams etching, etc., have all been applied for the frequency tuning of resonators, however, they either require costly equipment and procedures, or alter the quality factors of the resonators significantly. In this paper, we experimentally investigated for the first time the use of a chemical etching procedure to decrease the frequency splits of hemispherical resonators. We provide a theoretical analysis of the chemical etching procedure, as well as the relation between frequency splits and mass errors. Then we demonstrate that the frequency split could be decreased to below 0.05 Hz by the proposed chemical etching procedure. Results also showed that the chemical etching method caused no damage to the quality factors. Compared with other tuning methods, the chemical etching method is convenient to implement, requiring less time and labor input. It can be regarded as an effective trimming method for obtaining medium accuracy hemispherical resonator gyroscopes.