While this is a relatively simple project, I wonder whether I would want my structural engineer to measure building vibration with home-brew electronics when he doesn't really know much about electronics. I know it might be fun to build such a thing, but isn't your paid time better spent doing structural engineering? When it comes to professional applications, especially those that impact public safety or my client's pocketbook, I would use professionaly designed electronics if I were you.
You might find something ready to use here:
www.omega.com such as this one:
**broken link removed**
although this one doesn't have a particularly wide output voltage range.
Then there is:
http://www.linearx.com/products/accessories/LP201/LP201_01.htm
I believe that Bruel & Kjaer (
http://www.bksv.com) make accelerator preamps (liek the 2635), but I couldn't find them on their website.
To search for more, I found that "accelerometer preamp" or "...preamplifier" was the best search term.
If you still want to make your own, it is necessary to know something about the accelerometer like the type (piezoelectric, charge output or ?), its output impedance, is it amplified internally or not? If you can provide a maker and model number we can usually look it up. This is necessary because the input impedance and possible DC offset need to be estimated, and the circuitry for coupling the bias supply inline must also be added if needed.
Once completed, the amplifier must be calibrated in order for you to know exactly how much gain you have. This is a simple procedure, but requires a very good voltmeter.
And here is some theoretical info:
https://www.electro-tech-online.com/custompdfs/2007/06/TN_Accelerometer20Noise.pdf