The New 1 kN·m Torque Standard Machine in National Institute of Metrology, China

A 1 kN-m deadweight torque standard machine is established in National Institute of Metrology, China. The torque range is 5N·m-1200 N·m. The deadweights utilized in the machine can generate the torque of 1200 N·m, 600N·m, 360N·m, 240N·m, 120N·m and 60 N·m, respectively. The torque can be applied both in clock-wise and counter clock-wise direction in sequencial loading process. The aerostatic bearing is introduced to the torque standard machine in order to eliminate the influence of friction. The symmetric V type rotor and stator are used to provide the reliable support both in axial and radial direction. The material of the lever arm is invar alloy, performing with the minimum deformation with the change of the ambient temperature. The counter torque part will make the precise adjustment to make a horizontal alignment of the lever arm. The relative standard uncertainty of the torque generated by the machine is less than 1e-5.

UNCERTAINTY OF MEASUREMENT IN THE RESPONSE TEST OF A THYROID MONITOR

A test device consisting of an I-131 source, a phantom on a 3D moving table, and a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector on a fixed flat table was developed to carry out response tests of a thyroid monitor. A measurement uncertainty due to variation of configuration of the source and the detector, as well as other factors, was estimated. The estimated relative standard uncertainty of measurement at a source–detector distance of 100 mm, which was deduced to be the optimum, was 1.9%. This is sufficiently small for calibrating a thyroid monitor used for radiation protection.

Reducing the uncertainty of strain gauge amplifier calibration

<p class="Abstract">The article presents a method for calibration of strain gauge bridge amplifiers with improved uncertainty in low voltage ratio range. The procedure is based on combining traditional calibration of the amplifier at one point and linearity determination of the rest of the range. Traditional calibration is performed by a calibrated strain gauge bridge simulator at a reference value where measurement uncertainty is adequate, and the linearity is determined by a combinatorial calibration method with lower uncertainty, employing a special resistance circuit. Uncertainty in the lower part of the amplifier range can be significantly improved, resulting in a combined relative standard uncertainty below 2.5x10^-5 for the range from 0.04 mV/V to 2.5 mV/V.</p>

Detonation Velocity Measurement with Chirped Fiber Bragg Grating

Detonation velocity is an important parameter for explosive, and it is crucial for many fields such as dynamic chemistry burn models, detonation propagation prediction, explosive performance estimation, and so on. Dual-channel detonation velocity measurement method and system are described. The CFBG sensors are pasted both on the surface and in the center of the explosive cylinder. The length of CFBG sensors is measured via the hot-tip probe method. The light intensity reflected from the CFBG sensors attached to the explosive is transformed to voltage, and the voltage–time is then measured with the oscilloscope. According to the five experiments results, the relative standard uncertainty of detonation velocity is below 1%.

Development of 1.6 GPa pressure-measuring multipliers

Two 1.6 GPa pressure-measuring multipliers were developed and built. Feasibility analysis of their operation up to 1.6 GPa, parameter optimisation and prediction of their behaviour were performed using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Their performance and metrological properties were determined experimentally at pressures up to 500 MPa. The experimental and theoretical results are in reasonable agreement. With the results obtained so far, the relative standard uncertainty of the pressure measurement up to 1.6 GPa is expected to be not greater than 2·10^-4. With this new development the range of the pressure calibration service in Europe can be extended up to 1.5 GPa.

Progress toward Système International d'Unités traceable force metrology for nanomechanics

Recent experiments with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Electrostatic Force Balance (EFB) have achieved agreement between an electrostatic force and a gravitational force of 10−5 N to within a few hundred pN/μN. This result suggests that a force derived from measurements of length, capacitance, and voltage provides a viable small force standard consistent with the Système International d’Unités. In this paper, we have measured the force sensitivity of a piezoresistive microcantilever by directly probing the NIST EFB. These measurements were linear and repeatable at a relative standard uncertainty of 0.8%. We then used the calibrated cantilever as a secondary force standard to transfer the unit of force to an optical lever–based sensor mounted in an atomic force microscope. This experiment was perhaps the first ever force calibration of an atomic force microscope to preserve an unbroken traceability chain to appropriate national standards. We estimate the relative standard uncertainty of the force sensitivity at 5%, but caution that a simple model of the contact mechanics suggests errors may arise due to friction.