Two new miniature metallic sealed-cells containing the triple point of water, WTP (273.16K) and the triple point of mercury, HgTP (234.3156 K) have been constructed for therealization of the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90) at the NationalInstitute of Standards (NIS-Egypt). The new cells will provide facilities for thecalibration of Capsule-type Standard Platinum Resistance Thermometers (CSPRTs). The twocells will complete a multi-cells compartment in order to calibrate CSPRTs in one singleexperiment. The multi-cells compartment contains two other cells; the triple point ofargon (83.8058 K) and the triple point of oxygen (54.3584 K) that has been alreadydeveloped and characterized before [M.G. Ahmed, Y. Hermier, Development of an adiabaticcalorimeter in the range 54 K–273 K in frame of a scientific collaboration LNE-NIS, AIPConf. Proc. 1552, 153 (2013)]. The system can calibrate two CSPRTs at once.The compartment is accommodated in an adiabatic calorimeter. With a special technique, thecalorimeter could go down to a temperature of 52 K using liquid nitrogen and specialpumping system.

This article proposes a combined theoretical and experimental approach to assess andquantify the global uncertainty of a high-speed camera velocity measurement. The study isdivided in five sections: firstly, different sources of measurement uncertaintiesperformed by a high-speed camera are identified and quantified. They consist ofgeometrical uncertainties, pixel discretisation uncertainties or optical uncertainties.Secondly, a global uncertainty factor, taking into account the previously identifiedsources of uncertainties, is computed. Thirdly, a sensibility study of the camera set-upparameters is performed, allowing the experimenter to optimize these parameters in orderto minimize the final uncertainties. Fourthly, the theoretical computed uncertainty iscompared with experimental measurements. Good concordance has been found. Finally, thevelocity measurement uncertainty study is extended to continuous displacement measurementsas a function of time. The purpose of this article is to propose all the mathematicaltools necessary to quantify the individual and global uncertainties, to highlight theimportant aspects of the experimental set-up, and to give recommendations on how toimprove a specific set-up in order to minimize the global uncertainty. Taking all theseinto account, it has been shown that highly dynamic phenomena such as a ballisticphenomenon can be measured using a high-speed camera with a global uncertainty of lessthan 2%.

Every year millions tons of steel are produced worldwide from recycled scrap loads.Although the detection systems in the steelworks prevent most orphan radioactive sourcesfrom entering the furnace, there is still the possibility of accidentally melting aradioactive source. The MetroMetal project, carried out in the frame of the EuropeanMetrology Research Programme (EMRP), addresses this problem by studying the existingmeasurement systems, developing sets of reference sources in various matrices (cast steel,slag, fume dust) and proposing new detection instruments. This paper presents the keylines of the project and describes the preparation of radioactive sources as well as theintercomparison exercises used to test the calibration and correction methods proposedwithin the project.

There have been substantial improvements in measurement systems in order to meetfluctuating market demands. This rapid change and development in measurement technologyhas primarily been governed by demands of accuracy and precision from aerospace,automotive and other manufacturing industries. Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs)available with different technologies and configurations has efficiently been fulfillingcustomer demands for more than a decade. Though, current CMMs can meet needs of rapid andincreased demands of customers to a greater extent but still there is lot of scope forimprovement and development in CMMs. The globalization of manufacturing has resulted indevelopment of variety of complex products and miniaturization of mechanical components.The technology of micro/nano-scale 3D measurement is still a bottleneck for industries.Therefore, precise and accurate system which is flexible enough to deal with complexitiesof parts and micro & nano range products has to be investigated. In this paper,comprehensive review concerning CMMs with capabilities to measure micro/nano features hasbeen presented. This work has also discussed different methods to estimate measurementuncertainty, as well as performance evaluation of CMMs. Moreover, novel concepts such asintelligent CMM, multi-sensor CMM, virtual CMM have been presented.

One of the main calibration services of African NMIs (National Metrology Institutes) isthe measurement of tapes and rules. This is mainly regulated by legal metrology and OIML(International Organisation of Legal Metrology) specifications are therefore referenced.Specifically, OIML R-35 is the standard to which rules or line scales must conform. Theaccuracy of most African NMIs systems however, cannot prove conformance to thisspecification. This article will detail the development of a new, cost effective, linescale calibration system, which will have accuracy better than the specificationprescribed. The system was locally developed and its design is based onoff-the-shelf components and open source software. It is alsoready-for-upgrade to an absolute system. The system and details of theline detection algorithm will be presented.

The main target of this paper is to determine the seasonal features of the wind speed inthe northwestern of Senegal and to assess the cost of annual energy output using windturbines provided from several manufactures. The wind data used for this study werecollected in four sites located in the northwestern coast of Senegal and cover the periodof one year. The seasonal mean wind speed and the annual distribution curves were obtainedby using the Weibull distribution function. A technical assessment of electricitygeneration from five big wind turbines which power is between 640 kW and 2000 kW and fromsix small wind turbines which power is between 250 W and 10 kW were carried out. Theresults obtained show that the lower cost (0.0265 €/kWh in Sokhar) was observed for thewind turbine Ecotècnia 62. The highest cost was 0.5103 €/kWh (in Gandon) observed for thetechnology of Alize. All wind turbines was better suited to the site of Sokhar with thehighest capacity factor and the lowest cost of output energy.

Mean residual life and failure rate functions are ubiquitously employed in reliabilityanalysis. The term of useful period of lifetime distributions of bathtub-shaped failurerate functions is referred to the flat rigion of this function and has attracted authorsand researchers in reliability, actuary, and survival analysis. In recent years,considering the change points of mean residual life and failure rate functions has beenextensively utelized in determining the optimum burn-in time. In this paper we investigatethe difference between the change points of failure rate and mean residual life functionsof some generalized gamma type distributions due to the capability of these distributionsin modeling various bathtub-shaped failure rate functions.

Efficient solar energy installations depend largely on the availability of meteorologicaland geographical data (geographical coordinates, solar radiation, ambient temperature,wind speed) and the technical characteristics of the photovoltaic arrays. Usually, both,radiation and meteorological measurements are based on hourly surface observational data,not always easily accessible therefore requiring enormous memory capacity to be processed.From a practical point of view, this work investigated whether or not monthly averageresource data can be used to assess the efficiency of the photovoltaic conversion (andthus the electrical energy obtained from this conversion) whenever hourly-basedmeteorological data are scarce or unreliable. Photovoltaic efficiency was calculated frompredicted temperature of the cell by making use of classical analytical models ofphotovoltaic conversion. Calculations performed based on monthly average solar resourcedata reproduced within 0.5 K the temperature of the photovoltaic array and within 6% thetotal amount of energy converted as compared to hourly average solar resource data madeavailable by official solar radiation and meteorological data bases.

The National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA) Gas Flow Laboratory providestraceability to the South African Industry for gas flow measurements. A new primarystandard for gas flow calibrations was purchased and commissioned. With three flow cells,a flow range of 0.5 mL/min to 50 000 mL/min is covered. The main features of this standardare accuracy, speed and convenience. This paper describes the activities of the NMISA GasFlow Laboratory – a discussion of the primary standard, the validation thereof,calibration methods for client instrumentation, analysis of measurement results and thecalculation of measurement uncertainties.

Capable measurement of the size and shape of components is a prerequisite for precisionmanufacturers. However, the design community may not fully consider measurement issuesthat could arise when components are manufactured, and the manufacturing community may notwholly appreciate the value that measurement data can bring to design. This paperinvestigates measurement knowledge in this relationship to find out if there are specificknowledge types that could be developed to improve the likelihood of fulfilling designintent. A proven systems-based approach was applied to an illustrative case to develop amodel of knowledge flows and identify key knowledge types. For this case study, it wasfound that knowledge about measurement is dispersed and managed through a variety ofpractices which are relatively isolated from design. Furthermore, conflict was uncoveredbetween the knowledge types, reinforcing the view that a more inclusive and integratedapproach is required. In the course of the research, a novel methodology was developed inwhich group modelling was used to generate questions, rather than the more typicalapproach of grounding a systems model on interview data.

The development of evaluation methods for precision measurement and inter-verificationinterval measurement for measurement devices based on the concept of the uncertainty ofmeasurement is needed in order to establish the timing of the next scheduled orunscheduled verification of the correspondence of metrological characteristics to theirstandardised values. The definition of the timing (periodicity) of the metrologicalverification of measurement devices as used in business or health care, while monitoringenvironmental conditions and proving health and safety at work, is an urgent issue inscientific research, upon which depends the quality of goods and services. A method ofevaluating the accuracy of measurements and the inter-verification interval formeasurement devices is proposed, based on using international standards guidelines forquality measurement. The calibration method for evaluating the inter-verification intervalof measurement devices was tested during the metrological certification of the measurementdevice for the moment of inertia of electric motors.

The Total Inertial Steering approach proposed in this paper can perform an optimumcorrection of the geometric deviations of the manufactured part with respect to itsdigital model, from the measured points on its surfaces. In the case of production bymachine tool numerical control, there exist a link between the tool offsets and deviationsof measured points. An incidence matrix which represents this link is obtained. In mostcases, this matrix is not square and therefore not invertible, because there are moremeasured points as correctors to adjust. The Gauss pseudo-inverse is used to calculate thevalues of corrections to be made to compensate for measured deviations. Tolerancesassociated with the surfaces must also be taken into account in the incidence matrix.However, when the same cutting tool machine two surfaces with different point values, theresulting solution favors the one with the highest number of points, at the expense of theother surface which can remain not conform towards its tolerance. This paper proposes astrategy to rebalance the correction surfaces, and this regardless of the number of pointsand tolerance of each surfaces. A relatively simple tutorial example is given in the paperto enable tracking calculations.

As part of its training activities, SupAgro – Institut des Régions Chaudes (IRC),an agricultural engineering school in Montpellier, has introduced an appliedtraining session in metrology for its students. This was undertaken by the CIRAD metrologyplatform in partnership with the agrifood technology platform of the Qualisud JointResearch Unit. The session comprises two hour workshops during which students can applythe basic notions required for metrological monitoring of the quantities “temperature” and“weight”. To that end, standard weights, a temperature calibration device comprising athermostatically controlled calibration oil bath (uncertainty at k = 2 of 0.14°C) and a standardtemperature probe with an accuracy of ±0.01 °Cwere made available to the technology platform by the CIRAD metrology platform. Duringpractical work, these COFRAC calibrated instruments are used to check balances and, inparticular, make students aware of the importance of parameters that might influence thetemperature measurement of a thermostatically controlled bath (homogeneity, resolution andaccuracy of the thermometers, measurement repeatability, etc.). To that end, the Qualisudteam specifically adapted a water bath so as to be able to position several temperatureprobes at different places in the bath. Students have to acquire an approach that needs totake into account a particular measuring context. The teaching scenario of the trainingsession is structured around these metrological checks proposed directly to the students.The training session takes place each year with 2nd year students on the SAADS 2/IAAScourse “Sustainable Agriculture and Agrifood Systems in the South” at SupAgroin Montpellier.

Optical and tactile single scanning probes usually are used in dimensional metrologyapplications, especially for roughness, form, thickness and surface profile measurements.To perform assessments with nanometre level of accuracy, specific ultra-high precisionmachines have been developed by the National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) such as the LNE,VSL, METAS, SMD, generally in collaboration with industrials and academics partners. Suchdevelopments are not devoted only to NMIs but many industrials develop and commercializetheir own ultra-high precision machines as the IBSPE and TNO companies. All these machinesprovide optical and tactile precise measurements and cover a large domain of applicationsuch as the form’s characterization of optical lenses. In this paper the performance andcapability of ultra-high precision machines of some National Metrology Institutes (LNE,VSL, SMD and METAS) and industrials companies (TNO and IBSPE), involving together in theIND10 European EMRP project titled “Optical and tactile metrology for absolute formcharacterization”, will be detailed. Theirs probing systems and accuracies levels will beevoked. Relevant results especially for measuring optical lenses will be also presentedand discussed.

This article presents the development of a system used by the Brazilian Network of LegalMetrology and Quality – INMETRO and its delegated public bodies to increase the coverageof mandatory periodic verification on measuring instruments in Brazil, especially nonautomatic weighing instruments. Based on a governmental database of active establishmentsthat allowed the choice of an specific economic activity, the system provides a list ofestablishments where measuring instruments are used to commercial transitions and,therefore, subject to periodic mandatory verification. As a result, the use of systemincreased the number of measuring instruments controlled in Brazil, revealed areas forimprovement and provided references to set goals.

Today a wide range of instruments are available for the rapid roughness quantification ofoptical surfaces but especially for three dimensional measurement methods no standardizedprocess is established. This leads to different results, even if the same specimen istested with similar measurement devices. In order to solve this problem an exemplaryprocess development is described in this paper. To do this firstly the term of roughnessis defined as a surface deviation and then the functionality and importance of filters inroughness measurement as well as the used measurement devices are described. The followingchapter defines the used materials and methods which were used during the measurementprocess. In the last part of this paper the results are discussed and a process assignmentis suggested.

The wood preservation laboratory of Cirad is accredited by COFRAC (French accreditationcommittee – accreditation No. 1-1686) for tests on (1) durability of wood and wood-basedproducts; (2) protective efficacy of wood preservatives; (3) efficacy of termite controlproducts. In order to test the efficacy of wood preservatives, non-durable wood blocks aretreated using different product doses and exposed to the attack of xylophageous organisms(fungi, insects). To reproduce the ageing of treated wood blocks, some laboratoryprocedures are available. Amongst them, there is an evaporation procedure, reproducing theaction of a warm air flow onto treated wood. This ageing step is very discriminant, asonly the formulations fixing effectively the active ingredients will pass the biologicaltest afterwards. This ageing by evaporation is described in the EN73 standard.Nevertheless, many points remain difficult to overcome. The tunnels used for theevaporation are all prototypes; as such equipment is not available currently on themarket. So each laboratory has got its own tunnel device. Moreover the way to measure thetemperature and speed of the air flow is very difficult to achieve considering theprescriptions of the EN73 standard. The EN73 standard is being revised by the Europeanstandardization group (CEN TC38) and despite the metrological aspects were crucial andinadequate in former version, they were not considered as they should. The woodpreservation laboratory has forwarded remarks in order to supersede some points of therevision document in order to consider the metrological aspects. This is of mainimportance as the ageing procedure is commonly used prior to most of the biological test,and such tested products are put on the market based on the efficacy results.

Plasma etching process plays a critical role in semiconductor manufacturing. Becausephysical and chemical mechanisms involved in plasma etching are extremely complicated,models supporting process control are difficult to construct. This paper uses a 35-runD-optimal design to efficiently collect data under well planned conditions for importantcontrollable variables such as power, pressure, electrode gap and gas flows ofCl2 and He andthe response, etching rate, for building an empirical underlying model. Since therelationship between the control and response variables could be highly nonlinear, ageneralized regression neural network is used to select important model variables andtheir combination effects and to fit the model. Compared with the response surfacemethodology, the proposed method has better prediction performance in training and testingsamples. A success application of the model to control the plasma etching processdemonstrates the effectiveness of the methods.

All French medical biology laboratories must be accredited according to ISO 15189 for alltests conducted. Metrology is therefore critical and covers a wide variety of areas. Thispresentation will focus on the metrology manager’s role which is tailored to the medicalbiology laboratory: human resources in place, methods used, parameters followed, equipmentused and strategies implemented when using equipment which is not connected to theInternational System of Units. It will be illustrated by examples of in vitroand in vivo clinical biochemistry, biological haematology, humantoxicology and radiotoxicology. The presentation will cover the exploitation of results ofinternal controls and interlaboratory comparisons in order to calculate uncertainties andprovide doctors with a result along with an interpretation or opinion to ensure optimumpatient care. The conclusion will present the steps carried out at the LaboratoireNational d’Essai (French National Testing Laboratory) to provide medicalbiology laboratories with certified clinical biology standards.

Hardness is a measure of the resistance of a material to be penetrated and eroded bysharp projections of other materials such as diamond. The process of creating sharpprojections on any test surface is known as indentation. Hardness measurement of anymaterial is the result of a complex process of deformation during indentation. Theindenter tip geometry, which includes radius of curvature at the tip and tip angle,affects the hardness measurement by influencing the nature of the penetration process onthe test surface, because every indenter deforms the specimen surface with a differentgeometry. The controlled indenter geometry can improve the consistency of hardnessmeasurement. In this paper we report the estimation of two important geometricalparameters, radius of curvature and tip angle of a Rockwell indenter by using a simplemethod of image processing and compare the results with those obtained with a traceable 3Doptical profiler. Evaluation of uncertainty in measuremts is carried out as per ISOguidelines (ISO-GUM) and a detailed uncertainty budget is presented. The tip angleestimted is 119.95 degree. The radius of curvature is estimted to be 199.96 ± 0.80μm by image analysis whichagrees well with the value estimated by using optical profiler i.e. 199.12 μm.