Calibration Philosophy

by VRAJESH

Topics of Discussion

Calibration What is it? Metrology- What it means? Where are metrology and calibration done? Types of metrology laboratories. Standard units and measurement units. Traceability. Common metrology terms.
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Calibration- What is it?

Calibration is the comparing of a measurement device( an unknown) against an equal or better standard. A standard in a measurement is considered the reference;it is the one in the comparison taken to be the more correct of the two. One calibrates to find out how far the unknown is from the standard. Calibration is a set of operations which under specified conditions, establish the relationship between values indicated by measuring instrument/measuring system and the corresponding known values of a measurand.
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Calibration contd

It is essentially a comparison with higher standard which is traceable to national standard or international standard. Higher standard means - Higher accuracy/uncertainty (1:10 preferably but not less than 1:3) - Better resolution( 1:10 or 1:5)

Metrology What it means?

Metrology is the science of measurement. Everything that has to do with measurement, be it designing, conducting, or analyzing the results of test, exists within the metrology realm. These things cover the range from the abstract, comparing statistical methods, for example, to the practical, such as deciding which scale of a ruler to read. It is a broad field; as will be seen, more things can be grouped as metrology related than might be thought of at first.
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Where are metrology and calibration done?

One could say metrology and calibration are done everywhere. But the main work in metrology is done in laboratories, where environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, vibration and insulation from electronic interference are tightly monitored and, if possible, controlled. AS with most sciences, metrology has a hierarchy; however, in this case the hierarchy manifests itself to a more visible degree. Metrology has separate laboratories for different levels of metrology and calibration.

Types of metrology laboratories

Primary laboratory:- This is where the highest level of metrology is done. New research into methods of measuring more accurately or precisely, as well as the calibration of primary and secondary standards are done here. Secondary laboratory:In secondary laboratories, calibration of secondary standards and working standards is usually the most important work done. Calibration of lower accuracy that require specialized techniques may be done here.

Types of metrology laboratories contd.

Research laboratories:Often the requirements for metrology are different in laboratories that supports only research activities.It all depends on the situation. A research laboratory may need the most accurate standards; it may support some of the most abstract projects such as measuring the current of a single electron. Calibration Laboratory:Calibration laboratory tend to be oriented towards the production of higher volume calibrations utilizing standards supported by higher echelon laboratories, typically secondary or primary labs. A regular calibration lab
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Types of metrology laboratories contd

has measurement standards that were calibrated at a secondary metrology lab. The emphasis in a calibration lab is often on throughput: getting the measurement equipment back to the users as quickly as possible, without sacrificing quality. The larger calibration labs may handle tens of thousands of measurement items in a single year. Mobile laboratory:is equipped with metrology standards that can be moved to a variety of locations.
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Standard units and measurement standards

The SI provides a set of standard measurement units by which all measurements are made or referenced. There are seven basic measurement units from which all other measurements units are derived. The seven basic units are Meter(length).It is defined as the length of the path traveled by light in a vacuum during a time interval of 1299.792.458 second. Second(time). It is defined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the Cesium- 133 atom.
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Standard units and measurement standards contd

Mole(amount of substance). It is defined as the amount of substance of a system that contains as many elementary items as there are atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon 12 Candela(light intensity) Ampere(current) Kelvin(thermodynamic temperature) Kilogram(mass)

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Derived units of measurement

All the other measurement units are derived from these seven. The derived units are
Volt(electrical potential) Ohm( electrical resistance) Farad(capacitance) Henry(Inductance)

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Traceability

Traceability is an unbroken chain of comparison from the measurement being made to a recognized national, legal standard.
The process of making a measurement is only a part of a calibration. During the measurement, all of the data concerning the test units response is recorded. After the measurement is finished, all the information about the measurement standard and the test instrument is placed together with the test data. The information in this test record supports the traceability of the test. Information should include the calibration and expiration date of the measurement standard, the test date, and the date the test unit needs calibration again, as well as the all the test point data.
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Traceability contd

The property of a result of a measurement whereby it can be related to appropriate standards, generally international or national standards thro an unbroken chain of comparisons. In case of calibration, estimation of uncertainty of measurement provides traceability. To achieve traceability An instrument must give reproducible results within certain limits of accuracy. This can be achieved by a hierarchy of calibration traceable to national and international measurement standards thro unbroken chain.

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Traceability contd

The traceability requires that the result expressed in unit of measurement is based on and hence traceable to the unit of measurement as defined by law. It is therefore, required that to achieve traceability all the measuring instruments must be calibrated and verified by the national standard lab or an accredited alb regularly.

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Uncertainty of measurement result

What is uncertainty of measurement? The result of any measurement does not indicate true value, but only an approximation or estimate of the true value of the specific quantity i.e. measurand. Therefore the result is complete only when accompanied by quantitative statement of its uncertainty. Uncertainty is defined as how close the measurement result is likely to be to the true value with reference to the value assigned to the national prototype standard for that parameter with certain probability or confidence level.

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Sources of errors

Standard Values assigned to measurement standards and other constants and parameters used in deriving results. Measurand In complete definition of measurand and its imperfect realization. Instrument Resolutions of instrument. Personal Personal bias in reading. Environment Imperfect knowledge of effect of environment on measurement process and uncertainty in the measurement of environmental conditions. Random nature due to results Variations in repeat observations to their random nature.

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Sources of errors contd

Random errors are caused due unpredictable and, spatial variation of influenced factors.
Connections made or measurement method employed. Uncontrolled environmental conditions. Instability of measuring equipments or standards used. Personal judgment of the operator.

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Systematic errors.
Results reported in the calibration certificate of reference standard. Different influenced conditions at the time of calibration & standard under test compared to those prevalent at the time of calibration of standard.

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Common metrology terms

Accuracy( measurement accuracy) A number which indicates the closeness of a measured value to the true value. Calibration label A label affixed to a measuring instrument to show its calibration status, indicating instrument identification, who performed the last calibration and when, and the date of the next scheduled calibration. Error (measurement error). The difference between the measured value and the true value of the object of a measurement. International system of units(SI) A coherent system of units adopted and used by international agreement.
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Common metrology terms contd

Specification(instrument specification) A documented presentation of the parameters, including accuracy or uncertainty describing the capability of an instrument. Test report(Report of calibration) A document describing a calibration, including the results, what was done, by whom, under what conditions and using what equipment and procedures. Uncertainty An estimate of the possible error in a measurement. Uncertainty is usually reported in terms of the probability that the true value lies within a stated range of values.

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Common metrology terms contd

Verification The set of operations that assures that specified requirement have been met, or leads to decision to perform adjustments, repair, downgrade performance or remove from use. ppm( parts per million) A convenient way of expressing small fractions and percentages. For e.g. 12 ppm = 12 1,000,000(fraction), 0.000012(decimal fraction), and 0.0012%(percentage).

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