The Quality of Measurements: A Metrological Reference

222 Pages·2012·1.67 MB·English

by  A.E. Fridman (auth.)

The Quality of Measurements

A.E. Fridman
The Quality of Measurements
A Metrological Reference
Translated by Andrew Sabak and Paul Makinen
A.E.Fridman
SaintPetersburgState
PolytechnicInstitute
Russia
ISBN978-1-4614-1477-3 e-ISBN978-1-4614-1478-0
DOI10.1007/978-1-4614-1478-0
SpringerNewYorkDordrechtHeidelbergLondon
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Foreword
February 8, 2009 is the 175th anniversary of the birth of Dmitrii Ivanovich
Mendeleev, the great Russian scientist and statesman. All of his wide-ranging
scientificactivitieswereorientedtowardsstrengtheninganddevelopingtheRussian
state:science,education,industry,andtrade.Inhisnotebook,hewrote:“I...have
endeavored,andwillendeavor,aslongasIamable,tocontributetothecountryina
fruitful, industrially realistic way, confident that the country’s politics, develop-
ment, education, and even defense is now unthinkable without development of
industry...Scienceandindustry–thosearemydreams.”
D.I.Mendeleevmadeafundamentalcontributiontothedevelopmentofmetro-
logy,bothdomesticallyandaroundtheworld.In1892,heheadedthefirstgovern-
ment metrological institutionin Russia – the Depositary ofStandard Weights and
Measures,transformingitintoascientificresearchcenterofworldsignificance–the
MainChamberofWeightsandMeasures(currentlyknownastheD.I.Mendeleev
All-Russian ScientificResearch Institute for Metrology).Mendeleev’sgeniuswas
fullyapparentinthatevenintheearlytwentiethcenturyheunderstoodthenatureof
theinternalrelationshipbetweenmetrologyandthelevelofscientificandindustrial
development.Hismetrologicalreformmarkedforthefirsttimethataninfrastructure
forensuringuniformityofmeasurementshadbeenestablishedundertheauspicesof
the Russian government; the scientific, legal, and organizational bases of this
infrastructure have continued to remain important, even into the present day. D.I.
Mendeleevdevelopedageneralapproachtometrologicalresearchandencouraged
domesticmetrologicalresearchtobeperformedusinghisowntrademarkedpersonal
style,whichinvolvedapreliminarydeepstudyoftheitemunderstudy,extremely
carefulformulationoftheexperiment,adetailedstudyofallsourcesoferror,and
mandatory reduction of the research results to practice. He founded the Russian
metrological school, and initiated professional training of metrologists. Mende-
leev’s traditions have been carefully guarded by several generations of VNIIM
scientificpersonnel,whocanrightfullybeconsideredstudentsanddisciplesofthe
greatmetrologist.
v
vi Foreword
OneofMendeleev’slegacieshasbeenthespecialattentionpaidtopopularization
(in light of the “great impact of properly directed education on the success of the
country”) and, in particular, improving the quality of metrological education in
Russia. This metrology book was written for the great scientist’s anniversary by
one of the oldest staff members of the D.I. Mendeleev All-Russian Scientific
ResearchInstituteforMetrology,Dr.(Eng.Sci.)A.E.Fridman.
St.Petersburg,Russia N.I.Khanov
From the Author
I was prompted to write this book by my experience in teaching metrology at the
Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic Institute (SPbGPU). Metrology is a unique
scientificdisciplinethatoccupiesanintermediatepositionbetweenthefundamental
andappliedsciences.Thestudyofmetrologyisextremelyvaluableinthetraining
of scientists, primarily because it assists in forming the scientific worldview of
young specialists and accustoms them to thinking from a metrological point of
view,andtothinkingfromthepointofviewofastochasticapproachtoquantitative
dataonobjectsandphenomenainthetangibleworld.
Moreover, the role played by measurements in the modern world makes it
essential to study metrology. Measurements are an important part of many areas
in modern high technology: industrial production, scientific research, medicine,
defense, and many others. Scientists and technical specialists must thereforehave
thetheoreticalknowledgeandpracticalskillstodevelopmeasurementprocedures,
perform measurements, and assess and interpret the results of measurements, i.e.,
theknowledgeandskillsimpartedbyacourseinmetrology.
Thesegoalscouldbemorereadilyachievedbyincludingamandatorymetrology
courseinthecurriculaforalltechnicalspecialtiesattheuniversitylevel.However,
none of the textbooks and books that I know of in this field meet the current
requirements since they do not reflect the enormous changes that have occurred
in metrology in recent years. This statement refers not only to the textbooks that
have been prominent fixtures on the desks of several generations of Russian
metrologists – the book by M.F. Malikov [1], textbooks [2, 3], and several later
books[4–7,etc.].
The changes referred to above have affected virtually all of the major areas of
metrological activity. Several radically new approaches to metrology have been
theoretically validated and implemented. For example, a new system for the
assessmentofmeasurementaccuracybasedontheconceptofmeasurementuncer-
tainty has become generally accepted, even becoming an international regulation.
Aradicallynewsystemforassuranceofmeasurementaccuracyhasseenwiderand
widerusebothinthiscountryandaroundtheworld:Thissystemusesmeasuresof
vii
viii FromtheAuthor
convergenceandreproducibility(obtainedbycomparisonofresultsobtainedfrom
measurements of the same quantity by a group of measurement laboratories) in
placeofmeasuresofmeasurementerror(obtainedthroughcalibrationofmeasure-
mentinstrumentsagainststandards).
Thetraditionalsystemsforrealizationanddisseminationofunits,whichserved
throughoutthetwentiethcenturyasthebasisforensuringtraceabilityofmeasure-
ments, can nolongerserve thatpurpose,now that traceabilityof measurements is
requiredonaworldwidelevel.Therefore,thesesystems,whichfunctionasbefore
on the national level, have been supplemented by an international system for
confirming metrological equivalence of national standards based on key compar-
isons and regional comparisons under the auspices of international metrological
organizations.
Thesechangeshavesignificantlyaffectedthecontentofmetrologicalactivities
inRussiaandothercountriesaroundtheworld.Atthesametime,implementation
ofthesenewideasshouldnotleadtoarejectionoftheclassicalapproaches,which
continue to play a key role in practical metrology. Making the new and classical
approaches consistent has had a substantial impact on the system of metrological
terms and concepts; this impact has included the development of several new
concepts,revisionofourunderstandingofmanyexistingconcepts,andareformu-
lationoftheseconcepts.
Allofthesescientificresults(andmanyothers)thathavebeenobtainedoverthe
pastdecadeandthathaveseenwidespreaduseinpracticalmetrologyarecoveredin
thisbook,whichisanexpandedversionofthelecturenotesforametrologycourse
ItaughtattheSaintPetersburgStateTechnicalInstitute.
Chapter1discussesthebasicconceptsofmetrologyfromamodernpointofview.
Chapter2isdevotedtomeasurementerrors.Forthereaders’convenience,thebook
includestheminimuminformationrequiredfromprobabilitytheoryandstatistics.
Thetheoryofrandommeasurementerrors,whichshowsthattheseerrorsfollowa
generalized normal distribution law (and, in the most common special case –
anormaldistributionlaw),isthendiscussed.Amathematicaldescriptionofinstru-
mentalsystematicerrorisprovidedasafunctionofthemetrologicalcharacteristics
of the measurement system and as a function of the measurement conditions.
Proceduralmeasurementerrorisalsodiscussed,alongwithtechniquesforeliminat-
ingsystematicerror.Chapter3discussestheconceptofmeasurementuncertainty,
whichisnowcoveredbyinternationalregulation[19].Thisconceptisshowntobe
compatible and consistent with the classical theory of measurement errors. The
methodfordeterminingmeasuredresults(andforestimatingtheuncertaintyinsaid
results) implemented by this regulation is also described. Chapter 4 provides a
detailed discussion of methods for statistical reduction of measurement results
(revisedinlightofthisprocedure).
Chapter5describesthebasicassumptionsandprinciplesunderlyingthedesign
of the International System of Units (SI). Chapter 6 is devoted to traceability of
measurements.Adetaileddiscussionofthemajorelementsofnationalsystemsfor
traceability of measurements is provided: references, calibration schemes, and
organizational structures. The metrological and legal characteristics of the two
FromtheAuthor ix
forms for dissemination of units – calibration and verification – are described; a
mathematical description of the statistical errors in verification is provided; and a
mechanismfordeterminingthevalueoftheuncertaintyinthemagnitudeofaunit
during such operations will be provided. A new international system for assuring
traceability of measurements is described; this system is based on an agreement
among the directors of the various national metrological institutes, as well as key
comparisons among national standards. Chapter 7 describes methods for determi-
nation and adjustment of the verification and calibration periods. Since these
methods are grounded in the theory underlying the metrological reliability of the
SI system, they will therefore be discussed simultaneously with a presentation of
the basic provisions of this theory. Chapter 8 describes a new methodology for
assurance of measurement accuracy (based on the provisions contained in the
ISO5725-seriesstandards)thatisnowbecomingmoreandmorecommonaround
theworld.
Sincethisbookisprimarilyaddressedtometrologystudentsandinstructors,all
metrologicalquantitiesdefinedinthetextareinitalics.
A.E.Fridman