A calibration system for PTU devices

Devices measuring pressure, temperature and humidity simultaneously are known as PTU devices. There are hardly any commercial calibration systems for the PTU devices available for low temperatures (<0 °C). To obtain more comprehensive data on the performance of PTU devices, a new calibration system is developed at MIKES. In this PTU Apparatus, pressure, temperature and humidity can be controlled simultaneously so that all combinations over the ranges are possible. The nominal ranges of the system are the following: absolute pressure 500–1100 hPa, temperature −52 °C to +80 °C and relative humidity 10–95%. The target uncertainties (k = 2) of the pressure, temperature and humidity are 10 Pa, 0,1–0,3 °C and 1–3% RH, respectively. The construction and operation as well as the results of operational tests of the PTU Apparatus are reported in this paper.     

Metrological evaluation of Microsoft Kinect and Asus Xtion sensors

In recent months Kinect and Xtion sensors appear massively at the entertainment market. In parallel, many developers show engineering applications of the system related with their 3D imaging possibilities. In this work a metrological geometric verification of the systems is performed using a standard artifact which consists of five delrin spheres and seven aluminum cubes. Accuracy and precision tests show non-dependence with the type of sensor (two Kinect and one Xtion are used for the experiment) or with the incident angle between the standard artifact and the sensor (45°, 90° and 135°). Precision decreases with range according to a second order polynomial equation. Ranges larger than 7 m cannot provide any measurement. Accuracy data change from 5 mm to −15 mm for 1 m range and from 5 mm to −25 mm for 2 m range. Precision data change from 1 mm to 6 mm for 1 m range and from 4 mm to 14 mm for 2 m range.     

Miniature low-power IR monitor for methane detection

A portable methane gas monitor based on an infrared spectrum absorption principle has been developed using a dual-channel and dual-wavelength pyroelectric infrared detector, active filters around the overtone absorption lines of methane at 3.31 μm, reference filters around the non-absorption lines of methane at 3.93 μm, mid-IR LEDs, a miniature gold-filled cell structure, temperature sensors for gas concentration calibration and compensation, an electrical modulation source, and a highly integrated intelligent controller. A detailed investigation has been carried out to design a low-cost portable IR optical sensor for methane detection that can operate in harsh environments with temperature variations between −10 °C and 40 °C. The infrared detection optics principle used in developing this system is mainly analyzed. A prototype based on this design showed an accuracy of ±0.05%, which meets the technology requirements of lower-power consumption, reduced volume, and wide measurement range.     

An accurate system for onsite calibration of electronic transformers with digital output

Calibration systems with digital output are used to replace conventional calibration systems because of principle diversity and characteristics of digital output of electronic transformers. But precision and unpredictable stability limit their onsite application even development. So fully considering the factors influencing accuracy of calibration system and employing simple but reliable structure, an all-digital calibration system with digital output is proposed in this paper. In complicated calibration environments, precision and dynamic range are guaranteed by A/D converter with 24-bit resolution, synchronization error limit is nanosecond by using the novelty synchronization method. In addition, an error correction algorithm based on the differential method by using two-order Hanning convolution window has good inhibition of frequency fluctuation and inter-harmonics interference. To verify the effectiveness, error calibration was carried out in the State Grid Electric Power Research Institute of China and results show that the proposed system can reach the precision class up to 0.05. Actual onsite calibration shows that the system has high accuracy, and is easy to operate with satisfactory stability.     

An experimental study on the concrete hydration process using Fabry–Perot fiber optic temperature sensors

This paper describes the contribution of Fabry–Perot (FP) fiber optic temperature sensor to investigate the effects of concrete hydration process. The FP temperature sensor was easily fabricated by controllable chemical etching and adjustable fusion splicing. Detailed optical properties of the sensor were theoretically analyzed and temperature calibration experiments were performed. A sensor with a 90 μm cavity length was demonstrated to have a temperature sensitivity of 0.01 nm/°C and the linearity coefficient of 0.99. Furthermore, the FP sensor was embedded in the concrete structure for sensing the temperature change during the early age of hydration. During the concrete hydration experiments, the measured peak temperatures of the concrete specimens with different water-to-cement (w/c) ratios of 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6 were 51.42 °C, 52.88 °C, and 55.08 °C, respectively, corresponding to final setting times of 13.52 h (w/c = 0.4), 14.16 h (w/c = 0.5) and 15.2 h (w/c = 0.6) after concrete casting. Temperature profiles will be used for concrete hydration heat study, which will help us to have a better understanding of cement hydration behavior.     

Measuring temperature dependence of photoelectric conversion efficiency with dye-sensitized solar cells

It’s well known that the drift velocity of electrons in conductors depends on temperature in accordance with thermodynamics, which influences also photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cells. The article presents experimental data for studying temperature influence of photoelectric conversion efficiency with dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The measured DSSCs were built in three layers, the photoelectrode, the electrolyte, and the counter electrode, which were made in the CCT laboratory, National Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan. The photoelectrode is coated by using ? = 21 nm nano TiO₂ and dye as well as the counter electrode using ? = 5 nm nano carbon black on their individual ITO glass. The fluidic electrolyte is used in this work due to its good ionic drift property. In process, the DSSC was waterproof and immersed in the constant temperature water tank for temperature adjusting. The measured temperature range was from ca. 5 °C to 80 °C at an interval of ca. 10 °C. The results show the higher temperature, the lower photoelectric conversion efficiency of DSSCs.     

A Linear Voltage-to-Current Converter

When the input voltage of a precision voltage-to-current converter varies from 0 to 10 V, output currents of ±(50–300) mA are produced. The nonlinearity of the converter does not exceed 0.01%, the temperature drift is 0.01%/10°C, the time drift is 0.005%/h, the permissible range of output voltages is ±10 V, and the output impedance of the converter is >10 M.     

Relations between oxidative wear and Cr content of steels

Dry sliding wear tests at 25-400 °C were performed for 45, 4Cr5MoSiV1 and 3Cr13 steels; the relations between oxidative wear and Cr content of steels were explored. The low and medium-Cr steels had a substantially lower wear rate and increasing tendency than the high-Cr steel at 25-200 °C, but the contrary case occurred at 400 °C. With an increase of ambient temperature, the wear rate of the low and medium-Cr steels first decreased, then increased and reached the lowest value at 200 °C, while the wear rate of the high-Cr steel decreased monotonously with the lowest value at 400 °C. At 25 °C, trace tribo-oxides reduced wear to some extent in adhesive-dominated wear for the low and medium-Cr steels. At 200 °C, a small amount of tribo-oxides formed and reached a thickness of 10 μm on contacting asperities in the low and medium-Cr steels, thus oxidative mild wear prevailed. At 400 °C, a great amount of tribo-oxides appeared in the low and medium-Cr steels; unexpectedly, the high-Cr steel had more tribo-oxides than the low or medium-Cr steels in some cases. Its high wear resistance may be attributed to Cr-strengthened adhesion power of tribo-oxides and matrix.     

Friction and wear performances of brake material dry sliding against a composite with a semi-interpenetrating network structure of ceramics and Al-alloy

The friction and wear performances of brake material dry sliding against semi-interpenetrating network ceramics/Al-alloy composites were determined using a SRV testing machine. For applied loads from 40-160 N, the friction decreased at 100 and 250 °C. The former friction was superior to the latter. Wear increased at 100 °C but decreased at 250 °C, and converged gradually in both cases. Friction fade took place at high temperatures, followed by overrecovery upon cooling. Higher temperatures increased wear. The proposed friction models incorporated with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis explain the test results better.     

Improved system for the automatic calibration of standard resistors in the meg-ohm range

An automated measuring system has been developed to improve the calibration of high value standard resistors in the meg-ohm range at the National Institute for Standards (NIS), Egypt. This system is suitable for the calibration of the standard resistors from 100 kΩ to 100 MΩ using the DMM-based method by the substitution technique where the unknown resistor and the standard resistor are indirectly compared in the same position using a dummy resistor as a short-term reference standard. The system operation is automatically controlled by using a Lab VIEW program which is especially developed for this purpose. The uncertainty for the high value standard resistors measurement of this system is estimated. The performance of this system is also evaluated by comparing the measurement results obtained from this technique with those obtained by the direct comparison DMM-based method. It is found that the measurement uncertainty of with this method spans from 4.1 × 10⁻⁶ to 27 × 10⁻⁶, while it spans from 40 × 10⁻⁶ to 110 × 10⁻⁶ for the direct comparison method. The relative differences of the deviation from nominal values of the working standards resistors measured by the two methods are found to be within their expanded uncertainties.     

Studies of high temperature sliding wear of metallic dissimilar interfaces IV: Nimonic 80A versus Incoloy 800HT

Wear variations of Nimonic 80A slid against Incoloy 800HT between room temperature (RT) and 750 °C, and sliding speeds of 0.314 and 0.905 m s⁻¹ were investigated using a ‘reciprocating-block-on-cylinder’, low debris retention configuration. These were considered alongside previous observations at 0.654 m s⁻¹.Different wear types occurring were mapped, including high transfer ‘severe wear’ (RT and 270 °C, also 0.905 m s⁻¹ at ≤570°C), low transfer ‘severe wear’ (0.314 m s⁻¹ at 390 °C to 510 °C oxide abrasion assisted at 510 °C), and ‘mild wear’ (0.314 m s⁻¹ at ≥570 °C; 0.905 m s⁻¹ at ≥630 °C). Wear surfaces at 750 °C were cross-sectioned and profiled.     

Fabrication and characterization of ZnO thin film for hydrogen gas sensing prepared by RF-magnetron sputtering

A ZnO thin film-based gas sensor was fabricated using a SiO₂/Si substrate with an integrated platinum comb-like electrode and heating element. The structural characteristics, morphology, and surface roughness of the as-grown ZnO nanostructure were investigated. The optical properties were examined by UV–vis spectrophotometry. The film revealed the presence of a c-axis oriented (0 0 2) phase of 20.8 nm grain size. The sensor response was tested for hydrogen concentrations of 50, 70, 100, 200, 400, and 500 ppm at operating temperatures ranging from 250 °C to 400 °C. The sensitivity toward 50 and 200 ppm of hydrogen at the optimum operating temperature of 350 °C were about 78% and 98%, respectively. The response was linear within the range of 50–200 ppm of hydrogen concentration. Our results demonstrated the potential application of ZnO nanostructure for fabricating cost-effective and high-performance gas sensors.     

Design and implementation of a low-cost multi-channel temperature measurement system for photovoltaic modules

An efficient and low-cost temperature logging system with a 16-channel input was developed for measurements of photovoltaic module temperature. This paper reports the principle of operation, design aspects, as well as the experimentation and performance of the simultaneous temperature measurement of 16 solar cells/modules. The system consists of a 16 channel multiplexer, a 12 bit A/D, a differential amplifier and NTC temperature sensors. The temperature range of the sensor is from −20 °C to 120 °C. The simplistic design requires no large internal memory to store data but incorporates a high degree of sensitivity and dynamic range (according to climate condition), thus the cost of the design remains low and makes it suitable for field applications. The system was successfully tested for the operating temperature of a 40-cell mono crystalline Si photovoltaic module under realistic outdoor conditions during a summer and a winter day. The temperature Instrumentation developed for avoidance of special interface card use enabled the successful collection of data from long distances with negligible level of noise.     

Studies of high temperature sliding wear of metallic dissimilar interfaces III: Incoloy MA956 versus Incoloy 800HT

Wear variations of Incoloy MA956 slid against Incoloy 800HT between room temperature and 750 °C, and sliding speeds of 0.314, 0.654 and 0.905 m s⁻¹ were investigated using a ‘reciprocating block-on-cylinder’ (low debris retention) configuration.Three forms of wear depending largely on sliding temperature were observed: ‘severe wear’ with high transfer between room temperature and 270 °C, ‘severe wear’ with low transfer between 390 and 570 °C and ‘glaze formation’ (retarded by increased sliding speed) at 630 °C and above. The differences in wear behaviour are discussed, with wear behaviour mapped and wear surfaces at 750 °C (0.314 and 0.905 m s⁻¹) cross-sectioned and profiled.     

A new data analysis method to determine pesticide concentrations by cyclic voltammetry

Determining pesticide concentration is very important for safe agricultural products. In this study, a new data analysis method was developed to determine the concentration of Carbofuran pesticides by cyclic voltammetry. The peak current and two specific area indexes calculated from the cyclic voltammetry curves served as the dependent variables. The concentrations of Carbofuran pesticides were used as the independent variables. The inverse calibration equation was used to evaluate the predictive performance. The results indicated that the numeric values of the cyclic voltammogram area ranging from 0.5 to 0.9 V were the best index value of pesticide concentration. The precision of this index was better than that of others two indexes. The accuracy of the determination technique with the calibration equation was within 5 ppm by the adequate calibration equation.     

Modeling and characterization of piezoelectric cantilever in fluids at different temperatures

This paper introduces measurement and modeling of a piezoelectric beam used as a sensor in different types of liquids. It is immersed in different fluids at temperatures increasing from 20 °C to 50 °C. The working principle is based on detecting different resonance frequencies of the cantilever in different solutions. The oscillation of piezoelectric beam is measured using a vector network analyzer. An electrical equivalent circuit derived from a resonator model is used to simulate the experimental data. These calculated circuit constants have been related to physical properties of liquids under test. The combination of these liquids which includes non-conducting and conducting solutions, exhibiting low and high viscosity covers a good range of common physical properties of fluids. Main focus of this research is to explore the capability of piezoelectric cantilever as a liquid sensor with the influence of temperature. The equivalent circuit model has been proved to be viable to fit experimental data in non-conducting solution but less effective in conducting solution.     

Modular design of a long-term portable recorder for physiological signals

A portable biomedical signal recorder is valuable for the detection of acute symptoms. By the use of an ambulatory recorder, investigators and clinicians have more opportunity to analyze paroxysmal or sudden symptoms from the long-duration recorded signals. We propose a modular recorder that contains a motherboard, modules, and an isolated RS-232 interface. The modules have been modified to measure electrogastrogram (EGG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. The compact motherboard includes a microcontroller with a built-in A/D converter, secure digital (SD) memory card, and the driven-right-leg (DRL) circuit. The power consumption of the proposed recorder is less than 2 mA (6 mW). It can continuously record a lead-II ECG signal with a 10-bit resolution for 3.9 days. As a result, the design is suitable for the purpose of long-term portable recording.     

Range expansion of the reference torque wrench calibration service to 5 kN m at NMIJ

The reference torque wrench (RTW) calibration service within the range from 5 N m to 1 kN m has been provided to industry by the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ) in the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). Reflecting the strong demand from Japanese industry, the calibration range was extended to 5 kN m. First, a high-precision torque transducer in the form of a torque wrench with a rated capacity of 5 kN m was developed in order to establish a calibration method for such a large RTW. Second, the calibration method was investigated using a deadweight type torque standard machine with a rated capacity of 20 kN m as a reference standard. Aimed expanded calibration range is from 200 N m to 5 kN m. As a result of calibration experiment using three transducers having different rated capacities, a relative expanded uncertainty of less than 7.0 × 10⁻⁵ could be obtained at a certain calibration point in the best case.     

Real-time temperature measurement with fiber Bragg sensors in lithium batteries for safety usage

In this work, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are integrated in lithium batteries to measure temperature variations. In situ calibration of the FBG sensors against a co-located thermocouple shows a linear response. The thermal behavior of lithium batteries is real-time recorded by FBG sensors, during the batteries operation under normal and abnormal conditions. In spite of the small cathode mass and a low current, temperature variations of 0.1 °C are detected. The sensors also exhibit good thermal response to dynamic loading when compared with the thermocouple. The thermal stabilities of four kinds of cathode materials are estimated using FBGs testing results.     

Tribological behavior of fast-carbonized PAN/phenolic-based carbon/carbon composite and method for improving same

One purpose of the present study is to evaluate the tribological behavior of a fast-carbonized (1000 °C/min) C/C composite. One other purpose of the study is to enhance the tribological performance of the composite by applying a post-treatment comprising re-impregnation of a carbonaceous additive-doped liquid precursor. The results indicate that average coefficient of friction (COF) values of non-post-treated composites prepared with three different carbonization rates (1, 100 and 1000 °C/min) are similar (0.40-0.45). The average wear rate of samples carbonized at 1000 °C/min is about twice as large as samples carbonized at 1 and 100 °C/min. Great majority of the samples demonstrate an increase in density and a decrease in porosity after the post-treatment. Pitch-group samples generally have larger changes in density and porosity than furan-group samples. After the post-treatment, all samples demonstrate decreases in both COF and specific wear rate coefficient. Pitch-group samples generally exhibit lower wear rate than furan-group samples. Samples post-treated with pitch/carbon black and pitch/mesophase pitch demonstrate the lowest wear rates among all samples tested (only half that of untreated samples carbonized at 1 °C/min), while still maintaining relatively high COF values (close to 0.4). These results indicate that an appropriate post-treatment, especially a pitch treatment, may dramatically improve the tribological performance of fast-carbonized C/C composite.