Volume 90, Issue 2

The rollout of smart meters in Europe requires solutions for the transition from the existing metering system to the digital metering infrastructure. Connecting legacy meters to the new digital backends is one of the major challenges for the transitory phase. Here, the requirements for performing valid registration of measurement values from legacy meters are derived from the legal metrological framework of the European Union. Threats on the process of registration are then determined based on these requirements and subsequently evaluated. A prototypical implementation, making use of photo-optical technology is presented, illustrating how applicable requirements may be covered. With the help of a risk assessment, the critical aspects of the implementation are identified to highlight how actual implementations might be further improved.

Schlieren imaging allows visualising local density modulations in optically transparent media, which enables to analyse ultrasonic wave propagation. In typical measurement setups, spatial filtering is applied. Commonly, phase information of the ultrasonic wave is lost, which e.g. prevents accurate tomographic reconstruction. In this work two methods are presented to preserve phase information. The first method relies on the combination of two different spatial filters, while the second method does not require any spatial filtering. The fractional Fourier transform is applied to explain and simulate the effects occurring if the position of one of the optical lenses in a schlieren measurement setup is varied. Exemplary images of ultrasonic waves are shown to demonstrate the application of both methods.

In this paper, we present a proof-of-concept for a novel temperature sensing approach that combines the thermal expansion and a compliant mechanism. The objective is first to demonstrate its feasibility at the macroscale, develop and validate an FEM model at the macroscale and then scale down the FEM model to verify the possible implementation of the mechanism at the microscale. The sensing approach relies on a mechanical compliant mechanism that amplifies the thermal expansion of a structure. A testing platform equipped with an IR thermometer, thermocouple, a power supply, and laser distance sensors, is implemented to demonstrate the operability of the proposed sensing mechanism. A numerical model of the sensor is developed using the FE software Ansys. The numerical results show a good agreement with their experimental counterparts at the macro scale. The model is then used to numerically investigate several configurations, namely single, double, triple and quadruple compliant mechanisms. The amplification factor is found the highest when using the double compliant mechanism. A temperature sensitivity of 28.5 μm/°C is achieved for this compliant mechanism. The numerical analysis also demonstrated that the performance obtained at the macro scale, can be conserved for microscale devices. However, buckling of some elements is observed for the microscale system which degrades the performance of the sensor when subjected to relatively large displacements. The microscale FEM model shows the possible prevention of buckling issues by slightly modifying the geometry of the compliant mechanisms. The present study is expected to provide baseline and guidance for the implementation of the sensing approach for MEMS devices.

The aim of this work was to validate a novel methodology for high-resolution, repetitive measurements of mass dynamics of biological processes and structures in a closed plant-earth ecosystem consisting of Mammillaria vetula and microorganisms. To perform these experiments, the living system was materially welded into a newly developed Titanium Weighing Hollow Body (TWHB) with a laser. Three non-vital, also hermetically welded and high-vacuum suitable, externally identical TWHBs, filled with sand, served as controls. All TWHBs were equipped with a feedthrough and integrated light source. LEDs generated continuous light in all four bodies, which drove the photobiological processes in the vital test body and allowed long-term growth. Mass differences of the TWHBs were measured with a vacuum mass comparator at four points in time three months apart against two stainless steel mass standards. The expanded measurement uncertainty of the mass increase of the vital TWHB was calculated according to the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) in each of the three independent experiments. The mass gain of the vital over the three nonvital TWHBs over the total experimental period of 9 months was +18 μg with the expanded measurement uncertainty 30 μg. The resulting mass gain would have had to be > 48 μ g $ > 48\enspace {\upmu }\mathrm{g}$ to be considered statistically significant with a confidence level of 97.7%; time intervals over three and six months were also not significant. The study validates for the first time a methodology capable of measuring mass dynamics of living matter over time, when statistically sound conclusions with measurement uncertainties in the microgram range are required. This opens up a new level of precision mass measurements, which makes the methodology a candidate, e.g., for the verification of the principle of mass conservation in the life-sciences.