Hanoi University of Science & Technology

Department of Precision Mechanical & Optical Engineering

Measurements and Uncertainty of Measurements

D.Eng. Vu Thanh Tung

tung.vuthanh@hust.edu.vn
Hanoi, February 2018
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Metrology & Key Organizations
Metrology: “the science of measurement, embracing both experimental
and theoretical determinations at any level of uncertainty in any field of
science and technology” Metrology is defined by the International
Bureau of Weight and Measures (BIPM) [1].
Key Organizations
 The International System
of Units (SI)
 General Conference on
Weights and Measures (CGPM)
 International Committee
for Weights and Measures (CIPM)

Figure 1: NMIs of different countries.

[1] URL: http://www.bipm.org/en/convention/wmd/2004/ 2

True value and Accuracy
The true value is the
actual value of the
property being measured.
Since the true value
cannot be absolutely
determined, in practice an
accepted reference value
is used. The accepted
reference value is usually
established by repeatedly
measuring some NIST or
ISO traceable reference
standard.
Accuracy is the
closeness of agreement Figure 2: True value and measured value.
between a measured
value and the true value.
NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology, US 3
Error

Error is the difference between a measurement and the true value of the
measurand (the quantity being measured).

 Systematic error: tends to shift all measurements in a systematic way so

that in the course of a number of measurements the mean value is
constantly displaced or varies in a predictable way. The causes may be
known or unknown but should always be corrected for when present.
Systematic error can be corrected for only when the "true value" (such
as the value assigned to a calibration or reference specimen) is known.

 Random error is a component of the total error which, in the course of a

number of measurements, varies in an unpredictable way. It is not
possible to correct for random error. Random errors can occur for a
variety of reasons such as: lack of equipment sensitivity, noise in the
measurement, imprecise definition

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Precision

Precision: “Degree to which

further measurements will
show the same or similar
results”. In metrology,
precision refers to the
dispersion of measurements.
In the details, precision is:
closeness of agreement
between indications or
measured quantity values
obtained by replicate
measurements on the same
or similar objects and under
specified conditions.
Figure 3: Accuracy, Precision, Error, and Trueness.

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Repeatability and Reproductibility
Repeatability closeness of the agreement between the results of
successive measurements of the same measurand carried out under the
same conditions of measurement. This represents precision under a set
of identical conditions of measurement:

 Same operators
 Same measuring system
 Same measurement procedure
 Same operating conditions
 Same site
 Same or similar objects
 Short time period

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Repeatability and Reproductibility

Reproducibility is closeness of the agreement between the results of

measurements of the same measurand carried out under changed
conditions of measurement. This represents the precision under a set of
variable conditions of measurement:

 Different operators
 Different measuring system
 May use different measurement procedure
 Same or similar objects

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Resolution

Resolution of a sensor is the smallest change in a measurement that

causes a perceptible change in the corresponding indication. In general,
instruments change their output in a stepwise fashion, and the
relationship between the minimum step size and the full scale output is
referred to as resolution.

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Standards and Traceability
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines
traceability as an “establishment of an unbroken chain of comparisons to
stated references each with a stated uncertainty [3].

Figure 3: Representation of the traceability chain.

[2] URL: http://www.nist.gov/pml/mercury_traceability.cfm 9
Units of Measurements [3]

[3]The International System of Units (SI). B.N. Taylor, ed., NIST Special Publication 330, 200110
Measurement Uncertainty
Uncertainty of Measurement is a parameter, associated with the result
of a measurement, that characterizes the dispersion of the values that
could reasonably be attributed to the measurand [4].

Uncertainty is described as the doubt about the validity of a

measurement result. A measurement never gives the true value;
however, it is the best estimation of it. This way, a measurement is
only complete if it is accompanied by a statement of the associated
uncertainty.

[4] https://www.bipm.org/en/publications/guides/gum.html 11
Sources of Uncertainty of a Measuarement
a) incomplete definition of the measurand;
b) imperfect reaIization of the definition of the measurand;
c) nonrepresentative sampling, the sample measured may not represent
the defined measurand;
d) inadequate knowledge of the effects of environmental conditions on
the measurement or imperfect measurement of environmental
conditions;
e) personal bias in reading analogue instruments;
f) finite instrument resolution or discrimination threshold;
g) inexact values of measurement standards and reference materials;
h) inexact values of constants and other parameters obtained from
external sources and used in the data-reduction algorithm;
i) approximations and assumptions incorporated in the measurement
method and procedure;
j) variations in repeated observations of the measurand under
apparently identical conditions.
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Analysis of Measurement Uncertainty

𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , … . 𝑥𝑁 ) (2)

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Analysis of Measurement Uncertainty

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Analysis of Measurement Uncertainty

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Analysis of Measurement Uncertainty

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Combined Standard Uncertainty

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Combined Standard Uncertainty

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Analysis of Measurement Uncertainty

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Analysis of Measurement Uncertainty

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Analysis of Measurement Uncertainty

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Evaluation of Standard Uncertainties

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