Unit 5-Calibration: Sensors &

Instruments

Measurements and Instrumentation (I3622CI)

Course Coordinator: Dr. Frans S. Shafuda

Reference Material: Measurement and Instrumentation (Alan Morris and Reza Langari)
Introduction

❖Calibration
• Calibration is the process of comparing the measurements from an instrument
or sensor to a known standard or reference.
• Calibration is crucial to address both systematic and random errors.

❖Example
• Instrument: Bourdon tube pressure gauge
• Measures pressure in a system (e.g. hydraulic or pneumatic).

• Error: Drift in pressure reading - reading high or lower reading than

actual pressure - due to wear or environmental factors such as:
➢Elastic deformation or material fatigue of the tube.
➢Worn or loose mechanical linkages
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Introduction

❖ Example cont.…
• Calibration procedure: The gauge is connected to a dead-weight tester
(standard used for pressure calibration).

• Dead-Weight Tester: A highly accurate instrument that applies a known weight

on a piston to generate a precise pressure, serving as the reference standard.

• Calibration process:
➢ Apply specific pressure using the dead-weight tester.
➢ Compare the gauge reading with the known pressure from the dead-weight
tester.
➢ Record deviations, adjust the gauge if necessary, or document corrections.

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Introduction

❖ Example Cont.…
• Dead-weight tester

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Principles of Calibration

❖ Calibration Instruments and Accuracy

• Use of standards: Instruments used for calibration are highly accurate and are
usually chosen for calibration purposes only.

• Types of calibration instruments: High-accuracy null-type instruments are

often used as they don’t require an operator for measurements.

• Repeated calibration: Instruments must be recalibrated at set intervals due to

changes in their characteristics over time.

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Principles of Calibration

❖Frequency of Calibration
• Factors affecting frequency:

➢Wear and tear

➢Environmental effects (dirt, dust, temperature, fumes, chemicals etc.)
➢Mechanical and aging effects

• Specialist knowledge needed: Determining frequency depends on the

instrument’s type and usage conditions.

• Degradation allowance: Small inaccuracies can be tolerated, but the pattern of

degradation must be monitored.

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Principles of Calibration

❖ Instrument Changes and Recalibration

• Monitoring drift: Instruments must be recalibrated when they approach their
acceptable error limits.
• Calculating time intervals: The rate of error increase determines the frequency
of recalibration.
• Types of adjustments: Corrections can include adjustments to the output or
the scaling factors of the instrument.

❖Calibration Procedures
• Course of action: Out-of-calibration instruments must follow a correction
procedure (e.g., bias correction, scaling factor adjustments).
• Extreme cases: Damaged instruments may need repair or replacement.
• Efficiency of calibration: Reviewing calibration methods periodically ensures
cost-effectiveness.

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Principles of Calibration

❖ Review of Calibration Systems

• Review process: Regularly check if the calibration system remains efficient.
• Environmental effects: As environmental conditions change, recalibration
intervals may need to be adjusted.
• Record-keeping: Maintain records of the calibration history for ongoing
assessment.

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Control of Calibration Environment

❖ Calibration Instruments and Standards

• Dedicated use: Calibration instruments must be used solely for calibration
purposes, not for general measurements.
• Spares: Provision should be made for spare instruments in case of calibration
instrument failure.
• Separation: Instruments for calibration should be kept in a dedicated area,
separate from other operational instruments.

❖ Environmental Control for Calibration

• Location management: Calibration should occur in a professional setting,
ideally a specialized calibration area or laboratory.
• Environmental conditions: Adequate environmental control is necessary but
should not be overly specified to avoid unnecessary costs.
• Temperature extremes: Care must be taken to avoid extremes of heat or cold
during calibration.
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Control of Calibration Environment

❖ Calibration On-Site
• In situ calibration: In cases where instruments cannot be removed from a
plant, corrections must be made to account for differing environmental
conditions.
• Constant conditions: Calibration instruments should be kept in stable
conditions to ensure accuracy during use.

❖ Management of Calibration Process

• Responsibility assignment: A single person must oversee calibration functions
and have full control over the calibration process.
• Access control: Only designated, approved personnel should handle
calibration instruments to prevent errors or misuse.
• Importance of control: Lack of management may lead to an outdated
calibration system and loss of traceability.

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Control of Calibration Environment

❖ Professional Management and Standards

• ISO 9000 Standards: Calibration procedures are governed by the international
standard ISO 9000, ensuring quality control and accuracy.

• Training requirements: Personnel involved in calibration must be adequately

trained to meet the ISO 9000 standards.

• Qualification certificates: Certification ensures that personnel are proficient and

that calibration accuracy is guaranteed.

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Calibration Chain and Traceability
❖ What is Calibration Chain?
• Calibration establishes a link between the instrument being used and a reference
standard, ensuring measurements are accurate and consistent over time.

• Purpose: The aim is to ensure that all instruments, from the most basic to the
most advanced, maintain accuracy by linking their calibration to a common
reference, typically maintained at a national or international level.

❖ Traceability
• Traceability is the ability to track the calibration of an instrument back to an
internationally recognized standard, typically maintained by a national standards
organization.

• All instruments in a calibration chain must have their calibration history linked
back to a standard of higher accuracy, creating a documented path of traceability.

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Calibration Chain and Traceability
❖Importance of Standards in Traceability

• Role of standards: Standards ensure that measurements are accurate and

consistent across different instruments and locations.
• Every instrument's calibration can be traced back to a higher standard, typically
maintained by a national or international body.

• Working standards: Instruments used within companies to calibrate process

instruments. These must be regularly calibrated themselves to maintain
accuracy.

• Secondary reference standards: Used to calibrate working standards. These

are highly accurate instruments maintained by specialized laboratories.

• Primary reference standards: The most accurate standards available,

maintained by national standards bodies like the National Bureau of Standards in
the U.S. or the National Physical Laboratory in the U.K. They serve as the top of
the traceability chain.
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Calibration Chain and Traceability
❖Calibration of Working Standards
• Working standards used for calibration in companies maintain accuracy over
time,
• But are prone to drift due to factors like aging components and environmental
conditions (temperature, humidity).

• Example: A company might use a gauge block as a working standard for length
measurements. Over time, it may develop small inaccuracies due to wear and
tear, requiring periodic calibration against a higher standard.

• To maintain accuracy, working standards are periodically calibrated against

secondary reference standards. These instruments provide a higher level of
precision and are typically kept in specialized calibration labs.

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Calibration Chain and Traceability
❖ Calibration Certificates
• Issuance of calibration certificates: Once a working standard is calibrated, an
authorized standards laboratory issues a calibration certificate.

• The certificate provides important information such as:

➢Identification of the equipment calibrated

➢Calibration results and measurement uncertainty
➢Date of calibration
➢Any limitations on the equipment's use and details of the certifying authority

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Calibration Chain and Traceability
❖ Role of Standards Laboratories
• Companies may not have the resources to maintain their own highly accurate
instruments, especially small and medium-sized businesses.

• Instead, they rely on specialized calibration service providers that offer access to
secondary and primary reference standards.

❖ ISO/IEC 17025 (2017):

• This international standard lays out the criteria for validating a calibration
laboratory.
• It specifies the technical requirements for competence of staff, equipment,
environmental conditions, and the calibration process itself.
• Laboratories meeting these criteria become accredited to issue certificates for
calibrated equipment.
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Calibration Chain and Traceability
❖ National Standards Organizations
• National bodies: In the U.S., calibration is overseen by the National Bureau of
Standards, while in the U.K., the National Physical Laboratory is responsible.

• These organizations maintain the highest level of accuracy through primary

reference standards and set the benchmarks for calibration.

• Global standards: International standards like ISO/IEC 17025 ensure that

calibration performed in different countries can be trusted.
• For instance, a product calibrated in the U.S. should meet the same standards as
one calibrated in Europe or Africa.

• Example: A flowmeter calibrated in a National Standards Laboratory in the U.S.

will meet the same standards as one calibrated in a National Standards
Laboratory in the U.K. because they both follow ISO/IEC 17025 guidelines.

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Calibration Chain and Traceability
❖ The Calibration Chain in Practice
• Linking the Chain: In practice, the
calibration chain involves process
instruments in the field being calibrated
against company working standards.

• Those standards are then calibrated against

secondary reference standards maintained in
specialized labs,

• Which are, in turn, linked to primary

reference standards maintained by national
or international bodies.

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Calibration Records

❖ Importance of Calibration Records

• Documentation role: Calibration records are essential for maintaining
measurement systems and ensuring calibration procedures are followed.

• They provide full documentation of measurement requirements, instruments

used, and the calibration systems in place.

• ISO 9000 compliance: ISO 9000 standards require full documentation,

specifying whether full or partial calibration is necessary based on the
equipment used in the workplace.

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Calibration Records

❖Starting Point of Documentation

• Measurement limits: Documentation should begin with a clear statement of the
measurement limits defined for each system.
• Limits are set by balancing cost and accuracy against customer requirements
and overall quality targets.

• Final measurement limits: Typically expressed as ±2 standard deviations

(95% confidence interval).
• Ensures errors in measurement are clearly understood and controlled.

• Example:
• A pressure gauge in an industrial setting may have a specified measurement
limit of ±0.5% of full scale.

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Calibration Records
❖ Instruments Specification and Usage
• Instrument specification: The next step is listing all instruments used, including the
conditions for their proper use.
• This should include environmental controls and any specific precautions.

• Training: The documentation should specify training requirements for personnel using
the instruments to ensure they can operate the equipment accurately and effectively.
❖ Calibration Procedures and Standards
• Formal calibration: Equipment requiring formal calibration must have a defined
procedure. The documentation should specify:

➢Instruments used for calibration

➢Storage and handling of instruments
➢Environmental conditions during calibration
• Standard practices: Where standard practices are followed, these should be
referenced in the documentation rather than recreated entirely
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Calibration Records
❖ Recording Calibration Results
• Calibration record format:
Documentation must follow a
standard format for recording
calibration results. The format
should include:

1) Instrument description
2) Calibration frequency
3) Calibration date and results
❖ Example format:

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Calibration Records
❖ Handling Instruments Outside Calibration Limits
• Actions for out-of-limit instruments:
• Documentation should define procedures if an instrument is found to be
outside its calibration limits. Possible actions include:

➢Adjustment of the instrument

➢Recalibration or repair
➢Removal from service if the instrument is beyond repair

• Example: If a temperature sensor in a manufacturing plant is found to be out

of calibration, it may need recalibration, or if severely faulty, replaced.

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Typical Questions
Q1: Explain what a calibration chain is and give a typical example of one.

Q2: Explain the following:

(a) traceability
(b) calibration certificate
(c) standards laboratory

Q3: Discuss the special equipment needed and the procedures involved in calibrating
instruments that measure the volume flow rate of liquids. (Open book typical questions)

More problems are at the end of the chapter !!!

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