Milos Drutarovsky, Jan Saliga, Linus Michaeli, Ingrid Hroncová
REMOTE LABORATORY FOR FPGA BASED RECONFIGURABLE SYSTEMS TESTING

The paper presents a remote laboratory system that allows performing experiments controlled across the Internet via web interface as well as locally in the classroom. The system has been developed for courses of advanced digital design and signal processing using complex Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platforms. It allows students full access to laboratory equipments, advanced software licenses, and FPGA platforms remotely using any common web browser and standard remote desktop interface. The system consists of Altera development FPGA kits and suitable instrumentations (Logic Analyser, Digital Oscilloscope, and Vector Signal Generator) or low cost alternative (DAQ board as a Virtual Logic Analyser, Oscilloscope and Vector Signal Generator). Both solutions use PC running an interactive LabVIEW based software including a Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Andreas Voigt, Lars Büttner, Jürgen Czarske, Harald Müller
LASER DOPPLER VELOCITY PROFILE SENSOR: TECHNICAL ADVANCES FOR THE OPTICAL FLOW RATE MEASUREMENT OF NATURAL GAS

The precise measurement of the flow rate of natural gas is of vital economical importance since natural gas contributes highly to the total energy mix. In this paper we report about a laser Doppler velocity profile sensor specifically designed to suit the measurement conditions at the optical test facility of the German natural gas flow rate standard. The profile sensor is an extension of the principle of a laser Doppler anemometer (LDA); however, instead of one interference fringe system with (nearly) parallel fringes two fringe systems - one with converging and one with diverging fringes – are employed. Thereby both spatial resolution and velocity accuracy are more than one order of magnitude better than for a conventional LDA. The data obtained are compared to measurements with a conventional LDA. As a result the shear layer could be resolved more precisely by the profile sensor which yields a more accurate determination of the flow rate. In addition the mean value of the measured turbulence intensity of the core flow amounted to only 0.14 % for the profile sensor, more than one order of magnitude lower than for the conventional LDA. The minimum measured turbulence intensity was 0.07 %, which is, to our knowledge, the lowest value ever measured by optical methods.

Yuji Yamakawa, Takanori Yamazaki, Junichi Tamura, Osamu Tanaka
DYNAMIC BEHAVIORS OF CHECKWEIGHER WITH ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCE COMPENSATION

This paper clarifies the dynamic behaviors of a high speed mass measurement system with conveyor belt (a checkweigher). The objective in this study is to construct the model of the measurement system. The checkweigher with electromagnetic force compensation can be approximated by the combined spring-mass-damper systems as the physical model, and the equations of motion are derived. The model parameters can be obtained from the experimental data. Finally, the validity of the proposed model can be confirmed by comparison of the simulation results with the realistic responses. The dynamic model obtained offers practical and useful information to examine control scheme.

Yong-Gyoo Kim, Inseok Yang, Yong Shim Yoo
COMPARISON OF THERMOCOUPLE TEMPERATURE SCALES REALIZED BY FIXED-POINT AND RADIATION METHODS

We have developed a blackbody block system for comparing thermocouple temperature scales realized using fixed-point and radiation methods. Platinum/palladium, type S and type B thermocouples were calibrated using the freezing points of Ag, Cu, Fe-C, Co-C, and Pd (only for Type B). The radiation thermometer used was an LP4 linear pyrometer operated at a central wavelength of 650 nm. Two scales were compared from 962 to 1544 °C, and it was found that the two scales were consistent within 0.5 °C up to 1400 °C, but the discrepancy increased to 2.0 °C at 1544 °C for the type B thermocouple. In terms of the measurement uncertainty, the thermometric and radiometric scales realized at KRISS were in agreement up to the freezing temperature of Pd.

Philip Thomas, Roger Jones, James Kearns
MEASUREMENT OF PARAMETERS TO VALUE HUMAN LIFE EXTENSION

In safety analysis as in engineering, the development of a satisfactory mathematical model is required to identify the parameters that need to be measured and calculated. The establishment of a proper calculus of safety begins with the recognition that the fundamental concept is life expectancy, and then, by extension, the increase in life expectancy that a safety measure brings about. J-value analysis, which rests on this concept, is a method of estimating how much should be spent on a new safety system to improve health and/or safety, with the amount depending on both actuarial and economic data. Measurements made to quantify the first J-value trade-off between the average person's free-time fraction and his income result in an inferential estimate of the elasticity of marginal utility. This is an important economic parameter in its own right, and moreover feeds into a second trade-off between life expectancy and income, which J-value analysis shows to be the balance that must be struck in evaluating a new safety scheme.