Pressure balances are excellent standards for measuring pressure with acceptable uncertainty and they are widely used at the primary pressure laboratories in the world. This study aims to establish the traceability of NIS piston cylinder assemblies for the 200 MPa hydraulic pressure range by calibrating them with the smallest uncertainty. All assemblies will be traceable to a transfer standard calibrated at BNM-LNE- France using di-ethylhexyl-sebacate as the pressure medium. The consistency of all calibration data available will be investigated in order to draw conclusions regarding the realization of traceability in the 200 MPa range of hydraulic pressure by the cross float method. New values of the effective areas and the pressure distortion coefficients as will as the associated expanded uncertainties of NIS piston cylinder assemblies will be derived from the results of this study. The present study also establishes a link to the latest trilateral intercomparison in the pressure range 40- 200 MPa between NIST-USA, AIST- Japan and NIS-Egypt.

Until 2003 it was impossible to perform traceable calibrations for torque measuring systems above applied torque values of 200 kN·m anywhere in the world. Up to this figure such calibrations are possible at LNE/Paris. This is despite the fact that a number of applications with considerably larger torque values are known (energy generation, shipbuilding etc.). In addition there are requests for calibrations above the largest measuring range so far available at the PTB (20 kN·m), as realised with a deadweight torque standard machine (20 kN·m TSM) acting on a double-sided lever arm supported in an air bearing. In 2002/2003, a new torque standard machine with a capacity of 1.1 MN·m was constructed and manufactured by GTM Gassmann Theiss Messtechnik GmbH in co-operation with the torque laboratory of the PTB. In 2004, initial evaluations and the analysis of the measurement uncertainty were concluded. First calibrations were already performed in May/June 2004. The machine has a vertical test axis and the effective torque is determined by means of force transducers acting on a double-sided lever arm. Parasitic bending moments and transverse forces, which cannot be entirely avoided, at the locations of the force transducers are measured by strain-gauged bending joints. These disturbances are partly controlled by additional drives and partly electronically processed to correct the measuring signal. This allows to abandon the principle so far applied – i.e. the reduction of parasitic quantities by use of metallic multiple disk couplings which are torsionally stiff and flexible in bending – and to rigidly couple the object to be calibrated. Measurement of the mechanical parasitic quantities during loading and reducing them to a negligible amount with respect to the measurement uncertainty allows the system to be used as national standard with sufficiently small uncertainty of measurement. The aim is to achieve a value of 0.1 % (k = 2) in the measuring range from 5 kN·m to 1100 kN·m. There are further requirements which call for a reduction of the measurement uncertainty in the measurement range up to 100 kN·m which will be dealt with in future. The paper gives an overview of the design, construction and first results of the investigations into the measurement uncertainty.

IMEKO is a non-governmental federation of 35 national Member Organisations, individually concerned with the advancement of measurement technology and instrument engineering. The Member Organisations are scientific/technical societies or committees. The membership consists of the representatives of metrological institutions, higher education, industry and the users of instruments. The paper deals with the objectives of the Confederation, informs on the structure and financial background, on IMEKO imeko_proceedings and on the activities of 20 Technical Committees. Finally the future World Congresses, different scientific services, membership development, events and co-sponsorships are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the existing maintenance models of web offset presses, and to propose the method which increases the reliability of the printing press exploitation, but does not require big investments. Doctor motors allowed constant monitoring by measuring instruments, which allowed insight in current status of motors at any time, so they could be repaired or replaced before malfunction. The effective vibration speed (v_RMS) was measured a few times during the year 2006. Standard ISO 2372-1974 (E) defines values and boundaries of the effective vibration speed (v_RMS). Results of measuring effective vibration speed indicated the emersion of nuisance energy with deterioration. To determine the state of bearings, and check if they cause the increase of effective vibration speed, an envelope analysis - FFT of the acceleration specter is conducted. This decreases the probability of motor malfunction and greatly increases the reliability of the whole system.