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Lecture 2

This document defines key terms related to measurement: true value, measured value, error, relative error, sensitivity, range, accuracy, and precision. It describes two categories of errors in measurement - systematic errors, which are controllable and can be minimized, and random errors, which are unpredictable and uncontrollable. Sources of systematic errors include calibration errors and ambient conditions, while sources of random errors include transient fluctuations and errors in operator judgement.

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Sherif Said
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7 views

Lecture 2

This document defines key terms related to measurement: true value, measured value, error, relative error, sensitivity, range, accuracy, and precision. It describes two categories of errors in measurement - systematic errors, which are controllable and can be minimized, and random errors, which are unpredictable and uncontrollable. Sources of systematic errors include calibration errors and ambient conditions, while sources of random errors include transient fluctuations and errors in operator judgement.

Uploaded by

Sherif Said
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lecture 2

Basic definitions
 True value is the theoretical or nominal value to be
measured.
 Measured value is the value actually measured by an
instrument or device.
 Error is the difference between the measured value and
the true value of the quantity measured.
E = Vm - V t
where E is the error, Vm (the measured value), and Vt
(the true value)
 Relative error is expressed as the ratio of the error to
the true value of the quantity to be measured.

 sensitivity is the ratio of the change of instrument indication


to the change of quantity being measured. In other words, it
is the ability of the measuring equipment to detect small
variations in the quantity being measured. Note that when
efforts are made to incorporate higher accuracy in measuring
equipment, its sensitivity increases.
 Range is defined as the difference between the lower and
higher values that an instrument is able to measure. If an
instrument has a scale reading of 0.01–100 mm, then the
range of the instrument is 0.01–100 mm, that is, the
difference between the maximum and the minimum value.
 Accuracy is the degree of agreement of the measured
dimension with its true magnitude. It can also be defined as
the maximum amount by which the result differs from the true
value or as the nearness of the measured value to its true
value, often expressed as a percentage.
 Precision is the degree of repetitiveness of the measuring
process. It is the degree of agreement of the repeated
measurements of a quantity made by using the same method,
under similar conditions. In other words, precision is the
repeatability of the measuring process.
.

Normally, in any set of measurements performed by the same instrument


on the same component, individual measurements are distributed around
the mean value and precision is the agreement of these values with each
other.

 ERRORS IN MEASUREMENTS
Two broad categories of errors in measurement have been identified:
systematic and random errors.

 Systematic or Controllable Errors


A systematic error is a type of error that deviates by a fixed amount from
the true value of measurement. These types of errors are controllable in
both their magnitude and their direction, and can be assessed and
minimized if efforts are made to analyse them.
 Reasons for systematic errors:-
1. Calibration errors
2. Ambient conditions
3. Deformation of workpiece
4. Avoidable errors

 Random Errors
Random errors provide a measure of random deviations when
measurements of a physical quantity are carried out repeatedly. When a
series of repeated measurements are made on a component under similar
conditions, the values or results of measurements vary. Specific causes for
these variations cannot be determined, since these variations are
unpredictable and uncontrollable by the experimenter and are random in
nature.

 The following are the likely sources of random errors:


1. Presence of transient fluctuations in friction in the measuring
instrument
2. Play in the linkages of the measuring instruments
3. Error in operator’s judgement in reading the fractional part of
engraved scale divisions
4. Operator’s inability to note the readings because of fluctuations
during measurement
5. Positional errors associated with the measured object and standard,
arising due to small variations in setting.
 Differences between systematic and random errors

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