FEATURE CALIBRATION
In response to growing demand to remove uncertainty in power measurements,
Yokogawa’s European Calibration Laboratory has now gained
ISO17025 Accreditation for power measurements up to 100kHz
R
emoving uncertainty in power measurements is becoming ever
more important. This is particularly the case with regards to the renewable energy markets and the need to optimise energy efficiency while complying with international standards on power quality, especially at low power factors. In addition to this, the inverters used in
renewable energy systems are switching at higher speeds, which introduces harmonics at higher frequencies. Then, added to this, there is also a demand for high-frequency power measurements on devices such as switch-mode power supplies, electronic lighting ballasts, soft starters in motor controls and frequency converters in traction applications. As a result, power calibration at 50Hz is no longer sufficient, and accredited power calibration at up to 100kHz is necessary here. To help achieve this, Yokogawa’s
European Calibration Laboratory in Amersfoort, Netherlands, has become the world’s first non-governmental facility to receive full ISO17025 Accreditation for power measurements at up to 100kHz. This is in addition to the company’s established capability for providing high-accuracy calibration at 50Hz, especially at very low power factors (down to 0.0001) and at high currents. The accreditation will provide Yokogawa
with an essential development tool for the future, ensuring that new products will have undergone the most rigorous compliance testing and certification before release. In addition, its customers can be totally confident that they also have easy access to accredited traceable power calibration for all their needs, the company explains. Terry Marrinan, Yokogawa’s vice
president, Test & Measurement, for Europe & Africa, commented: “For customers working with tight tolerances, ISO 17025 accredited calibration of the measurement is vital to major critical measuring projects and provides the high level of quality assurance that our customers need.”
24 DEC/JAN 2016 | INSTRUMENTATION
ENSURING ACCURACY Engineers need to be sure the measurements they make are correct to meet the exacting requirements of modern design. Their power meters need to be calibrated at the frequencies present in their specific application and not just at 50Hz. However good the calibration result at 50Hz, it does not say anything about high-frequency performance. Frequency is just one factor being
addressed by Yokogawa in the calibration of power meters. Whereas in the past it was sufficient merely to list voltage and current measurements in a power meter’s data sheet, today’s power environment needs to address variables such as phase shift, power factor and the effects of distorted waveforms – all factors that are included in Yokogawa’s instrument specifications. In addition to wideband and high
accuracy power-meter calibration systems, the state-of-the-art calibration laboratory also includes systems for calibrating oscilloscopes, recorders and optical products, and is therefore capable of calibrating a wide range of instruments in the test and measurement industry.
INTRODUCING A NEW CALIBRATOR Yokogawa has also recently introduced the 2560A precision DC calibrator – which offers a standalone solution for the testing and calibrating of DC measuring instruments such as analogue meters, clamp meters, thermometers, temperature transmitters and data loggers – to its extensive product portfolio. The 2560A generates signals over a
wide output range to enable the testing of products over their full operating ranges; and can generate DC voltages up to 1224V and DC currents up to 36.72A. By connecting two instruments in parallel, a maximum current of 73.44A can be generated. This offers intuitive operation and a range of computer interfaces enable the calibrator to be integrated
The ISO17025 Accreditation will provide Yokogawa with an essential development tool for the future, ensuring that new products will have undergone the most rigorous compliance testing and certification
into an automatic test system. With the flick of a switch, the output can be swept within the source range with sweep times of 8, 16, 32 or 64 seconds. Linearity tests can be simply performed by dividing the output into steps, with a setting of four, for example, generating steps of 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the set output value. When the deviation dials are adjusted to check the full-scale value on the meter, the deviation from the main output setting is displayed as a percentage of full scale. The output value calculated from the main, divider and deviation settings is displayed, so that the user can directly read the output value. The EMF equivalent to the thermocouple temperature and resistance equivalent to RTD temperature can also be displayed.
Yokogawa
www.tmi.yokogawa.com
MODULES FOR THE CHARACTERISATION OF OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES
Two options have been introduced for Anritsu’s MN4765B series of O/E calibration modules that help to create an accurate and flexible solution for the characterisation of optoelectronic devices such as modulators, photoreceivers, and integrated optical transceiver modules. According to the company, Option 71 allows the
MN4765B to be used with the VectorStar Vector Network Analyser (VNA) family to conduct optoelectronic measurements from 70kHz to 70GHz in the 1310nm range. Option 72, meanwhile,
provides measurements from 70kHz to 70GHz at both 1310nm and 1550nm to be made. Both options use a NIST-characterized photodiode as the primary standard, for greater E/O and O/E measurement accuracy when compared to alternative methods.
Anritsu
www.anritsu.com Power calibration
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