Calibration of surface roughness standards
Project Description
The EURAMET.L-K8.2020 comparison of surface roughness standards was agreed at the EURAMET TC-L meeting in October 2019 to start in 2020. The technical protocol follows the layout of former surface roughness comparisons. 14 participants (11 from EURAMET, 1 from COOMET and 2 from APMP) will calibrate a set of four (4) ISO 5436-1 standards: one type A2, one type C3, one type D1 and one type D2. The standards are from different manufacturers and made from different materials.
The technical protocol can be downloaded here>>.
Progress Report 2023-09-29
The first loop of circulation within the European Union and Switzerland could be completed as scheduled in March 2021 in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, and all these 9 partner NMIs could perform their measurements as planned, except for DFM (Denmark) that reported a technical defect at its envisaged instrumentation and had to forward the samples without having measured them. NPL (UK) asked to be shifted to the later 2nd loop.
The 2nd loop started with VNIIMS (Russia), which took nearly a whole year due to unprecedented customs bureaucracy, until the samples finally returned to the pilot PTB in Feb 2022. Just a few days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent suspension of Russian institutes (VNIIMS objects the decision of European NMIs, guided by EURAMET’s standpoint, to conclude the comparison without Russian data and wishes its data to be included).
The remaining 2nd loop with NIM (China), NMIA (Australia) and NPL (UK), originally scheduled for the rest of 2022, had to be postponed due to the pandemic and reduced/disturbed courier/customs services, following recommendation of logistics experts in order to prevent a potential loss of the samples on their way.
With the restrictions of the pandemic largely overcome, a new launch of this 2nd loop is planned for late 2023 and 1st half of 2024, followed by final control measurements at the pilot PTB in mid-2024.
It is suggested to analyse the data not only according to the old ISO standards like ISO 4287 and ISO 4288, but also according to the new ones of the ISO 21920 series that replaced them in 2022.
Progress Report 2022-02-11
After agreement, the comparison started as scheduled, with the circulation of the roughness standards beginning in March 2020. The first loop of circulation within the European Union and Switzerland could be completed as scheduled in March 2021 in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, and all these 9 partner NMIs could perform their measurements as planned, except for DFM (Denmark) that reported a technical defect at its envisaged instrumentation and had to forward the samples without having measured them.
The second loop of measurements, involving NPL (UK) and the three external partners VNIIMS (Russian Federation), NIM (China) and NMIA (Australia) as linking labs to other RMOs, faces a long delay. The shipment from the pilot PTB to Moscow and back proved to be extremely time-consuming due to unprecedented customs bureaucracy and delays due to the pandemic.
The parcel with the samples has arrived back from VNIIMS at the pilot PTB in February 2022. The pilot is now re-arranging the schedule with the remaining partners NIM, NMIA, NPL and possibly DFM. Completion of circulation currently expected in late 2022 at the earliest.
The project coordinator has changed: Lena Jung-Albrecht (PTB) retired in January 2022, Thorsten Dziomba (also PTB) has taken over her duties incl. the coordination of this EURAMET comparison.