Industrial standards in the intermediate pressure-to-vacuum range

This PTB report comprises the presentations held at the Final Workshop on Industrial Standards in the Intermediate Pressure-to-Vacuum Range, which took place in RISE, Borås, Sweden on 16th – 17th May 2018. The workshop was an output of the joint research project (JRP) entitled “Industrial Standards in the Intermediate Pressure-to-Vacuum Range” carried out within the European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR), jointly funded by the EMPIR participating countries within EURAMET and the European Union and registered as EMPIR JRP 14IND06 pres2vac. In the project, 10 national metrology institutes (NMIs) collaborate with 4 universities and 2 industrial companies. The overall goal of this project was to enable the SI traceable measurement of absolute, positive and negative gauge pressures in the intermediate range from approximately (1 to 104) P a w ith a n accuracy level of 3⋅10-5×p + 0.005 Pa in order to increase the efficiency of industrial productions and processes. This work included the production of primary and transfer standards for dissemination of the pressure scale and developing appropriate calibration methods for high-accuracy state-of-the-art pressure devices in order to establish a calibration service in this pressure range. SI traceable measurement of absolute, positive and negative gauge pressure are relevant for such industries as power plants, cleanroom technologies, petrochemical and pharmaceutical production, storage of nuclear and toxic wastes, in order to support innovation and efficiency in industrial production and processes. Reliable, accurate, traceable pressure measurements are needed for such industries as they are subject to strict international requirements with respect to safety, precision, sterility and performance. Conventional calibration procedures applied to instruments for low differential pressures are extremely dependent on weather conditions, especially the stability of atmospheric pressure. Alternative calibration approaches and techniques are needed to ensure a low level of uncertainty, independent of ambient conditions, for a high-accuracy calibration service. Further to this, the EU mercury strategy includes a comprehensive plan addressing mercury pollution both in the EU and globally. An amendment by the Commission Regulation restricts the use of mercury in barometers and sphygmomanometers for industrial and professional use from 10 April 2014. With the project, support is provided for the replacement of primary mercury manometers, which are still in use in many research institutions and reference laboratories, by mercury-free instruments and techniques. More than 35 representatives of industry (both manufacturers and users), academic and national metrology institutes from 16 countries were invited and participated. During the workshop, 22 talks on key topics, each of 5 to 35 minutes' duration, were held. These oral presentations are published in the present report. I would like to thank all contributors for their efforts to organize this successful workshop at RISE and to publish these proceedings.