IMEKO Event Proceedings

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Giulia Rabottino, Arianna Mencattini, Marcello Salmeri, Federica Caselli, Roberto Lojacono
MASS CONTOUR EXTRACTION IN MAMMOGRAPHIC IMAGES FOR BREAST CANCER IDENTIFICATION
Mammography is the most effective tool now available for an early diagnosis of breast cancer. However, the detection of cancer signs in mammograms is a difficult task owing to the great number of non pathological structures which are also present in the image. It has been shown that in current breast cancer screenings 10%–25% of the tumors are missed by the radiologists. For this reason, a lot of research is currently being done to develop systems for Computer Aided Detection (CADe). Probably, some causes of the false–negative screening examinations are that tumoral masses have varying dimension and irregular shape, their borders are often ill–defined and their contrast is very low, thus making difficult the discrimination from parenchymal structures. Therefore, in a CADe system a preliminary segmentation procedure has to be implemented in order to separate the mass from background tissue. In this way, various characteristics of the segmented mass can be evaluated, which may be used in a classification step to discriminate pathological and negative cases. In this paper we describe an effective algorithm for massive lesions segmentation based on region–growing technique and we provide full details of the performance evaluation procedure used in this specific context.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Arianna Mencattini, Giulia Rabottino, Marcello Salmeri, Federica Caselli,Roberto Lojacono
FEATURES EXTRACTION FOR MICROCALCIFICATION CLUSTERS CLASSIFICATION IN DIGITAL MAMMOGRAMS
Breast cancer is the first leading cause of death by cancer for women. To increase the survival rate it is necessary to detect lesions as soon as possible. Most early breast cancer can be diagnosed by detecting microcalcification clusters in mammographic images. The clusters appear as groups of small, bright particles with arbitrary shapes and distribution. Because of human factors such as subjective or varying decision criteria, distraction by other image features, large number of images to be inspected, or simple oversight, some diagnosis are missed.In this paper, we propose a method to classify clusters of microcalcifications characterizing the lesion by the extraction of geometrical (2D) and textural (3D) features. Then, through a statistical analysis of these features, we can choose the most discriminating between benign and malignant lesions and so design the classifier.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

David Sarrià, Joaquín Del Río, Antoni Mànuel, Jacopo Aguzzi, José Antonio García, Francesc Sardà
ACTOGRAPHIC DETECTION SYSTEM BASED ON INFRARED AND COMPUTER VISION TECHNOLOGIES TO MEASURE THE BEHAVIOUR OF SPECIES
An automated acquisition system has been developed to measure the behavioral activity rhythms of marine species. The system has been developed using infrared and computer vision technologies by a distributed topology, different experimentations can be done at the same time if the units are repeated and connected to the main computer. The developed system consists primarily in custom low cost acquisition and illumination units with USB interface that allows the acquisition from different photodiodes sensors and to illuminate with a programmable photoperiod. The main computer controls all the connected units and processes the incoming information of behaviour from the sensors to show the activity rhythm of the species under study in association with artificially generated light cycles. The system is complemented with low cost cameras, with different vision algorithms the behaviour of the animals can be extracted.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Vladimír Haasz
EXPERIENCE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF BOLOGNA DECLARATION IN ENGINEERING BRANCH IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC (ESPECIALLY IN TEACHING MEASUREMENT)
New study programmes corresponding to Bologna declaration started in the Czech Republic in 2002 (bachelor study stage), but in electrical engineering generally in 2003. Therefore the first run of master study stage has finished this year. 41 % of bachelor programmes in engineering are oriented more practically, 25 % prefer theoretical background for master stage, about 15 % were prepared as universal and the rest arose by dividing of the first part of long master programme to 2 bachelor programmes – one practically oriented and the other as preparing for master stage. Actual experience indicates that the main aims of Bologna declaration (to improve quality of bachelors regarding assertion in practice; to increase the number of successful students and to preserve the existing good level of master degree) were not satisfied in education of engineering in the Czech Republic. There are three areas where Czech technical universities indicate problems by application of new bachelors curricula: Assertion in practice, Continuing in master stage and Mobility. The second part of the paper go into teaching measurement and instrumentation in the Czech Republic after implementation of Bologna Declaration and problems pertinent to it.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Pedro M. Ramos, Tomáš Radil, A. Cruz Serra
DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION OF TRANSIENTS AND WAVEFORM DISTORTIONS USING AN ALGORITHM BASED ON SINE-FITTING
This paper describes a new method for detection of some power quality (PQ) disturbances, namely transients and waveform distortions. The proposed algorithm is based on a modified version of the four-parameter sine-fitting algorithm. The sine-fitting algorithm is used to estimate the parameters of the power system’s voltage signal’s fundamental and to extract the transient component of the voltage. The performance of the proposed method is compared with previously developed algorithm and with two commercial PQ analyzers.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

A. Psyllos, C. N. Anagnostopoulos, E. Kayafas
VEHICLE AUTHENTICATION FROM DIGITAL IMAGE MEASUREMENTS
In this work, it is demonstrated that relatively simple image processing functions based on symmetry measurements can be used to obtain high performance vehicle authentication, creating an “image signature” for every vehicle. On that basis, distinctive parts of the vehicle frontal view such as the headlights and the logo area can be segmented. A novel neural network application, properly trained, provides adequate vehicle manufacturer recognition when used in conjunction with a previously developed license plate recognition module. It is also shown that image processing functions based on Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) measurements can be used to obtain high performance object features location, creating a keypoint fingerprint for every feature. A grid of SIFT keypoints was drawn and a neural network was used also for vehicle model recognition.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Karel Draxler, Renata Styblíková, Michal Ulvr
USE OF A CURRENT SOURCE FOR CALIBRATING AN AUTOMATIC TRANSFORMER TEST SET
This paper describes an innovative procedure for calibrating sets for evaluating instrument current transformer (ICT) errors. The innovation lies in the use of a current source for generating a measured current. There is an adjustable current source at 50 Hz mains frequency with a current transformer on its output. The internal impedance must be sufficiently high to eliminate the methodic error due to calibration. Calibration is carried out by means of a measuring system controlled by a PC through an IEEE 488 bus. Known values of the simulated ratio error and phase displacement are compared with the values measured by the device that is being tested. A software tool determines the simulated and measured error at each calibration point and determines whether the instrument that is being tested fulfils the parameters stated by the manufacturer.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Pavel Protiva
LOW-COST CURRENT-TO-VOLTAGE CONVERTER FOR DC MEASUREMENTS IN A WIDE DYNAMIC RANGE
A logarithmic current-to-voltage converter for measuring DC currents in a wide dynamic range (from 1 pA to 1 mA) is described here. The converter is based on an operational amplifier circuit with a standard commercially-available LED diode used as a nonlinear feedback. A temperature compensation method requiring only one reference amplifier was used. This significantly reduces the complexity and the resulting cost of the converter. The static transfer characteristics of the converter were measured and compared with the uncompensated case.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Fabrizio Ciancetta, Giovanni Bucci, Carmine Landi
A UDDI BASED DISTRIBUTED MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
In this paper the authors are mostly concerned with the implementation of a measurement system specially suited for widely distributed applications. The system is based on smart web sensors, where the Internet links together the individual sensing elements. The system adopts the UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration) registry, a de facto standard for managing the web services on the web. The proposed solution allows having, at all times, an overview of the sensors and of the available services. Thus, when a new sensor is inserted in the network, its services and its functionality are automatically added into the registry without reconfiguring the net. The sensor is presented in a taxonomy of distributed measurement systems for metrological monitoring applications with a standard interface via a tModel. Measurement results supplied by the sensors are made available through a web service, so that all users can build up their own applications. Some preliminary results of the proposed distributed platform are showed for the monitoring of environmental parameters.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Martin Novotny, Milos Sedlacek
THD ESTIMATION BY NON-COHERENT SAMPLING USING VARIOUS DSP ALGORITHMS AND WINDOWS
The paper aim inspects influence of the used RMS-value computing algorithm type and of window type and order on estimation of signal total harmonic distortion (THD). The THD relative bias is investigated by means of computer simulations in MATLAB. A test signal containing the fundamental and 12 higher-order harmonic components with magnitudes corresponding to an international compatibility levels standard and corresponding to the THD of approximately 11 % is used. Three algorithms of THD estimation are investigated, differing in total RMS value and the fundamental component’s RMS value estimation. The total RMS value is found either in time domain or in frequency domain, and the fundamental component RMS value is found either by processing signal components in the used window spectrum main lobe, or using DFT interpolated in frequency domain. Influence of energy leakage for non-quantized test signal and of the 1st order and the 3rd order cosine windows is investigated. The influence of signal quantization for the 12-bit and 16-bit ADC and the above-mentioned windows is also shown. Also the influence of phases of test signal harmonic components by THD estimation by non-coherent sampling using the three investigated algorithms and expression for THD uncertainty caused by quantization is presented.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Jerome Blair
ESTIMATING FILTERING ERRORS USING THE PEANO KERNEL THEOREM
The Peano Kernel Theorem is introduced and a frequency domain derivation is given. It is demonstrated that the application of this theorem yields simple and accurate formulas for estimating the error introduced into a signal by filtering it to reduce noise.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Vytautas Giniotis, Mindaugas Rybokas
MEASUREMENT SIMULATION AND DATA ASSESSMENT OF CIRCULAR SCALES
Analysis of circular scales accuracy calibration methods based on use of computer modelling and data processing including information entropy assessment here are presented. The computer simulation means for angular position measurement is presented using the circular scale simulation on the PC screen and giving a wide range of opportunities to change or select various scales’ parameters for further their analysis. Accuracy analysis of the circular scales is available applying the different methods of measurement and making experimental trials of newly developed methods. Different parameters of the scale can be simulated and an analysis of systematic and random errors can be performed as well. Methods of error correction of systematic errors can be applied and information entropy assessment can be made. The means and model of simulation give possibility to apply a wide range of parameters change with subsequent their analysis what is impossible and highly expensive in case of real experimental trials in-situ. The software developed permits to calculate accuracy parameters of thousands of angular values after simulation of measurement and using newly developed method of measurement of circular scales.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Daniel Hernández-Balbuena, Oleg Sergiyenko, Vera Tyrsa, Larysa Burtseva
METHOD FOR FAST AND ACCURATE FREQUENCY MEASUREMENT
A fast and accurate alternative frequency measurement method based on the coincidence of pulses between two regular independent pulse trains and rational approximations of the number theory is presented. Based on the model of measurement process, it is shown that measurement result is a rational approximation to the true value and its approximation has a higher accuracy than approximations by systematic fractions. Results obtained from simulation of the measurement model are presented. This method can be implemented using low cost hardware.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

G. Andria, G. Cavone, A. M. L. Lanzolla
OPTIMAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A COMMERCIAL OZONE ANALYZER IN AMBIENT AIR FOR PURPOSES OF AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
The main purpose of this paper is to characterize an analyzer of ground level ozone based on the photometric UV method. Particular attention is devoted to the sampling phase with the aim of investigating the main variables influencing the measurement process. In this way it is possible to identify the best sampling configuration able to minimize the measurement uncertainty.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Carine Neus
FEASIBILITY AND PROBLEMS OF DSL LOOP TOPOLOGY IDENTIFICATION VIA SINGLE-ENDED LINE TESTS
Digital subscriber lines (DSL) offer the possibility to deliver broadband services over the existing telephone network. Yet, before deploying DSL, the subscriber loops must be tested to see whether they can support high-speed data services, and at what rate. Single-ended automatic qualification is essential for achieving low-cost deployment of DSL, since it allows loops to be qualified in bulk without human intervention at the customer’s location. An even more ambitious challenge is to fully characterize the loop, i.e. to identify its loop topology (number of loop sections, length and cable type of each section). This paper discusses the feasibility and the problems of loop topology identification via single-ended measurements.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

T.Sugimoto, T.Yamauchi, A.Tohshima
A MEASURING METHOD FOR LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS DURING DRIVING AUTOMOBILE
Recently, the driver’s attention while driving a vehicle has to be taken seriously in a modernized society. Although some studies of attention while driving are being conducted now, the character of human activity is complicated for estimating attention while driving a vehicle. In the present study, the driver’s attention was studied by driving performance and meandering of the vehicle. Two sets of drivers were used to compare driving while alert and while drowsy. For driving performance, the degree of steering and the degree of acceleration were measured. For meandering, the shoulder line on the road was detected by a CCD camera to calculate the coordinates of the vehicles. These three values showed the dynamical degree of the driver’s attention. The results show that the meandering values and the degree of steering values correlated with the degree of attention of the driver, and these results can be applied to make an alert system for drivers during decreased consciousness or concentration in order to realize a safe society for our modern roadways.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Bruno Andò, Alberto Ascia, Salvatore Baglio, Nicola Pitrone
TEACHING DIGITAL DEVICES BY USING VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS
In recent years the approach to theoretical teaching and practical training of the undergraduate students in the electrical and electronic measurement courses has received great attention, because the fast development of advanced technologies requires continuously updating the way of teaching electrical and electronic measurements. As far as digital instruments are concerned, only a theoretical support is generally supplied. It is very important to deeply understand the operation of the basic digital instruments, the frequency meter and the dual-slope voltmeter. This task can be achieved by the approach suggested in this paper: indeed, an educational tool has been realized, mainly oriented to experimental training of undergraduates in the area of electrical engineering; it consists on flexible virtual instruments developed in the LabVIEW™ environment. In this way, features and performances of the instruments can be carefully analysed by the students. The analysis of the implemented programs can also give to the undergraduate the opportunity to approach such environment in a study case.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

C.Donciu, O.Costea
3D E-SHADE DENTAL COLOR MATCHING INTELLIGENT SYSTEM
Shade matching is a much complicated task then it may look like. Variability of the factors which influence the shade matching procedure should be minimized. There is a need for a new, better, logically and scientifically arranged shade guide which would cover the complete color range of natural teeth. The project proposes to accomplish a color prosthetical establishing performing system through image processing methods by using cumulative informations concerning chromatic analysis and also the transparency variation depending on work’s 3D geometry. By realizing a bidirectional communication routine on a cable support dentist office- dental technician laboratory it is facilitated the establishing of the acquired information volume and quality sufficiency, on the one hand, and on the other hand the prosthetical work delivery programming depending on the material and human resources available in the dental technician laboratory.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

A. Affanni, G. Chiorboli
DESIGN OF AN EFFICIENT AC MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC STIRRER
Rapid mixing of two or more analytes in microchannel networks is essential in the design of most biochemical, immunoassays and DNA analysis microsystems. In this paper we report numerical simulations of a chaotic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stirrer that exhibits fast mixing of steady pressure-driven flows in microchannels at medium-low Reynolds number. The proposed mixer is benchmarked against a MHD stirrer prototype recently reported in literature. Numerical results show that the proposed device has a higher and faster mixing efficiency with respect to recent literature.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Jerzy Hoja, Grzegorz Lentka
ELECTROCHEMICAL IMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY ANALYZER WITH DIGITAL POTENTIOSTAT
The paper presents a prototype of EIS analyzer, which uses digital potentiostat/galvanostat. The separate paths and AD converters were used for sampling DC and AC components of signals proportional to current through and voltage across the impedance of the measured object. The converters are controlled by different processors, which performs functions tightly connected with realization of two tasks of EIS analyzer: potentiostat/galvanostat controlling and impedance measuring. In order to decrease the influence of the real-life parameters of used operational amplifiers and the parasitic capacitances on the error of impedance measurement, the correction taking those parameters into account has been used in the algorithm for determination of impedance parameters of the measured objects. Performed tests proved benefits appearing from correction implemented in the algorithm. The measurement results of an example non-linear RC object with diode show that the relative error of impedance modulus doesn’t exceed +0.5/-1.0% and absolute error of impedance argument was not greater than ±0.5°.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Telmo Gomes dos Santos, Pedro M. Ramos, Pedro dos Santos Vilaça
NON DESTRUCTIVE TESTING OF FRICTION STIR WELDING: COMPARISON OF PLANAR EDDY CURRENT PROBES
Welding of aluminium alloys has undergone a significant development with the Friction Stir Welding (FSW) process. Quality assurance of welded structures is always an important issue for industrial applications and although the good quality of FSW joints, some defects may arise. These defects are difficult or even impossible to detect with conventional non destructive testing (NDT) techniques. This paper presents a detailed analysis about the performance of conventional NDT planar eddy current probes to detect FSW defects. The analysis is based in the impedance measurements of the probes in different standard conditions of lift-off and conductivity. The results show that these types of probes are not enough to deal with the specific FSW defects morphology. Therefore a new type of NDT eddy current probes is proposed and characterized. Comparison results show a higher sensitivity of the new probe.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Jaroslav Treštík, Jan Fischer
THE OPTIMAL THRESHOLD ALGORITHM AND CANNY BASED EDGE DETECTION IN OPTICAL AREA AND DIMENSION MEASUREMENT
The fluctuating light conditions cause troubles in image processing based area and dimension measurement. This article describes the hardware implementation and measured properties of canny-based edge detection and an optimal thresholding method. Both units were implemented on proprietary FPGA-based image processing system for “on the fly” measurement. The optimal threshold algorithm presented is able to adapt to changed light conditions and calculates the object size counting the pixels above threshold. The other method uses the first and the second differentiation combined with low-pass filter do locate the object edges and calculates the object size by subtracting their positions. As it uses the maximal slope as edge criteria it is also resistant against illumination changes.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Krešimir Malarić, Anamaria Štambuk, Maja Šrut, Mirta Tkalec
EVALUATION OF GENOTOXIC POTENTIAL OF RADIOFREQUENCY/MICROWAVE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD (RF/MW EMF) USING COMET ASSAY IN EARTHWORMS (EISENIA FETIDA)
During the last twenty years exposure of living organisms to radiofrequency/microwave electromagnetic field (RF/MW EMF) has dramatically increased, mainly because of usage of different communication systems as well as modern electronic devices. Exposure to radiation of wireless mobile phones which operate at frequencies of 900 and 1800 MHz has risen. The evaluation of effects of this kind of radiation on all living organisms is thus of great importance. In this work genotoxic effects of RF/MW radiation on earthworms (Eisenia fetida) using Comet assay were investigated. Earthworms are soil invertebrates frequently used for assessing the toxicity of different stress conditions. They were exposed to RF/MW radiation at frequency of 900 MHz and electric field strengths of 10 and 23 V m^-1 in GTEM cell during 2 hours. Obtained data showed an induction of DNA damage in earthworms exposed to RF/MW EMF at 23 V m^-1 while no increase of DNA damage was observed at 10 V m^-1 in comparison to control group. In conclusion, earthworms were proven to be sensitive model organisms for assessment of genotoxic effects of RF/MW radiation by the comet assay.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Mariana Milici, Dan Milici, Mihai Cretu
USING THE CONTINUOS EXTRAPOLATION FUNCTIONS OF MEASUREMENT DATA ON PREDICTION OF THE SPORTMEN PERFORMANCES
The scientific innovation of this paper consists in the preparing of one methodology to forecast the sportsmen training through applying of one mathematical modelling method that, through the exponential functions, establishes, with an approximation of maximum 2%, the forecasting of the sportsmen’s individual parameters enhancing. In most cases, the extrapolation functions, obtained by computing technique, overlap the real values obtained after a short training period. This phenomenon demonstrates that the mathematical modelling contributes efficiently to improve the training and contesting process. The sportsmen performances are evaluated through periodical tests. Based upon these tests we can draw conclusions referring to the way in which the sportsman answered to a certain training program, to the parameters which can be increased, to the accumulated tiredness level. To extrapolate these data in the sight to aim at the next evolution of the sportsman and to predict some next performances it must to find an evolution law for values controlled periodically till a certain moment. This prediction can be made for one or more tests, at the middle of the training period, so that the evolution from the second part or from the end of this period could be instituted, in order to prepare the new training program.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

C.Donciu, C. Dosoftei
NEW MULTITASK PROTOTYPE ARCHITECTURE FOR VIRTUAL LABORATORY
The project proposes accomplishing of a new informatics system architecture, under the form of a high-speed virtual laboratory, with a multitask type access on laboratory work, to remove users’ waiting lists and allow reconfiguration of electric assembling in real time. The accomplished project was preceded by a thoroughly analysis of didactic requests according to economic problems, so that, the following aspects would be solved: Students will access from the distance real instruments and will accomplish online test workbench, in the idea of understanding all the aspects of a real experiment (including possible flaws). Detected errors in prescribing the commands towards the machine will not be corrected automatically, but the student will be warned. The results of the tests will be supplied by the user in the same way the real instrument does.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Ana M. R. Franco, E. Tóth, R.M. Debatin, Rodrigo S. Ribeiro e Bruno C. Couto
A POWER MEASUREMENT SYSTEM UNDER NON-SINUSOIDAL LOADS
The paper gives an account on a new power measuring system, based on digital sampling, which was developed by the National Institute of Metrology (INMETRO) of Brazil. The goal of the project was to achieve the highest possible accuracy at the presence of considerable harmonic distortions, to guarantee full traceability to national standards and to minimize the costs of obtaining a high quality reference system. The system facilitates the calibration of commercialized electronic wattmeters, watt-hour meters, as well as the analysis of non-linear loads, resulting harmonic distortions in power systems.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Jaroslav Strunc, Stanislav Dado
CAPACITIVE SENSOR FOR ROTATIONAL SEISMOLOGY
Studying of rotational components of ground movements belong among emerging approaches in recent geophysics. Rotations can be observed using the dense seismic arrays (microarrays, small aperture arrays) formed from classic three-dimensional seismic sensors. The aim of this project is a construction of portable, high-definition sensor of rotational movement around vertical axis. This sensor is based on measuring of changes of capacitance of differential capacitor.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Wojciech Toczek
PROBABILISTIC EVALUATION OF TEST ARCHITECTURES FOR FULLY DIFFERENTIAL CIRCUITS
The paper presents probabilistic model predestined to the evaluation, comparison and optimization of test architectures for fully differential (FD) circuits. The model have the form of analytical formulae that describe the probability density functions of the signal being measured during testing. The first density function is the generalized form of the Rayleigh distribution. It is relevant for representing a fault-free circuit. The second one is the generalized form of the Rician distribution. It is appropriate for modelling magnitude responses of a faulty CUT as well as a fault-free circuit. The parameters of the models are calculated using Taylor's series approximation method. The model was validated by comparison to the results obtained by Monte Carlo simulation and applied to evaluation of test architectures for a FD bandpass filter. One of the architectures is proposed by the author. The dependence of the probabilistic features of the test responses on the type of testing circuitry and on the testing frequency is demonstrated. It is shown that the testing methods, which exploit common-mode excitation of the CUT, have better probabilistic features than the method, which uses the differential mode excitation.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Ivan Leniček, Damir Ilić, Alan Šala
EXPANSION OF TRACEABILITY CHAIN OF PEL TO HIGH VALUE RESISTANCE STANDARDS
In the Primary Electromagnetic Laboratory (PEL), which is a part of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing of the University of Zagreb and a part of the Croatian metrology system, the unit of resistance (ohm) is maintained by the group of reference and working standards of nominal decade values ranging from 1 mΩ to 100 GΩ. The group of high value resistance standards from 100 MΩ to 100 GΩ is the hindmost incorporated in the resistance traceability chain, and relies on laboratory developed measurement system for high resistance comparison, which is presented in this paper. Realization of traceability of high value resistance standard group toward both of 10 kΩ and 10 MΩ reference standards is described. Based on 10 MΩ as starting point, the high resistance scaling was performed and temperature coefficients of resistors were determined. The achieved results of high value resistance comparison were analyzed and compared with the calibration values obtained at Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Zbigniew Czaja, Michał Kowalewski
A NEW METHOD FOR DIAGNOSIS OF ANALOG PARTS IN ELECTRONIC EMBEDDED SYSTEMS WITH TWO-CENTER RADIAL BASIS FUNCTION NEURAL NETWORKS
An approach of self-testing of analog parts in mixed-signal embedded systems controlled by microcontrollers is presented. It bases on a dictionary method of detection and localization of single soft faults of passive components in analog electronic circuits. At the Measurement Stage the tested analog part is stimulated by a square impulse generated by the microcontroller, and its response is sampled by microcontroller’s ADC in moments exactly established by an internal timer. Fault detection is made by the two-layer feed-forward perceptron. If the analog part is classified as faulty, the fault localization is performed by the specialized neural network based on Two-Center Radial Basis Functions (TCRBF). Both networks are created and trained on the Before Test Stage on the basis of family of localization belts, which are created by dispersion of identification curves under assumption of components tolerances. Identification curves placed in measurement space illustrate behaviour of the tested analog circuit incoming from changes of values of its components. The proposed method with TCRBF classifier is dedicated for testing and localization of single soft faults in analog electronic circuits. It can also be simply adopted for rough identification of analog circuits’ components.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

L. Oberto, N. De Leo, M. Fretto, A. Tartari, L. Brunetti, V. Lacquaniti
REALIZATION AND PRELIMINARY MEASUREMENTS ON A 94 GHZ SIS MIXER
In this work we present preliminary results concerning the characterization, in terms of noise temperature, of a 94 GHz prototype receiver based on a superconductive SIS mixer developed at INRIM for the MASTER experiment. It is a tryple receiver for the 94, 225 and 345 GHz bands for astrophysical observations based on SIS Josephson junctions. A promising noise figure of 110 K (about 22 times the quantum limit) has been obtained and contribute in fixing an upper bound to the final overall receiver noise temperature that is compliant with the experiment requirements. Moreover it is not far from the actual state of the art in the field. The realization of the device is also described with attention to the optimization of crucial features along with a DC characterization of its Josephson junctions. Finally, we have demonstrated the INRIM ability to design and realize SIS mixers usable for practical radioastronomical applications.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Luciano Brunetti, Gian Carlo Bosco, Marco Sellone, Paolo Terzi
BRIDGING A GAP BETWEEN LOW AND HIGH FREQUENCY MEASUREMENTS
INRiM’s primary AC-voltage standard is realized by means of a set of AC-DC Thermal Voltage Converters from DC range up to 1 MHz. Above this frequency, an AC-voltage standard has not been normally implemented because of low technical interest. Indeed, in that range, electromagnetic power, a quantity that is always well definable and measurable also at higher frequencies, becomes more interesting than the AC-voltage. Power standard is realized by means of microcalorimetric technique that, however, lacks in precision under 10 MHz. The result is a metrological gap from 1 MHz to 10 MHz, in which any electrical standard exists, at least at INRiM. To fill this gap a new measurement setup is now under development and characterization, which will allow performing AC-DC Transfer Difference measurement up to 100 MHz and realizing a low frequency power standard. In this paper a description of this new setup will be given together with a set of measurements.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Tommaso Addabbo, Ada Fort, Marco Mugnaini, Santina Rocchi, Valerio Vignoli
STATISTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A CHAOTIC PIECEWISE LINEAR MAP FOR UNIFORM-DISTRIBUTED ANALOG NOISE GENERATION
In this paper a theoretical approach for studying the effects of parameter perturbations on the chaotic statistics of piecewise linear expanding transformations is summarized, with reference to the chaotic Sawtooth map. On this basis, the authors prove that is possible, both from a theoretical and from an experimental point of view, to obtain almost uniform distributed and uncorrelated analog samples from the Sawtooth map.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Gabor Vinci, Alessandro Sona
ELECTROMAGNETIC ANALYSIS AND CAD MODELLING OF AN RF-ID SYSTEM
Radio Frequency Identification (RF-ID) is a key technology in today’s logistics and industrial scenarios, used for labelling and tagging items in warehouses and industrial production. In order to avoid unexpected faulty behaviours, some working conditions and setup parameters of RF-ID systems need to be carefully checked. To this aim, both measurements and numerical simulations can advantageously be performed. In this paper, some key working conditions are described and analyzed in terms of coupling between the reader device and RF-ID tags. In particular, the reading range in space of a standard inductive coupling 13.56 MHz RF-ID system is analyzed by using numerical simulations of scattering parameters and CAD (Computer Aided Design) modelling. The purpose is to present an example suggesting how to efficiently perform such a kind of analysis in order to verify the effectiveness of a RF-ID system setup.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

A.Fort, C. Lotti, M. Mugnaini, R.Palombari, S. Rocchi, V.Vignoli
AMPEROMETRIC SENSORS BASED ON NAFION PROTON CONDUCTOR: A COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT STRUCTURES
In this work the authors propose the development and the characterization of two NO₂ amperometric detection systems, based on two different solid state electrochemical sensors. Both sensors have a Nickel Oxide counter electrode, a Graphite working electrode, and Nafion as protonic conductor. The first detection system exploits a two-electrode sensor that presents satisfactory sensitivity to NO₂, a very low cross-response to interfering gases (CO, O₂), a short response time, and that requires a simple front-end electronics. Nevertheless, the usage of this sensor is limited to the detection of low NO₂ concentrations (below 10 ppm). A similar performance can be obtained by a system based on a three-electrode version of the sensor which can be used in a wider NO₂ concentration range, but requires a more complicated front end electronics.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Luciano Bruno Faruolo, M.T., Marina Rodrigues Brochado, D.Sc, Adriana da Cunha Rocha, D.Sc
ANALYSIS OF RELIABILITY FOR THE WEIGH-IN-MOTION VEHICLES WITH MONTE CARLO SIMULATION MODELLING
The load transported by road vehicles is subject of concern for the traffic authorities worldwide. The weight excess in vehicles has a direct impact on society, because of the detrimental effect on roads life time. The damaged roads lead to a higher number of accidents and deaths, damage vehicles and cause delays on trips. The technology for the identification of the force exerted by a vehicle on the road is the main factor for controlling the road usage. Measuring instruments have been installed along the roads to monitor the vehicles load and to check the associated parameters established in the national specific legislation. The analysis of reliability of the measuring instruments is very important as the accuracy is relatively different among the instruments used. This work evaluates the reliability of road vehicles weight measuring procedures for the weigh-in-motion system, by a developed model applied to an exploratory research in two weighing stations, using statistical tools, reliability analysis and making use of Monte Carlo method for the uncertainties evaluation. This model is capable of improving the process accuracy contributing for the reduction of damages caused by the weight excess of road vehicles.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Luca Callegaro, Vincenzo D’Elia, Fabrizio Manta
A SETUP FOR LINEARITY MEASUREMENT OF AC VOLTMETERS IN THE AUDIO FREQUENCY RANGE
A setup for the measurement of linearity of precision ac voltmeters in the audio frequency range is described. The setup is based on an inductive voltage divider (IVD) as linearity standard. Since the IVD is calibrated under no-load conditions, the setup is provided with a compensation of the loading current absorbed by the voltmeter. The compensation is automated and based on a commercial lock-in amplifier. As examples, measurements of the linearity of two top-class ac voltmeter (a J. Fluke 5790A and a Datron Wavetek 4920) are reported.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Koichi Funada, Mituo Nagao, Susumu Sakano
GRASP OF HARD AND SOFT OBJECTS BY DETECTIING FINGERTIP SLIP USING MULTI FINGERS HAND
The paper presents hardware and software architecture of the developed multi-finger hand robot using tactile sensors. The hand has three identical fingers. The fingers can detect hard and soft physical information by the tactile sensors using phase shift method. The soft and hard objects can be grasped and held easily by detecting slipping properties between the fingers and object. The development of dexterous robot hand is a very challenging endeavor. Many robot researchers has pursued the dexterous robot hands. Many robot hands have been developed over the past. These robot hands make it possible for the robot to grasp and manipulate objects. The tactile sensors are used for the detection of contact pressure to hold object. It is not possible to control soft object easily because of the very small contact pressure. In this study, the new tactile sensor of piezoelectric device is developed and the detection of the small contact pressure can be achieved by the phase shift method. The soft object is grasped and held easily by the detection of the slipping property between the tactile sensors and the object.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Richard Fertell
LIQUID FLOW RATE AUTOMATION & UNCERTAINTY – STAYING DRY
Real-life example of laboratory automation of data collection, device calibration, measurement uncertainty calculations & certificates for Liquid Mass Flow and Volumetric Flow Rate. Wet suits are not required to evaluate and compare coriolis mass flow meters and turbine volumetric flow meters in re-circulating systems and weigh standards. The effects of time, temperature, density, viscosity, air-buoyancy, flow stability, EMI and others can be startling; who knew? An off-the-shelf liquid recirculating system with data collection is evaluated with transfer standards for liquid flow rate and temperature. The flow system with turbine volumetric flow meters is compared with coriolis mass flow meter transfer standards. Various measurement agreements and errors are revealed for flow rate, temperature & density. Automation saves time, decreases measurement uncertainty and makes some flow rate analysis practical.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Giuseppe La Paglia, Gian Carlo Bosco, Marco Lanzillotti, Luca Callegaro
THE EFFECT OF ADJUSTMENT ON MULTIFUNCTION INSTRUMENTS FOR ELECTRICAL METROLOGY: CASE EXAMPLES
Top-class multifunction instruments (multimeters and calibrators) implement in their firmware adjustment procedures requiring a minimal set of adjustment standards. The small set of standards' values provided have effects on the (usually very broad) ranges of values and frequencies which the instrument can measure. How errors and uncertainties in the adjustment of specific points affect measurements in such broad ranges has been experimentally investigated in top-class multimeters and calibrators; most interesting results have been observed in the ‘ac voltage’ function; a number of examples are reported.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Daniel Belega, Dominique Dallet, David Slepička
SOME ASPECTS CONCERNING THE AMPLITUDE ESTIMATION OF A SINE WAVE BY ENERGY-BASED METHOD
In this paper the influence of quantization noise on the amplitude estimation of a sine wave by energy-based method is investigated. A condition for the number of acquired samples is derived to ensure that the absolute amplitude error due to the quantization noise is smaller than a desired value with a high confidence level. Based on this condition some important conclusions are drawn. Carried out simulation confirms the validity of the derived condition.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Emil Vremera, Luciano Brunetti, Luca Oberto, Marco Sellone
MEASUREMENT ALGORITHMS IN MICROCALORIMETER TECHNIQUES AT MICROWAVE FREQUENCIES
In the paper there are described different algorithms that are possible to be used in the microcalorimeter-based measurements for realizing the broadband high frequency power standards. Besides the equal time-intervals alternating algorithms, able to achieve the effective efficiency of the transfer power standards, it is presented a novel algorithm, based on keeping constant the limits of the microcalorimeter output quantity. The new method should be used for measuring the high frequency losses in magnetic amorphous wires.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

L. Carretta, G. Giorgi, R. Napolitano, C. Narduzzi, M. Stellini
CHARACTERIZATION OF HV LINES FOR DIGITAL POWER LINE CARRIER OPERATION
Introduction or upgrades of digital Power Line Carrier (PLC) communications equipment often require a new assessment of relevant power line features. This paper outlines an effective approach for measurement of the most important parameters in a PLC channel, which exploits advances in digital oscilloscope technology and software post-processing of acquired test data. Experimental results obtained on a 132 kV distribution line are presented to support the theoretical discussion.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Mariusz Szweda, Tomasz Tarasiuk
FREQUENCY CHARACTERISTIC OF TRANSIENTS AND NOTCHING DISTURBANCES – CASE STUDY
This paper is focused on the problem of transient and notching recognition. Especially, a problem of frequency characteristic of real impulses are considered. Aim of the paper is to determine a minimum covered frequency bandwidth, when dealing with this kind of disturbances. Parameters of the selected transient and notching disturbances are determined, after extracting disturbances by pass-band filters with various corner (cut-off) frequencies. Finally, some remarks regarding these disturbances measurements are presented.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Valeriu David, Ionut Nica, Alexandru Salceanu, Octavian Baltag
THE MEASUREMENT OF RADIOFREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS IN SOME SPECIAL PLACES
In this paper we present the levels of electromagnetic fields, due to the radiofrequency communication systems, in some special places as: hospitals, laboratories in the city and houses situated near broadcastings towers. Comparative measurements were made, using some types of near field probes and antennas in 90 MHz ÷ 2700 MHz frequency domain. We also determined both the root mean square – r.m.s. values of the three perpendicular components of the electric fields and the r.m.s. values of the maximum electric field vector, and then we compared the results. The aim of our measurements is the evaluation of the electromagnetic fields levels generated by communication systems, because of their possible interaction on the human body, electronic medical equipment and generally electrical devices.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Valeriu David, Ionut Nica, Romeo Ciobanu, Alexandru Salceanu
THE NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELD BASED ON CHIRAL HONEYCOMB SLAB
In this paper, by means of electromagnetic numerical simulations using CST software, we determined the electromagnetic shielding proprieties of the chiralhoneycomb slab. We represented and we made an optimization of the electromagnetic transmission coefficients, depending on the unit cell’s geometrical parameters of chiral-honeycomb slab. Finally we proposed some shield panels based on dielectric hexachiral-honeycomb slab coated with thin metallic layer, with a view to be used in the electromagnetic protection at the buildings level.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Marko Jurčević, Hrvoje Hegeduš, Roman Malarić, Hrvoje Zeba
GENERIC ENVIRONMENT FOR INTERNET-ENABLED CALIBRATION SERVICES
Since many of the available digital instruments are provided with some communication interfaces and the internet-enabled metrology is rapidly developing in the recent years, it is possible to create an actual remote calibration system with remote control capabilities. This approach addresses a wide range of possible applications that allows driving many kinds of different devices and can be easily upgraded. This paper focuses on some of the solutions for security problems regarding remotely executed internet-enabled calibration processes.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Dušan Agrež
ESTIMATION OF PARAMETERS OF THE EXPONENTIALLY DAMPED SINUSOIDAL SIGNALS IN THE FREQUENCY DOMAIN
In this paper, the exponentially damped sinusoidal signals are analyzed. Simple algorithms for fast measurement and estimation of the unknown damping, frequency, amplitude and phase are presented. The peaks of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) results are adopted to obtain the parameters. The idea of the quotient interpolation using the Hanning window for the basic three parameters can be adopted also for the damping. The Hanning window very efficiently reduce the systematic error in the case of damping estimation, but price for this is in increasing of the estimatation standard deviation in comparison with the rectangular window.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

U.Pogliano, B. Trinchera, G.Bosco and D.Serazio
DESIGN OF A THERMAL WATTMETER IN THE AUDIO FREQUENCY RANGE
This paper describes the development of a system for the measurement of power in the audio frequency range. Flexible units operating with a strategy based on the evaluation of rms quantity by a thermal method have been constructed. For each unit of the set-up, measurements and a preliminary characterization have been performed and estimation of the uncertainty will be discussed.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

V. N. Ojha, Shiv Kumar Jaiswal and Sudhir Kumar Sharma
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN AUTOMATED 10 V JOSEPHSON SERIES ARRAY VOLTAGE STANDARDAT NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY, INDIA
In the present paper, we discuss the integration, characterization and operation of the recently established an automated 10 volt Josephson Series Array Voltage Standard (JSAVS) at National Physical Laboratory, India (NPLI). Furthermore, we discuss the precision calibration of the Zener reference standard alongwith the uncertainty budget. The combined standard uncertainty of the Zener reference standard calibration at 10V for a Single Point Measurement (SPM) [1] is ± 25 nV at k=1.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

A. Cataldo, G. Monti, E. De Benedetto, G. Cannazza, L. Tarricone, L. Catarinucci
ON THE USE OF A RELIABLE LOW-COST SET-UP FOR CHARACTERIZATION MEASUREMENTS OF ANTENNAS
In this paper, a low-cost time domain-based approach to antenna characterization is presented. The goal is to prove that time domain-based antenna measurements, after appropriate processing, represent an accurate and more practicable alternative to the universally accepted (yet highly expensive) antenna measurements in anechoic chamber, and provide information just as complete. Measurements on two commercial antennas are carried out in the time domain (in a noncontrolled environment) and in the frequency domain (in an anechoic chamber): experimental data obtained from the two approaches are compared in terms of Return Loss. Results show that reliable results can be extracted from time domain data, and that a good insight into the antenna characteristics can be obtained even without using highly expensive facilities.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

A. Cataldo, G. Cannazza, E. De Benedetto, L. Tarricone, E. Piuzzi
MOISTURE CONTENT MEASUREMENTS THROUGH TDR: A METROLOGICAL ASSESSMENT FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
In this paper a metrological assessment on the accuracy provided by a Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR)-based method for the estimation of moisture content of granular materials is proposed. In particular, comparative moisture content measurements are carried out through two different TDR instruments: an inexpensive portable unit and a high-performance unit. The main goals are first to assess a robust procedure for TDR moisture monitoring (in particular for sand-like materials), and second to provide a deep metrological analysis for minimizing and characterizing error contributions. This feature is particularly important when considering the proposed measurement procedures for industrial applications, where both accuracy and low cost must be guaranteed.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Marcello Salmeri, Arianna Mencattini, Giulia Rabottino, Roberto Lojacono
SIGNAL-DEPENDENT NOISE CHARACTERIZATION FOR MAMMOGRAPHIC IMAGES DENOISING
The paper deals with the noise characterization under the assumption of a heteroscedastic signal–dependent noise model in the context of medical imaging. In particular, in this kind of application, a sophisticated noise variance estimation algorithm is applied using robust estimators and nonlinear regressions. A direct relation between noise variance and pixel intensity values is obtained and used within a multiresolution denoising algorithm, performed by Wavelet Thresholding (WT). We will provide results of the noise estimation, by applying the proposed method to mammographic images.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Alfredo Accattatis, Marcello Salmeri, Arianna Mencattini, Giulia Rabottino, Roberto Lojacono
VISUAL ANALYSER: A SOPHISTICATED VIRTUAL MEASUREMENTS LABORATORY FOR STUDENTS
The paper presents Visual Analyser, a free software tool developed by the research unit and suggested for use as a sophisticated virtual measurements educational laboratory for students. It can use either the sound card provided with all PC’s or dedicated hardware as the interface with the external world, and exploits the power of modern PC’s to achieve great performance. Visual Analyser includes a large set of instruments including a spectrum analyzer, a waveform generator, an oscilloscope and many other signal processing tools. For its special features Visual Analyser has been adopted by many professional and academic laboratories over the world.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Umberto Pogliano
LINKING THE KILOGRAM TO ELECTRICAL QUANTITIES BY THE ENERGY DISSIPATED IN A PENDULUM
The development of system for linking the kilogram to electrical quantities is described in this paper. The method is based on a multifilar pendulum interacting with a coil, where a variable electromotive force that produces a current in the coil and in a suitable external resistor is generated. The electrical energy dissipated is measured and the mass is evaluated from this energy and from the kinematics of the pendulum.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

E. Hristoforou, E. Kayafas, A. Ktena, DM Kepaptsoglou
ON THE UNCERTAINTY OF SENSORS BASED ON MAGNETIC EFFECTS
In this paper we illustrate that magnetic hysteresis affects the uncertainty of sensors based on magnetic phenomena and materials. Testing various magnetic techniques, we conclude that sensor uncertainty can be optimized by both, the optimization of magnetic hysteresis and the operation in the magnetically reversible area of the material. Preliminary modelling results are in agreement with our experimental findings.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

P. Fiorentin, E. Pedrotti, A. Scroccaro
AN IMAGING DEVICE FOR MULTISPECTRAL ANALYSIS IN THE VISIBLE RANGE
The method of characterizing a tunable bench of filter in the visible range and the spectral responsivity of a CCD camera is described. The two instruments are joined to form an image spectroradiometer, the performances of which are estimated taking into account its ability in reconstructing the spectral radiance of the light. The criteria useful to compensate the effect of finite bandwidth of the tunable filter are presented showing the effectiveness of the correction in determining both the spectra and the colorimetric CIE Lxy coordinates of the analyzed coloured samples. The system presents the performance of a good colorimeter-spectroradiometer adding the ability of analyzing a wide surface with a good spatial resolution, contemporarily.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

M. Casol, P. Fiorentin, A. Scroccaro
ON ROAD MEASUREMENTS OF THE LUMINANCE COEFFICIENT OF PAVING
The paper describes the design phase of a portable gonio-reflectometer for the measurements of the reflection properties of road paving directly on site. The importance of these measurements is highlighted, then the measuring procedure is briefly described together a presentation of the organization of the instruments itself and the design criteria. Attention is focused on the positioning of the light sources exciting the surface under analysis and on the errors which can appear in the evaluation of the performance of a road lighting plant designed on the measurements realized by the portable gonio-reflectometer, in particular.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Maria Gabriella Masi, Lorenzo Peretto, Roberto Tinarelli, Luigi Rovati
A PUPIL SIZE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF FLICKER ON HUMAN BEING
The validation of any new model of the human response to flicker requires proper experimental data. Recently, studies have been carried out with the intent of achieving information relevant to the state of annoyance of a human being subjected to light flicker by analyzing the modification of the pupil size. Indeed, it is well known that pupil diameter changes according to the luminous flux variation. According to such a theory the authors developed a measurement system capable of tracing the pupil size variations in time under flicker conditions. This will result of help for further developing the above theory and confirming its correctness and robustness. The presented measurement system will allow measuring the pupil diameter when subjected to flicker with given amplitude, frequency and colour. The technique and the relative system will be examined through the description of some tests executed to evaluate its performance. The good behaviour of the measurement system suggests its future employment for the analysis of flicker effects on human beings.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Bruno Andò, Salvatore Graziani, Domenico Neri, Nicola Pitrone, Nicolò Savalli
TOOLS FOR THREE-PHASE SYSTEM LABORATORY SESSIONS
Training on measurements to determine the characteristics of three-phase electrical systems is very useful for a deep knowledge of the theoretical aspects, particularly for electrical engineering undergraduates. The technological development requires the realization of tools which gradually familiarize the students with advanced technologies for measurement during the training activity. Three different tools have been implemented during the last three years in order to improve on purpose the didactic value of the laboratory sessions. In the first tool a complex hardware and software system is implemented: the system includes electromechanical instruments for a better understanding of the three-phase system operation and can be used in distance learning sessions, on account of the realized virtual instrument. The second tool provides different features from the previous one: indeed, it is based on advanced technologies and has been redesigned in order to realize an electronic power meter, active and reactive, in a wide range of current values. The last tool is a didactically valuable three-phase energy meter, an industrial technical instrument, ready to be characterized in the next future.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Ireneusz Bemke, Romuald Zielonko
ON APPLICATION OF WAVELET PACKETS DECOMPOSITION TO GLASS BREAKS ACOUSTIC SIGNAL FEATURES EXTRACTION
The main subject of authors’ research are non-contact methods of glass breaks detection based on analysis of acoustic signal generated during phenomena. Problem has essential meaning for modern, cost effective alarm systems, particularly installed into big buildings. Signal has stochastic character and the main difficulty of the problem is variability of many parameters (e.g. size and thickness of glass pane, distance from window to detector) and big amount of false signals (mainly accidental glass hits without break). Authors developed detection algorithm which uses Wavelet Transformation and few selected measures for signal features extraction and classification. Obtained detection efficiency >90% is satisfactory, but resistance to false signals (near to 80%) does not fulfill assumed level. Because the Wavelet Packet Decomposition allows more detailed analysis in frequency domain than WT, it is more suitable for extraction of time-frequency interdependencies in analyzed signals. This paper discuss some methods and results of WPD application and wavelet selection for improving system performance, and increasing the resistance to false signals.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

M. B. Wanderley, C. P. Souza
CONVERSION FROM GEOMETRICAL TO ELECTRICAL MODEL OF LVDT
The Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) is an inductive sensor which is used to measure linear displacement and finds uses in modern machine-tool, robotics, avionics, and computerized manufacturing. Its basic structure consists of a primary coil and two secondary coils like an electrical transformer. However, LVDT has a movable magnetic core that when the primary coil is excited with an AC voltage source, induced secondary voltages vary with the displacement of the core. In general, this accurate and reliable displacement-to-electrical sensor can be modeled in two forms: geometrical-parameter-based model and electrical-parameterbased model. Both are very used. However, research results based in geometricalbased model may become useless when only parameters from electrical one are known. In this paper, it is shown a way of conversion from geometrical- to electricalbased model in order to allow the interaction from one to other.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

A. Carta, N. Locci, C. Muscas, S. Sulis
GPS AND IEEE 1588 SYNCHRONIZATION FOR POWER SYSTEM MONITORING AND CONTROL
Monitoring, control and management of modern electric power systems require more and more extensively the use of distributed measurement systems capable of providing accurate data from remote measurement stations located in the network nodes. Synchronization between the acquisition devices is one of the most critical tasks in designing such systems, since in many cases the practical usability of the measured data strictly depends on how accurate the time reference used in the remote stations is. When highly accurate time synchronization is needed, satellite systems, like GPS, can be used to provide the required time reference. Given that equipping every measurement station with appropriate GPS receivers can result in excessive costs, in this paper the possibility of using Precision Time Protocol (defined in the Standard IEEE 1588) to disseminate the time reference provided by the GPS in an electric subsystem is investigated. Experimental results will be provided to evaluate the performance achievable with this solution in one of the most challenging measurement problems, that is represented by the measurement of synchrophasors.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Marija Čundeva-Blajer, Ljupčo Arsov, Luka Ferković, Roman Malarić, Damir Ilić
METROLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR MEASUREMENT OF HIGH VOLTAGES AND CURRENTS IN MACEDONIA AND CROATIA
In this paper, metrological infrastructure of Macedonia and Croatia will be presented in general, but more speciffically for measurement of high voltages and currents. As two countries become independent almost 20 years ago, they embarked on a similar metrological path, earning to strenghten international ties, to get more involved in organizations such as Euromet, to receive accreditation for the national measurement institutes, etc. However, as the two countries have emerging economies, it is sometimes difficult to develop all the necessary measurement methods, especially methods that need a lot of time and money to invest in, but are used very rarely. A work on two different measurement methods in our countries will be presented: a Rogowski coil (RC) being developed in Croatia and the current measurement unit (CMU) of a 20 kV combined current-voltage intrument transformer (CCVIT) in Macedonia.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Petar Mostarac, Hrvoje Hegeduš, Roman Malarić
ANALYSIS OF OFFSET FLUCTUATION GENERATED BY TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCY OF 3-AXIS ACCELEROMETER MMA7260QT
This paper describes the comparison of a two inertial sensing boards based on Freescale™ accelerometer MMA7260QT. Measurement results have shown that they are dependable on voltage supply. It is known that acceleration measurements depend on interferences and numerous noise sources. We have examined the offset fluctuation/moving bias of two inertial sensing boards generated by temperature and time dependency.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Stanislava Papezova,Vaclav Papez
EVALUATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE MAGNETIC FIELD ON HUMAN BY USE OF BIO-IMPEDANCE
This paper describes a system, which enables quantitative monitoring and evaluation of the influence of a pulse magnetic field on a live organism by using of bioimpedance measurement. Electric impedance of tissue varies according to the amount of blood contained in a segment at a given instant. Because blood has greater conductivity than tissue, the presence of a slightly increased amount of blood decreases the impedance of the tissue. The magneto-therapeutic instrument uses a couple of Helmholtz coils as the applicator. The magnetic field strength is approximately 60 mT. The current of these coils is controlled by the pseudo random impulse signal by using of a power switch. The random exciting generator was designed as a 16-bits generator of a Galois code. The bioimpedance has been measured by four electrode method by using of RF narrow band vector bioimpedance meter on the forearm. During the magnetic field exposure the bioimpedance signal level increases above the normal and its level reaches the maximum after about 10 minutes. The maximum value is approximately 50 % higher than the normal level.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Vaclav Papez, Stanislava Papezova
SOURCE FOR A POWER SUPPLY OF MEASURING SYSTEMS IN LABORATORY
The functions of measuring instruments and measured equipments are always affected by technical parameters of the electrical energy, which supplies apparatus and arrangements. Disturbing signals, which are propagate by power line along the supply system or by the form of radiated electromagnetic waves, get through measuring circuits. By norms defined arrangement immunity against the disturbance guarantees only a limited influence of the acceptable disturbance on measuring apparatus, this disturbance also affects the analysed arrangements. The disturbance levels that are also multiple less than the one, that the norm allows, are often noticeable in measuring results. In the paper are evaluated properties of the concrete power supplies used in laboratory- AC power network, testing AC power supply, UPC power supply, DC/AC inverter and special sources with minimal distortion – inverter with harmonic output voltage and motor – generator power supply. The motor-generator has the lowest level of disturbance of all systems. Inverter with harmonic output voltage and power network with separation transformer has the higher level. Switching PCM inverts have most high level of disturbance.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Jan Malinsky
THE APPLICATION OF THE TIMED AUTOMATA FOR FLEXRAY START-UP TESTING
This contribution deals with modelling of a selected part of the new automotive communication standard FlexRay. In particular, it focuses on the mechanizm ensuring start of a FlexRay network. The model has been created with the use of timed automata and verified. For this purpose the UPPAAL software tool has been used that allows modelling of discrete even systems with the use of timed automata and subsequently to verify the model with the use of suitable queries compiled in the temporal logic. This model can be used for searching incorrect settings of time parameters of nodes in the network that prevent network startup and subsequently the start of the car. The existence of this model also opens the way for finding possible errors and faults in the standard.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Marcus Tadeu Pinheiro Silva, Flavio Henrique Vasconcelos, Guilherme Augusto, Silva Pereira
RF INTERFACE FOR INTELLIGENT ARTERIAL PRESSURE SENSOR BASED IN RFID TECHNOLOGY
This paper presents an intelligent wireless sensors device developed to measure blood pressure and heart rate in small laboratory animals, employing an invasive (in vivo implant) method. This sensor relies on the RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) technology to transmit and receive data. A mathematical measurement model is developed in order to obtain the measurand (blood pressure and heart rate) best estimate and the uncertainty.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

M.Branzila, C.I. Alexandru, C. Schreiner
FROM REAL WORLD EXPERIMENT TO VIRTUAL LABORATORY AND NEXT GENERATION GRID
The Grid technologies are introduced to build e-Learning environments for engineering education. Service-oriented Grids open new fields of applications, the Learning Grids. The learning services concept based on a learning model and their deployment through Grid technologies are excellent means to integrate virtual laboratories into e-Learning environments for engineering education. The paper goes into the most important technical details, introduces into the used learning model, and shows the authoring of Grid resources for virtual laboratories. Examples from a virtual laboratory demonstrate the advantages of a Grid.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

M.Branzila, C.I. Alexandru, C. Schreiner
INTELLIGENT SYSTEM FOR MONITORING THE ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS
The project’s idea is really simple: using the LabView environment, we have realized a virtual instrument able to get from the prototype data acquisition board for environmental monitoring parameters the information about air pollution factors like CO, H₂S, SO₂, NO, NO₂ etc. In order to get effective information about those factors and the monitoring points, this intelligent measurement system, compound from portable computer, and Gas detector. This system can be used to map the information about the air pollution factors dispersion in order to answer to the needs of residential and industrial areas expansion.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Septimiu Crisan, Ioan Gavril Tarnovan, Titus Eduard Crisan.
A HAND VEIN STRUCTURE SIMULATION PLATFORM FOR ALGORITHM TESTING AND BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION
Scanning the veins in human hands for biometric purposes has become more and more appealing due to inexpensive hardware requirements and rather simple software processing algorithms. However, there are few studies regarding the repeatability or uniqueness of the actual vein pattern. Furthermore, algorithm testing is usually carried out on a limited number of sample images acquired under different hardware setups. This is mainly due because of the lack of a vein pattern image database aimed to provide researchers with sufficient data to test recognition algorithms. Creating a large database of real hand vein patterns is a difficult task in terms of time and money. Other biometric domains, such as fingerprint recognition, benefit from synthetic generated images that greatly aid the accuracy of a given processing technique. This paper will offer a novel implementation of a platform for synthetic vein pattern images of the back of the hand. While the reasons behind pattern forming of veins are not completely known, there is sufficient data to create realistic images of vein patterns based on model reconstruction from crossing points, terminations and general anatomy of the hand.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Karol Korcz, Beata Palczynska, Ludwik Spiralski
MEASUREMENTS OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD INTENSITY ON THE SEAGOING SHIP WITHIN THE FREQUENCY RANGE 0,1…30 MHZ
The method for measuring the intensity of electric and magnetic field with using of a system containing a set of measuring antennas and a spectrum analyzer has been described. A computer PC was used to analyze obtained results. The measurements results of the electromagnetic field intensity within the frequency range 0,1...30 MHz in the area of navigation bridge of the Gdynia Maritime University ship Horyzont II during her trip trough the waters of Bay of Gdańsk and water surrounding Hel Peninsula (Baltic Sea) are presented. They were carried out in 7 measurement points including a whole navigation bridge. During the experiment, all the standard devices present on the navigation bridge were turned on. The analysis of the obtained measurements results of electric and magnetic field intensities at all measurement points were carried out. The uncertainty of the obtained measurements of magnetic and electric field intensities is estimated. Furthermore, obtained results are compared to admissible reference levels found in available normative documents.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

C. Ceretta, R. Gobbo, G. Pesavento
EFFECT OF INTEGRATION ERROR ON PARTIAL DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS ON CAST RESIN TRANSFORMERS
Partial discharge measurements are routinely used for quality assurance of medium voltage resin encapsulated transformers. Instrumentation and procedures are covered by international Standards and measurements are in general reliable and reproducible. However calibration is performed at the winding terminals, whereas PD pulses are mostly originated well inside the coils: as a result, the shape of the signal being recorded can be very different, with marked oscillations. A comparison between different types of wide band PD detectors has been performed under conditions in which integration errors are experienced. It has been proved that when a PD pulse origin is located inside the MV coil of a cast resin transformer, the propagation towards the terminals can cause a marked distortion: the pulse harmonic content therefore cannot be flat in the frequency measurement range of the PD detectors and consequently the hypothesis upon which the pseudointegration principle is based is no longer valid.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

E. Piuzzi, D. A. Lampasi, S. Pisa, L. Podestà
A VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT FOR TRANS-THORACIC IMPEDANCE INVESTIGATIONS
Impedance pneumography is a technique that allows the monitoring of respiratory activity through the measurement of variations in the impedance between two points located on the thoracic surface. In this paper, a low-cost, easily portable, and re-configurable measurement system is presented, suitable to perform impedance pneumography investigations, based on virtual instrumentation employing a data acquisition card controlled through a LabVIEW program. A possible approach for a metrological characterization of the system is proposed, showing a base uncertainty of the order of 0,4 % in the measurement of the resistive part of the impedance, in the range of interest. Some preliminary investigations have been performed in order to assess the influence on measured trans-thoracic impedance both of the kind of electrodes adopted for current injection and simultaneous voltage measurement and of the frequency of injected sinusoidal currents. Finally, acquisitions made on a volunteer are presented, evidencing the feasibility of the proposed system in monitoring the breath activity of a patient and in extrapolating relevant diagnostic parameters.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Luka Ferković, Damir Ilić, Ivan Leniček
LABORATORY CURRENT TRANSFORMER BASED ON ROGOWSKI COIL
This paper cover the analysis and construction of current to voltage transducer based on Rogowski coil which satisfy the requirements of high-accuracy measurement of AC current (up to 20 A at power supply frequency, with the aiming uncertainty of 100 parts per million). Primary source of ac current uncertainty measured by this type of transducer is nonuniform density of turns which, in case of eccentricity or shift of primary conductor results in deviations of mutual inductance. Self capacitance and self resistance, temperature dependence of coil geometry and electromagnetic interferences affect the accuracy as secondary source of uncertainty. With respect of influencing parametres, the current transducer of aim accuracy can be realized.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

As. Ing. C. Dughir
VISUAL C++ COMPLEX MATHEMATICAL SIGNAL GENERATOR
This paper present a complex mathematical signals generator that can generate a combination of mathematical signals at the output of a PC sound card. The user can describe complex mathematical functions to be generated. The signal generator proposed is very simple to use and don’t require complex and expensive hardware to run.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

C.Bratescu, R.Burlacu, S. Ursache, R. Ciobanu
VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTATION FOR SMARTPHONES
PDA-based instruments with wireless capabilities are a powerful aid to monitor and control applications. Using virtual instrumentation abilities of Labview 8.2, PDA, communications protocols and wireless devices we developed and tested some applications dedicated to the data transfer, workable for Pocket PC 2003. LabVIEW allow the addition of the dedicated module LabVIEW PDA Module, an essential resource in the development of graphical applications GUI usable on the PDA level
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

A. Bounouh, H. Camon, R. Plana, F. Ziadé, A. Polletaeff, D. Allal
DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF MEMS BASED AC VOLTAGE REFERENCE
This work explores the MEMS potentialities to fabricate flexible AC voltage references through mechanical-electrical transduction that could be used for high precision electrical metrology or for applications in miniaturized instrumentation. The design presented allows the generation of AC voltage reference ranging from 1V to 60 V using the same Epitaxial Silicon On Insulator (SOI) Surface Micromachining process that permits an accurate control of both dimensions and material properties. Different tests structures have been designed and fabricated. First results show a good agreement between the calculated and the measured characteristics of the devices and the performance, stability and reliability of these systems is still under investigation. Moreover, a technological process for metallic membranes has been developed and used to manufacture MEMS devices in the shape of cantilevers and bridges on coplanar lines. On wafer measurements will be used to compare the characteristics of both technological options (SOI and low stress metallic membrane).
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Romano Giannetti, Mirko Marracci, Bernardo Tellini, Carmine Zappacosta
VI-CHARACTERIZATION OF SOFT MAGNETIC MATERIALS BY DRIVING CURRENT OR VOLTAGE
We analyse the volt-amperometric (VI-) method for the characterization of minor loops of soft magnetic materials. By adopting several input signals and by operating at various frequencies in the 10 Hz – 10 kHz frequency range, we perform the measurement on a soft ferrite core. Through the use of two different measurement schemes, we control in the first case the voltage across– and in the second case the current through– the primary coil. Measurement results are reported and a comparison among the various techniques is provided throughout the paper. A commercial ferrite core and a Fe-Si thin lamination are used as our samples.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Antonio Raffo, Valeria Vadalà, Pier Andrea Traverso, Alberto Santarelli, Giorgio Vannini, Fabio Filicori
AN INNOVATIVE TWO-SOURCE LARGE-SIGNAL MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF LOW-FREQUENCY DISPERSIVE EFFECTS IN FETS
Large-signal measurement systems based on high-frequency sinusoidal excitations have been widely exploited by the microwave community for the characterization of transistors under nonlinear operation. However, device characterization at high-frequencies necessarily involves the application of rather complex calibration procedures of the measurement setup. In addition, reactive effects associated with the device extrinsic parasitic effects tend to become more important at high-frequencies. Thus, uncertainties in the identification of the parasitic network components may lead in this case to critical errors in the identification of the intrinsic device behavior and in particular, of the drain current source. In order to overcome these problems, an alternative nonlinear measurement setup based on large-signal sinusoidal excitation at low-frequency (e.g., 2 MHz) is here proposed. The description of its hardware and software implementation is dealt with in this paper and different experimental examples are provided in order to highlight the capabilities of the proposed characterization approach.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Damir Ilić, Alan Šala, Ivan Leniček
SIMPLE AND RELIABLE SYSTEM FOR ACCURATE MAINTENANCE OF VOLTAGE STANDARDS
A new automatic system is described whereby precise, simple and reliable intercomparison of electronic voltage standards is enabled by using a self-developed 16 channel low-thermal switch and digital nanovoltmeter, controlled by the computer. It enables faster and easier comparison, as well as optimisation of the whole procedure. The control software was developed using a LabVIEW, and the obtained parameters are pointed out. At the Primary Electromagnetic Laboratory, which is a part of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Zagreb, the maintenance of the unit of volt is one of its important tasks, due to its role as a holder of national standards of voltage. Although the best possible accuracy (or maintenance of the highest level) is attainable by means of Josephson voltage standards, due to its costs and limited availability it is not the most practical, specially when the utmost level of accuracy is not essential. For measurement of voltage differences at a level of microvolts crucial attention has to be paid to avoid any unstable and changeable TEMS. Therefore, in the construction of the mentioned multi-channel low-thermal switch and digital nanovoltmeter this was the very important task.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Sankaran P., Madhu Mohan N., Jagadeesh Kumar V.
LINEARIZATION OF THE OUTPUT OF A WHEATSTONE BRIDGE FOR SINGLE ACTIVE SENSOR
The output of a Wheatstone bridge with only a single active resistive sensor is inherently nonlinear. A generalized feedback compensation scheme is presented in this paper that provides a linear output for a Wheatstone bridge with only a single active resistive sensor, even for large variations in the resistance of the sensor. Simulation studies and experimental verifications establish the efficacy of the proposed linearization technique. The proposed method is best suited for single active resistive sensors involving Resistive Temperature Devices (RTD) and piezo-resistive type sensors possessing large range of variation.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Aimé Lay-Ekuakille, Giuseppe Vendramin, Amerigo Trotta
CARDIO -VASCULAR IMAGE CONTRAST IMPROVEMENT VIA HARDWARE DESIGN
In many circumstances software processing is the best and suitable way of improving image contrast, hence image quality. Different biomedical instrumentation and apparatuses encompass post processing units capable of optimal outcomes. However, in particular cases, especially for contour analysis, the above outcomes are not sufficient. Therefore, an alternative can be envisaged in designing image enhancer and intensifier to compensate image processing limitations. This aspect is very important regardless of computational costs of this alternative. This paper proposes some criteria of design image enhancer and intensifier for biomedical applications. Moreover, the hardware has been used for improving the quality of cardio-vascular image constrast with acceptable outcomes. The images come from different instrumentations, namely, diagnostic ultrasound and echocardiograph. In addition, a specific algorithm has been implemented by means of a variational approach based on Mumford & Shah functional to solve the magnification or zooming problem for a given digital image. The numerical solution of the system of elliptic PDEs associated with the MS functional can provide simultaneously noise suppression, extraction of shape and magnification of the image.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

S.Ursache, M. Branzila, C. Bratescu, R. Burlacu
FDTD IMPLEMENTATIONS FOR ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDS
This paper is a brief presentation of FDTD numerical method usable for simulation of electromagnetic shields behavior. The presentation is focused on this method that is appropriate for high frequency shields. A new class of auxetic materials, a hexachiral honeycomb structure with good mechanical properties, is investigated through computer simulation. Some simulation results are also presented in the final part of the paper.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Ariel Dzwonkowski, Leon Swędrowski
LASER MEASUREMENTS IN THE MOTOR BEARING DIAGNOSTICS
Some damages of mechanical parts such as bearings, rotor, shaft or the damages in the elements of electromagnetic system, for example in the wiring of stator, rotor or of the magnetic circuit can appear in induction motors. Statistics say that bearings are this part of induction motors which is most susceptible to damage. That is why the issues connected with diagnostics of bearings are so important. This paper shows diagnostic methods which employ the acceleration of vibration measurements. The appearance of a specific kind of damage in the motor is a source of additional forces whose character is oscillatory and which can be noticed in the damaged area. These forces result in vibrations which form the basis for diagnostic research. When the course of these vibrations is subjected to spectral analysis, it can be obtain a number of components related to specific types of damages. A scanning laser vibrometer PSV-400 Polytec has been employed for vibration measurements. The research has been conducted on a number of artificially damaged bearings. This paper presents exemplary results of testing damaged bearings with the usage of laser vibrometer PSV-400. The research of technical condition of the same bearings was simultaneously carried out with DREAM – a vibration diagnostics system.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Jędrzejewska-Szczerska M., Hypszer R.
DIELECTRIC, LOW-COHERENCE SENSORS OF PHYSICAL QUANTITIES WITH SPECTRAL DOMAIN OPTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
Low-coherence interferometric sensors are an important group of optical fibre sensors. Combining high measurement resolution with broad measurement range, these sensors can measure accurately several physical quantities. In this article the authors present the fiber-optic sensors using low-coherence interferometry, which has been designed and elaborated. Being made from dielectric materials, sensors can be used in the presence of electromagnetic fields. Sensors use a new, elaborated by the authors, method of signal processing. The presented results will show that the described technique can be an effective method for improving the signal processing in low-coherent measurement systems.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Danilo Alves de Lima, Guilherme Augusto Silva Pereira, Flávio Henrique de Vasconcelos
A COMPUTER VISION SYSTEM TO READ METER DISPLAYS
Since the beginning of the movement for quality management programs based on ISO 9000 or/and ISO/IEC 17025 that were adopted by many type of industries, calibration laboratories have been under pressure to increase productivity. This work is about a computational system to automate the entire instrument calibration process. The computer vision system proposed is to be used to read the display of both analogue as well as digital instruments that do not have communication interfaces to computers such as GPIB or RS-232. In order to figure out instrument indication, the system employs an optical character recognition technique in digital displays and Canny’s method for edge detection and the Hough’s transform method for line localization in analogue displays, accelerating the data acquisition process and makes it less prone to errors. Consequently, it contributes to improve calibration and reduce costs, increasing the number of instruments with quality assured measurements.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

T.Geetha, V.Jayashankar, V.Jagdeesh Kumar, P.Sankaran
A GRID TRANSACTION INDEX FOR A POWER SYSTEM WITH AVAILABILITY BASED TARIFF
The Indian power system is a large network with an installed capacity of 140 GW. It is unique in that it is the only network which allows the operating frequency to vary over a band from 0.5 Hz to -1.0 Hz from the nominal 50 Hz. The pricing for power purchased is a function of the operating frequency following a commercial mechanism called availability based tariff. Since the network consists of several states which are each commercially independent, an elaborate metering system is required at the interconnecting 400 kV grid. Since 2004, 461 special energy meters with 0.2 class accuracy have been erected across the network. They provide online information about key network parameters in addition providing the data for commercial transactions. We show several examples of the utility of this measuring system with regard to scheduling plants in the network, planning and control studies. We propose a grid transaction index that would help assess the state of the network and the performance of various state’s dispatchers. All discussions are based on the data of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), a utility in the Southern region.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Borikov V.N.
COMPUTER SYSTEM FOR MEASUREMENT OF HIGH VOLTAGE SIGNAL DURING PLASMA PROCESS IN SOLUTION
This paper presents both hardware and software of a system for measurement of high-voltage signal with high resolution. The distinctive feature of the system is its application for investigation of the high-voltage plasma processes in solutions which are characterized by the pulse voltage within the range from 100 V to 3 kV and by the pulse duration from a few to hundreds microseconds. The system is portable and consists of the high-voltage dividers, signal level shift unit, oscilloscope, and computer with software. Structure and main principles of operation are described. Its technical and metrological parameters are given.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

O. Postolache, H. Geirinhas Ramos, A. Lopes Ribeiro
CHARACTERIZATION OF DEFECTS IN ALUMINUM PLATES USING GMR PROBES AND NEURAL NETWORK SIGNAL PROCESSING
Conductive specimens such as aluminum plates are tested in order to extract information about possible cracks, flaws and other mechanical damages. Nowadays, eddy current testing (ECT) despite its major benefits (e.g. low cost, high checking speed, robustness and high sensitivity to large classes of defects) implies the utilization of fully coil based architecture probes or hybrid coil-magnetoresistive probes. This work presents an eddy-current testing system based on a giant magnetoresistive sensing device. The application detects and estimates the size of cracks in an aluminum plate specimen. A neural network processing architecture is used to find out the correspondence between the cracks and the signal characteristics measured on the eddy current probe. The crack detection and the estimation of its size using different eddy-current frequencies are described in the paper.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

T.Geetha, V.Jayashankar, V.Jagdeesh Kumar, P.Sankaran
CO-ORDINATED MEASUREMENTS FOR GOVERNOR OPERATIONS IN THE SOUTHERN INDIAN GRID
The Southern grid of the Indian power system is a network with an installed capacity of about 37000 MW. It comprises of several thermal and hydel units. The network allows the operating frequency to vary over a band from + 0.5 Hz to -1.0 Hz from the nominal 50 Hz. This is due to the historical chronic shortage of power in the network. Since 2004 about 460 special energy meters with 0.2 class accuracy have been erected across the network. Normally despatch is done every 15 minutes with set point control. On one occasion an experiment involving governor operation across all hydro units and thermal units in excess of 200 MW was carried out for a period of three hours. Records of frequency profile, state generation, inter-regional flows etc., are available at sampling of 1 minute over six hours. We have analyzed the performance of the free governor mode operation (FGMO) based on site data. It is shown that the response for the hydro units swamped those of the thermal units in the three hour duration. Operation under governor control of all units could not be sustained for more than fifteen minutes. Several hydro units tripped during the experiment. A simulation model with a 2 unit system shows that smaller machines tend to move out of synchronism for load variations close to their capacity. One machine in the network shows this classic behaviour.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Beata Pałczyńska
TIME – FREQUENCY ANALYSIS OF NON-STATIONARY MAGNETIC FIELDS
The paper considers applying the quadratic joint time – frequency transform for the spectral analysis of the non-stationary magnetic fields. The general properties, advantages and disadvantages of the quadratic algorithms from Cohen’s class like the short – time Fourier transform (STFT) spectrogram and the pseudo Wigner – Ville (PWV) distribution as well as the adaptive spectrogram are discussed. The selected results of the off-line time-frequency analysis of the recorded signals of magnetic field of ship bow thrusters drive with frequency converter are presented. Performed time-frequency analysis enabled the signal identification in time periods. If the frequency contents of the analyzed signal don’t change rapidly, then the STFT spectrogram can be applied with relatively wide window function, to obtain a good frequency resolution. The PWV distribution is useful for analyzing signals that have widely separated components for which a fine time-frequency resolution is required. The adaptive algorithm is characterized by the most accurate detection of investigated nonstationary components, but it requires more computation time, which is suitable only for off-line analysis.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

M. Dias Pereira, O. Postolache, P. Silva Girão
IMPROVING ACCURACY AND LINEARITY OF LOW-COST FLOWMETERS
Two of the most important static transducer characteristics, in any measurement system, are linearity and accuracy. In the present paper the calibration and linearization of a low-cost orifice flow meter is considered. Accuracy improvements are based on calibration coefficients that are evaluated with the measurements obtained from a reference flow meter. Linearity improvement is based on a non-linear A/D conversion whose transfer characteristic is the inverse of the transducer’s characteristic. The linearity can be strongly improved using a non-linear A/D conversion performed by a low-cost ADC, using only single-bit input and output ports. The proposed method, already described by the authors in previous papers, is applied to an orifice based flow meter, simplifying the typical conditioning circuit that requires an additional square root extractor circuit module. The paper includes simulation and experimental results that validate theoretical expectations.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Nuno B. Brás, Raúl C. Martins, António C. Serra
CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEW SYMMETRICAL CANCELATION METHOD FOR MAGNETIC INDUCTION TOMOGRAPHY
Magnetic Induction Tomography (MIT) is an imaging technique for passive electrical properties used in industrial and biological imaging. In the case of biological purposes, high resolution measures of the magnetic field induced in the body and the ability to acquire data at several points along its border are two major challenges of MIT. In a previous work we have developed a prototype that allows precisely moving sensing and source coils, improving data quality and quantity for the tomographical image processing. Several alternatives for stability and resolution improvements have been presented. However, all of them had limitations in terms of stability and resolution for a moving coils system. This paper presents a new geometric setup built for a moving sensing coils prototype that allows the cancelation of the carrier field independently of the acquiring position.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Abraham Mejía-Aguilar, Ramon Pallàs-Areny
ELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE MEASUREMENT USING PULSE EXCITATION
Impedance is the only electrical property common to all materials. Its measurement is used for material characterization and testing, and for sensor design. Impedance measurements in a broad frequency range are slow and need complex instrumentation. Impedance measurements in the time domain can be faster but need more computation power. We propose a novel measurement method intended for applications where the unknown impedance can be modeled by three independent components. The method consists of applying a single pulse, measuring three amplitudes, and calculating the unknown components from the analytical solution of the resulting equation system. The three measurement points are so selected that the computation power needed is minimal. Furthermore, measurements at the leading edge of the pulse are avoided by using linear extrapolation. The method suits lowpower measurements in electrolytes, which involve electrodes that can be modeled by a resistance shunted by a capacitance. Actual conductivity measurements from 100 μS/cm to 10 mS/cm, yield relative errors below 3.5 %, which fulfills the 5 % target set in some standards for monitoring the conductivity of surface water bodies.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Boleslaw Dudojc
PROPRIETIES OF TRANSMITTERS IN FUNCTION OF DYNAMIC CHANGES OF OPERATION POINT OF TWO WIRES MEASUREMENT LINE IN 4-20MA STANDARD
In the paper the author refers to a common opinion about high immunity of current loop measurement and control line to interferences. That opinion is only theoretical. The author presents of some experiments results which are pointed out on limitations concern immunity to interferences especially to the two wire measurement line in 4-20 mA standard.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

P.P. Capra, C. Cassiago, F. Galliana, M. Astrua
A TEMPERATURE VARIABLE HIGH ACCURACY 10 k&OMEGA; RESISTOR
A temperature variable high accuracy (TVHA) 10 kΩ resistor has been developed at National Institute of Metrological Research, (INRIM), in order to transfer the traceability to high accuracy multifunction instruments used in the accredited calibration laboratories. The TVHA consists of ten 100 kΩ nominal value resistors inserted in a copper block and connected in parallel configuration. The thermal stability of the copper block is obtained with a temperature controller. In this paper we reported details of the development of the TVHA and on its thermal behaviour. From preliminary results its relative short time stability (2 h) resulted on the order of few parts of 10^-8.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

M. Caciotta, F. Leccese, S. Pisa, E. Piuzzi
A VOLTAGE CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR FOR OBTAINING A FREQUENCY REFERENCE CONSTANTLY LOCKED TO L1 GPS CARRIER FOR POWER QUALITY ASSESSMENT APPLICATIONS
The need to correlate as accurately as possible Time to the power quality events pushes towards the necessity to develop circuits able to yield a time reference that is referable to International Time Standards. Moreover, the necessity to deploy distributed power quality monitoring systems requires these time references to be easy to disseminate, making them available on specific monitoring sites. In this paper, the possibility to obtain a time reference continuously traceable to a Cs133 atomic standard is proposed, by locking the Cesium-derived L1 GPS satellites carrier by means of a specifically designed GPS receiver. Such time reference would simply require visibility of one GPS satellite in order to be operative. In particular, the overall architecture of such receiver will be first outlined and then attention will be focused on the design and realization of the VCO which is one of its fundamental building blocks. Measurements carried out on a prototype of the proposed VCO show that its performances are adequate for the aim.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Francesco Adamo, Filippo Attivissimo, Attilio Di Nisio, Mario Savino
AN AUTOMATED VISUAL INSPECTION SYSTEM FOR THE GLASS INDUSTRY
Today, computer vision inspection systems are widely used for quality control to reduce the costs and to improve the product quality. The glass industry is constantly trying to improve quality by substituting the human control with automated inspection systems but several problems must be solved. In this paper the problem of detecting and measuring the defects of satin glasses is investigated and a real-time system is proposed that is able to analyze the glass surface under inspection, to assess its quality and to characterize its defects. A prototype has been carefully designed and optimized for validating the proposed approach and to reproduce the real issues of quality control. The prototype is composed by several CMOS cameras, a controllable conveyor bend, and an image processing system. Currently the prototype, which is cheap and reliable, is under further development in cooperation with a specialized electronic industry.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Francesco Adamo, Filippo Attivissimo, Laura Fabbiano, Nicola Giaquinto, Maurizio Spadavecchia
LABORATORIES PRACTICES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATIONAL COURSES: THE PROBLEM OF THERMOCOUPLE COLD JUNCTION COMPENSATION WITH CALIBRATION ERROR CORRECTION
In this paper the preliminary work of laboratory practices developed for didactic purposes for undergraduate courses at the Engineering Faculty of Polytechnic of Bari is presented. The educational purposes of these experiments can be summarized as follow: - to grant students the opportunity to verify theoretical arguments introduced in theoretical lessons; - to give technical skills; - to integrate research work and educational programs promoting the insertion of student in the scientific community. In this paper a technical solution useful to measure temperature by means of thermocouples is described; the main goal of the proposed technique is that it employs only one programmable multimeter and devices commonly available in university laboratories.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Pasquale Arpaia, Mario Luca Bernardi, Giuseppe Di Lucca, Vitaliano Inglese, Giovanni Spiezia
AN ASPECT ORIENTED-BASED SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURAL FRAMEWORK FOR SYNCHRONIZATION IN MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS
An Aspect-Oriented approach to software synchronization in automatic measurement systems is proposed. Tasks are synchronized by means of “aspects”, a specific software unit to better modularize properties and features transversal to many modules (“crosscutting concerns”). In this way, maintainability and reusability of a measurement software are improved: once a modification in the synchronization policy occurs, only the related aspects have to be modified. As an experimental case study, this technique is applied to the software synchronization of a measurement station for testing superconducting magnets at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Vincenzo Cutrupi, Carmine Landi, Mario Luiso
FPGA-BASED COMPENSATION OF CURRENT TRANSFORMERS
Voltage and current transformers are the most installed transducers in electrical power system and typically they are constructed to operate at industrial frequency, 50/60 Hz. On the other hand power quality analyses in the last years has assumed more and more heaviness in industrial environments, due to the presence of non-linear loads: they require measuring instrumentation with large bandwidth. Therefore in this paper a real-time digital technique for the compensation of current transformers, based on field programmable gate array, is presented: it implements a digital filter with a frequency response equal to the inverse one of CT. The compensated CT continues to be an analog device since the FPGA board is opportunely equipped with analog to digital and digital to analog converters. Experimental results have shown that the compensated CT improves performances of the original CT of a factor 24.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

M. Chiampi, G. Crotti, Y. Hu, A. Sardi
CALIBRATION OF PARTIAL DISCHARGE MEASURING SYSTEMS BY A REFERENCE IMPULSE CHARGE GENERATOR
The calibration of a partial discharge measuring system is carried out to determine its scale factor. This operation is performed in the complete test circuit by injecting across the terminals of the device under test a known charge generated by a traceable calibrator. The paper presents the calibration of four different partial discharge measuring systems, carried out by using a programmable reference impulse charge generator developed at the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica. The device is composed of an arbitrary waveform generator and a series capacitor. By this instrument, the performances of the four systems (linearity, response to opposite polarity pulses, response to pulse train and pulse resolution time) are deeply investigated and compared. The results obtained show that the tests prescribed by the standards do not fully characterize the partial discharge measuring system behaviour. Additional checks should be carried out to better evaluate their performances, with particular reference to measuring systems which include advanced analysis tools.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Ph. D. candidate Cirdei Cornel Dinu
COMPLEX APPLICATION FOR PROTECTIONS, CONTROL AND METERING CIRCUITS FOR 20 kV OVER HEAD LINE FEEDER, USING A DEVELOPMENT MICROSYSTEM WITH PIC 18F8722 MICROCONTROLLER
The Application for Protection, Control and Meterring Circuits using a Development Microsystem, simulates protection, alarms, control and metering instruments, for 20 kV Over Head Line Feeder. The first function of present application makes a combination between coordinated and integrated systems, combining the safety of first with the fast operating of second and simulates protection operations, for the feeder described above. The second function of this application, is to command and supervise local and remote operations of Bus Bar Switches, Circuit Breaker and Earthing Switch, assuring the safety operation of each one, because of the interloks which are introduces for each specifical operation. Finally, the third function, is to analyse power quality indicators, as an digital measurement device, and being able to present selected details into four screens which are shown on the graphical display. The original contribution of this one is to count voltage, current and voltage fluctuations, out of Power Quality rules and to send alarm to the Substation Control Room.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Hlavacek, J., Prochazka, R., Draxler, K., Kvasnicka, V.
THE ROGOWSKI COIL DESIGN SOFTWARE
The aim of presented work was the realization of program for the Rogowski Coil design with respect to the amplitude and shape of the measured current and parameters of circuits for output voltage evaluation. There was taken into consideration closed nonferromagnetic toroidal Rogowski Coil wound as one-layer homogenous winding. The program for Rogowski Coil design is able to calculate coil dimensions to obtain required value of mutual inductance between conductor with measured current and the sensing winding. The goal is to reach defined amplitude and time course of induced output voltage when measuring impulse current. The defined amplitude should be appropriate to the input sensitivity of evaluation circuits. There are respected many adjacent parameters, for example insulation distance between conductor with measured current and sensing winding, on the assumption that Rogowski Coil was used in high-voltage power grids. Leakage capacitances of sensing winding are not respected at the moment. The computation was verified by measurement of the harmonic current with power frequency, while dimensions and number of Rogowski Coil turns were optimized to suppress leakage capacitances.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

G. Hornero, O. Casas and R. Pallàs-Areny
SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO IMPROVEMENT BY POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE SWITCHING
AC excitation followed by synchronous demodulation is an effective noise-reduction method for signal conditioning in modulating sensors. However, it cannot be applied to self-generating sensors such as thermocouples or piezoelectric films. Switching on and off the power supply voltage of an amplifier yields a modulated output signal and allows for synchronous demodulation. Hence, this method improves the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by reducing 1/f noise and reduces power consumption. Furthermore, it can be applied to self-generating sensors. A prototype system based on this method has been applied to a thermocouple signal conditioner whose power supply voltage was switched at 1 kHz. The nonlinearity error obtained was below 0.01 FSR and the SNR was 90 dB for a 1.5 Hz noise bandwidth.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

O. Postolache, J. Apolonia, N. Beirante, P. Macedo, M. D. Pereira, P. Girão
DOLPHINS’ ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT USING A DISTRIBUTED INSTRUMENTATION AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM
The purpose of the paper is to report mainly the work developed in the areas of geographic information systems and distributed instrumentation for dolphins’ environment assessment. Different solutions for water quality sensing and data communication are considered including independent monitoring nodes and mobile measuring stations associated with ships. The received data from water quality sensors, hydrophones and GPS is wireless transmitted to a host PC where the geographic information system (GIS), data management, and data publishing are implemented. Thus, on-line environment assessment through dynamic web pages is carried out. GIS’s database capabilities assure post-processing tasks such as dolphin’s sound recognition or water quality data mapping. At the same time, the knowledge about dolphins’ environment can be easily organized, formalized and distributed.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Octavian Postolache, Monica Ferreira, Gabriela Postolache, Pedro Silva Girão
SOM APPROACH IN MONITORING AND DIAGNOSIS OF OBESITY-HYPERTENSION
Obesity-hypertension is an emerging concept in pathophysiology. Obesity and hypertension have been turned into an epidemic afflicting all the word, being among the mainly factors that have been burning the health costs. This paper reports a study whose purpose was to develop an objective method to better diagnose and manage this pathophysiology. A data management and data mapping system was developed. Kohonen topological mapping was used in the classification of obesity-hypertension considering clinical characteristics and laboratory results. Thus, the n-dimensional space of physiopathological parameters was converted into a 2D space of the following obesity classes: healthy subject, overweight, obesity class I, obesity class I-hypertension, obesity class II, obesity class II-hypertension, obesity class III, and obesity class III-hypertension. Transient changes in the individual state could also be analyzed using the proposed self-organizing map based model. Characteristics of the designed maps, such as topology and quantification errors, were studied.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Anna Marconato, Andrea Boni, Dario Petri, Johan Schoukens
SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF NONLINEAR SYSTEMS
In this work we discuss the application of Support Vector Machines to the problem of identifying a specific class of nonlinear systems, namely Wiener- Hammerstein systems. Only based on a set of Input/Output measurements, a model is built that approximates well the behavior of the considered system. However, care should be taken when designing suitable excitations, as the performance of the proposed approach turns out to be quite sensitive to the nature of the input signal. This sensitivity is studied here by using several datasets, characterised by different excitation signals, in terms of root mean square value, frequency band, spectrum shape and amplitude distribution.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Cristian Fosalau, Catalin Damian, Cristian Zet
PSPICE MODEL FOR SIMULATING THE GMI EFFECT IN MAGNETIC AMORPHOUS WIRES
The paper presents an electrical model developed for Pspice simulation of the behavior of the magnetic amorphous wires working under the Giant Magnetoimpedance (GMI) effect. The model was developed in order to facilitate the design of the signal conditioning circuitry belonging to the new category of transducers whose sensitive elements are based on the GMI effect. Its complexity arises from the fact that the effect is influenced by many internal or external factors whose actions have to be taken into consideration in the designing phase. In order to assess its performances, the model was tested by simulating a magnetic field transducer whose signal processing circuit is reprezented by a Colpitts oscillator. It was found that the model provides good accuracy even in nonlinear regions of the characteristic, where the mathematical approximation is quite imprecise. Theoretically, the model can be extended to any number of input quantities, but its complexity and computation time increase exponentially. By extension, it can be successfully utilized to simulate transducers based on any other nonlinear magnetic material.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

G. Crotti, D. Giordano
CHARACTERISATION OF MAGNETIC FIELD MEASURING INSTRUMENTS IN PRESENCE OF NON-SINUSOIDAL MAGNETIC FIELDS
The behaviour of the low and medium frequency environmental magnetic field meters is investigated with reference to the possible approaches that can be implemented to evaluate compliance with the field exposure limits. The investigation is carried out both numerically and experimentally, in presence of sinusoidal and distorted waveforms, which are produced by the systems for the generation of reference magnetic fields up to 100 kHz set up at the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica of Torino. The adoption of different methods in the evaluation of the compliance to the exposure prescription may lead to different or even apparently inconsistent evaluations, when operating in presence of both sinusoidal and nonsinusoidal fields. By taking into account the different meter characteristics and output quantities, suitable checks of the measuring instruments with complex magnetic field waveforms of known frequency spectrum should be performed by adopting specific measurement procedures.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Romuald Masnicki, Janusz Mindykowski
THE VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT BASED ON THE ZIGBEE NETWORK
In this paper, some remarks concerning cable as well as wireless connections in measurement channel are inserted. The demonstration application managing wireless network was shortly described. The main focus of paper is placed in the recognizing of the data acquisition protocols used in demo application for data transfer from wireless network to PC. The implementation of wireless sensor network to the virtual instrument under LabVIEW environment is presented.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

D.Gallo, C.Landi, N.Rignano
USB-INTERFACED DSP-INSTRUMENT FOR POWER QUALITY ANALYSES
In the paper, the characterization of designed and implemented high-performance real-time power quality measuring instrument is discussed. After a description of the hardware, firmware, power quality analyzer software and USB based data transfer mode, the paper continues with the discussion on a set of preliminary performances tests. In particular a set of test based on dip measurement and Total Harmonic Distortion measurement have been made and will be reported.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

H. Geirinhas Ramos, A. Lopes Ribeiro, T. Rädil, M. Kubínyi, M. Paval
SIGNAL PROCESSING IN AN EDDY CURRENT NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING SYSTEM
Nowadays, eddy current non-destructive testing requires highly skilled operators that using hand-operated eddy current testers are able to recognize defects in conductive materials. The objective of our work is to overcome this problem by implementing a microcomputer based system to detect and estimate the size of cracks and other defects in conductive non magnetic material, with minimum operator intervention. In order to reach the best solution different hardware implementations have to be investigated. This paper compares the results obtained with three techniques already tested: using a commercial lock-in amplifier, a dedicated electronic signal processing circuit and a data acquisition board (DAQ). The implementation using the DAQ requires more digital signal processing after the analog conversion than the other methods. In particular, cross correlation and sine-fitting of the sampled signals are used to estimate the phase difference between the excitation current and the sensing coils output signals. The results obtained are presented and compared within the paper.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

M. Borsero, C. Pravato, A. Sona, M. Stellini, A. Zuccato
A NEW APPROACH FOR RADIATED EMISSION TESTS IN ANECHOIC CHAMBERS THAT DO NOT FULFIL THE NSA REQUIREMENTS
In this paper, some critical issues concerning the measurement of radiated emissions of products in an electromagnetic compatibility test stage are dealt with. In particular, an approach is proposed to evaluate the adequacy of anechoic enclosures that do not fulfil the requirements regarding the normalized site attenuation (NSA) factor. The purpose is to suggest a test method that can be used in order to define a way to know the limits of the chamber in terms of the frequency response over some critical radiations. To this aim, a number of simulation analyses and experiments have been performed for two different elementary types of radiating circuits (electric dipole, magnetic loop). Investigations have also been made by varying the physical size of the antennas.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Corrado Florian, Pier Andrea Traverso
ACTIVE BIAS NETWORK-BASED MEASUREMENT SET-UP FOR THE DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION OF LOW-FREQUENCY NOISE CURRENTS IN ELECTRON DEVICES
A technology-independent set-up for the full and direct characterization of short-circuit low-frequency noise currents in two-port electron devices is presented. It is based on the use of low-noise transimpedance amplifiers and a specially-designed active bias network, adopted at the collector/drain port of the device. The features of the set-up proposed allow for a fast and accurate estimation of LF noise current power spectra, within a wide range of DC current bias levels, without the need for any reconfigurations and by carrying out a single-step procedure to achieve each bias point of interest.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

D.Costineanu, C.Fosalau, C.Damian, O.Plopa
TRIANGULATION-BASED 3D IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD AND SYSTEM WITH COMPENSATING THE ERRORS OF SHADOWING
The 3D points of a surface can be calculated from images achieved from two CCD cameras using stereoscopic methods. Classical procedures based on matching algorithms give errors at the highly curved or stepped surfaces. In this paper, we present a method to achieve a very high precision of measurement for surfaces with steps or holes, using a 3D multibeam scanner laser.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

P. Arpaia, M. Buzio, V. Inglese, G. Spiezia
EXPERIMENTAL QUALIFICATION OF THE PLATFORM FOR MAGNETIC MEASUREMENTS AT CERN
The experimental qualification of a new platform for magnetic measurements at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is presented. The platform was validated in comparison with the CERN standard test magnet system at warm conditions using the rotating coil method on a superconducting dipole of the Large Hadron Collider. Further characterization tests were carried out at cryogenic temperature (1.9 K) in order to analyze dynamic phenomena of superconducting magnets with a time resolution never reached before.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

D. Amicone, A. Bernieri, G. Betta, L. Ferrigno, M. Laracca
ON THE REMOTE CALIBRATION OF ENERGY METERS
The measurement of the electrical energy and its billing for tax purpose are of great relevance. In the past a scarce attention was given to issues as the calibration and the traceability of the electrical energy meters (EEMs), so that, at least in Italy, more than 30 millions of EEMs operate and put a tariff without proper metrological characterization. This situation is caused by both the absence of specific laws and the high cost related to the traceability process. In this ambit, a new European Directive on measuring instruments (MID) was introduced in 2004 with the aim of providing a high level of metrological protection in order that any party affected can have confidence in the result of measurement. In Italy the MID was adopted by a legislative decree and imposed that: (i) each active EEM put into service has to be kept in test for a period for verifying its operating; (ii) after the test period, with positive result, the meter has to be calibrated at least twice in the year. The paper proposes a discussion about the issues of active EEM calibration and the analysis of requirements of the MID. Finally, the design of a device that may solve the problem of the traceability to national standards in easy and economic way is reported.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

G. Betta, S. Esposito, M. Laracca, M. Pansini
A NOVEL SOL-GEL-BASED SENSOR FOR HUMIDITY DETECTION
In the last years there were widespread uses and applications of humidity sensors in many different fields. In response to this situation, various kinds of humidity sensors, based on different materials and sensing principles, have been developed. The paper proposes a novel resistive humidity sensor based on cobalt doped silica thin film deposited on a quartz support by means of a sol-gel technology. This represents a first step in the realization of an integrated sensor able to measure both umidity and gas in environmental pollution applications.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Federico Perini, Fabio Ghelfi
A METHODOLOGY TO REPRODUCE SLOW OPERATIVE TEMPERATURE TRANSITIONS AND TO MEASURE THEIR INDUCED EFFECTS ON RECEIVERS FOR RADIO ASTRONOMICAL APPLICATIONS
A methodology to reproduce slow variations of operative temperature of electronic devices, and to measure the induced effects on them, is presented. That method has been conceived in order to test and characterise the new receivers developed for the Italian SKA (Square Kilometre Array) demonstrator, based on the re-instrumentation of part of the Northern Cross radio telescope, located in Medicina (Italy). All the instruments of the measurement system are controlled by a PC (i.e. initialization, calibration and data acquisition). This way has been possible to obtain a new thermal characterization method of electronic devices, complementary to the most common one, where the devices are measured at different, but steady, operative temperatures.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Cristian Zet, Olga Plopa,Cătălin Damian, Cristian Foşalău
VIRTUAL IMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY FOR ELECTROLYTICAL CELLS
Impedance spectroscopy play an important role in fundamental and applied electrochemistry and materials science. In a number of respects it is the method of choice for characterizing the electrical behavior of systems in which the overall system behavior is determined by a number of strongly coupled processes, each proceeding at a different frequency. The paper presents a virtual instrument and the associated hardware that allows to perform the impedance spectroscopy on an electrolytical cell. It is aimed for studying phenomena (charge transfer, difusion or electrode polarisation) that occur while growing nanowires in polycarbonate templates. The hardware consists of a NI PCI6111 data acquisition board and external analog front end (programmable current to voltage converter and programmable mixed AC – DC voltage generator). The software is developed in Labview and allows to perform the impedance spectroscopy and to save the data on a file. With a different software, the system can be used also for electrochemical deposition or for etching of the polymer membranes with ion tracks. Detailed schematic description is presented, together with experimental results.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

A. Ageev, D. Macii, D. Petri
EXPERIMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION OF COMMUNICATION LATENCIES IN WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORK
The communication latency between Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) nodes can significantly affect the performance of real-time monitoring applications, especially when multi-hop network topologies are used. In fact, the end-to-end network delays may hinder the collaboration between different devices, thus preventing the applicability of data fusion algorithms or limiting the accuracy of internode time synchronization. Unfortunately, performing a thorough characterization of such latencies is not an easy task because they may depend considerably on the overall network data traffic as well as on the typical vagaries of RF links. In order to have a deeper insight about the communication latencies in nowadays WSNs, in this paper a suitable measurement procedure is described and some experimental results for different packet sizes, traffic conditions and number of hops are reported.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

P.Arpaia, G. Spiezia
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF THE PXI-BASED BUS COMMUNICATION OF A FAST DIGITAL INTEGRATOR FOR MAGNETIC MEASUREMENTS
A procedure for bottlenecks analysis of the PXI bus communications of an automatic measurement station is proposed. The experimental case study of the Fast Digital Integrator (FDI), a general purpose data acquisition and processing card developed at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), is illustrated.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

M. Annoni, L. Cristaldi, M. Faifer
ELECTRIC POWER SIGNATURE ANALYSIS FOR HIGH PRESSURE WATER JET PUMP FAULT CLASSIFICATION
Water jet and Abrasive Water Jet (WJ/AWJ) are manufacturing technologies suitable for particular operations (cutting, milling, turning, surface treatment, etc.) on different types of materials. The use of water (or water mixed to abrasive in AWJ technology) allows working both soft and hard materials without damaging the interested area of the workpiece. In previous studies the authors have just shown how it is possible to detect wrong operating conditions or to foresee them for an AWJ system analyzing the instantaneous electric power signal measured at the supply section of the system. Starting from this assumption, it is possible to define a monitoring procedure operating on the supply section of the plant, that performs a non intrusive continuous diagnostic activity during all the plant components’ life. In particular in this work, a procedure based on the analysis and classification of the instantaneous power signal features is presented. The followed approach is based on the electric power signal signature analysis.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Massimiliano Annoni, Marco Faifer, Loredana Cristaldi, Michele Norgia
VELOCITY COEFFICIENT EVALUATION FOR WATER-JET APPLICATIONS
The topic of water jet orifices efficiency and effectiveness evaluation has been considered in this paper. The performed analysis is based on the evaluation of the discharge, velocity and contraction coefficients for different water orifices. In order to overcome the difficulty to measure the water velocity at the orifice exit, which can reach 900 m/s in case of pure water jet applications (without abrasive additives), a suitable laser Doppler measurement system has been applied. An analysis of orifice performances is presented in the present paper, also considering the case of broken orifices, very important for industrial applications.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Catalin Damian, Cristian Zet, Cristian Fosalau
REAL, REACTIVE AND APPARENT POWER COMPUTING USING FPGA AND PWM INTERMEDIARY CONVERSION
In the paper, an instrument for simultaneous measurement of active, reactive and apparent power is presented. Its functionality is based on a PWM intermediary conversion multichannel analog to digital converter (ADC). The instrument is implemented on an Altera’s Flex10k70 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) device for single phase. It fits roughly 60% of logic cells without any resource sharing algorithm. All the operations are executed in a parallel mode, providing a very short execution time.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Giovanni Betta, Domenico Capriglione, Carlo Carobbi, Marco Donald Migliore
CALIBRATION OF ANTENNA FOR EMI MEASUREMENTS IN COMPACT SEMI-ANECHOIC ROOMS
The accurate knowledge of the antenna factor is a fundamental requirement for reliable electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) measurements in emissions, immunity and human exposure tests. According to international standards, this would imply calibrating antennas in close-to-ideal test sites (calibration test sites), characterized by very large sizes of the ground plane and of the empty space volume above it (free-space behaviour). On the other hand the greater number of EMC test sites is designed for measurements at 3 meters distance, therefore it would be very convenient to calibrate antennas in such facilities at the cost of an acceptable loss of accuracy. In this paper, the authors investigate on the suitability of compact (standard compliant for measurements at 3 m) semi-anechoic rooms for reliable antenna factor calibrations of EMI antennas. As an example, the calibration of a common broadband biconical antenna in the range 200 MHz-1 GHz has been considered. A detailed experimental analysis was performed for estimating all the involved uncertainty components.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Loredana Cristaldi, Marco Faifer, Massimo Lazzaroni, Sergio Toscani
A MONITORING AND DEPENDABILITY TOOL FOR INVERTER FED INDUCTION MOTOR
It is known that when a rotor fault occurs, an induction machine draws an alternative power at twice the rotor frequency. In previous work the authors have shown how to employ this phenomenon in order to detect rotor faults in small inverter fed induction machines. In particular, a rotor fault index has been presented and tested supposing that the AC drive main supply is single phase. Starting from this approach, in the present paper two new rotor fault indexes suitable for three-phase input AC drives will be proposed. Furthermore, their capability to detect early rotor faults in different conditions has been evaluated through an extensive experimental activity. Some results will be presented.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Pasquale Arpaia, Fabrizio Clemente, Carlo Manna
IN VIVO ASSESSMENT OF SKIN IMPEDANCE RECOVERY AFTER LOW-VOLTAGE PULSES ELECTROPORATION
The aim of this work is to measure the skin impedance recovery after electroporation by using low-voltage pulse protocol on human subject. Before and after electroporation, based on square wave pulses of 20-50 V, 5 μs, for 15-20 minutes, Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) measurements has been performed, in the frequency range 0.5-10 kHz. Preliminary experimental results show a significant decrease in skin impedance amplitude after treatment. This result turns out to be useful in a measurement procedure aimed at determining the amount of drug actually transferred in electroporation-based therapy.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Zygmunt Lech Warsza, Jarosław Makal
NEW APPROACH TO THE ACCURACY DESCRIPTION OF BROADLY VARIABLE RESISTANCE CIRCUITS ON THE EXAMPLE OF PT100 SENSOR BRIDGES
New approach to accuracy measures of open circuit transfer functions of the arbitrary variable arm resistance bridge supplied by current or voltage, are presented. Obstacle that near the bridge balance state relative errors or uncertainties are rising to ± ∞ was bypassed by relating the absolute value of any bridge accuracy measure to the initial sensitivity of the current to voltage bridge transfer function or of voltage to voltage transfer function as these sensitivities do not change within the bridge imbalance. The new double component approach is also introduced as sum of relative accuracy measures of initial stage and of bridge transfer function increment from that stage. Absolute error after subtracting its initial value is referenced to the transfer function. This is similar method as two-component accuracy description of broad range instruments, e.g. digital voltmeters. Such method, not applied jet for unbalanced bridges is very promised and vaslid for any sensor characteristic. Equations for measures of unbalanced bridges of equal initial arm resistances and with sensors of increments ± ε in four arms, in different arm pairs or in one arm are collected in Table 3. References to Pt sensor bridges analysis are given and conclusions are formulated.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Marian Jerzy Korczynski, Zygmunt Lech Warsza
A NEW INSTRUMENT ENRICHED BY TYPE A UNCERTAINTY EVALUATION
An idea of the new type of instrument, improved by pre-processing of the measurement data is presented in the paper. This instrument has an extensive data handling procedures, which allow to investigate different periodical and nonperiodical components in raw data and to clean the data from identified influences. Such cleaning upgrades the type A uncertainty evaluation. The developed instrument would be especially useful in technical diagnostic systems and medical testing instruments as well as in control systems in which different parameters are subjected to variation induced by internal or external influence. All theses application require not only to measure the value of a signal but also uncertainties. The measurement parameters in diagnostics and medical tests are very often subjected to environmentally caused disturbances in measurement. Measurements may be performed in highly interfering environment and useful signal may be lower than induced disturbances. In such situations the filtering of signals is required and handling of raw data is an appropriate procedure.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

P. Arpaia, M. Buzio, V. Inglese
DATA REDUCTION ALGORITHMS FOR MAGNETIC MEASUREMENT PRE-PROCESSING AT CERN
The principle of a data reduction algorithm, based on real-time adaptive sampling, specifically optimized for high-rate automatic measurement systems, is proposed. An adaptive sampling rule based on power estimation allows the optimum amount of information to be gathered in real time. The sampling rate is adapted when the limit conditions of insufficient/redundant information for the required signal processing is achieved. The tracking condition is defined by the reference power level in the Nyquist band necessary to the required post-processing procedure. Preliminary experimental results of the application to an automatic measurement system for testing superconducting magnets at the European Organization for Nuclear Research are reported.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Antonio Cataliotti, Valentina Cosentino, Alessandro Lipari, Salvatore Nuccio
CHARACTERIZATION OF MULTIFUNCTION METERS BASED ON INTEGRATED DEVICES IN THE PRESENCE OF HARMONIC DISTORTION
This paper is focused on the problem of the metrological characterization of multifunction static meters based on integrated devices, in both reference and actual operating conditions. An experimental analysis is presented, which was performed on a commercial integrated device, in both sinusoidal and distorted conditions and both in the absence and in the presence of the measurement transducers. The experimental results show that the behaviour of the meters can be strongly influenced by the harmonics on voltage and current, depending on the operating principle of the meters, which is not always declared by the manufacturer. As regard this, the standards should define the metrological characteristics of the meters in the presence of harmonic distortion, as well as some proper accuracy tests for their verification. Moreover, the performance of the meters are strongly related to the employed voltage and current transducers, whose behaviour can be negatively affected by the presence of nonsinusoidal signals, because of their characteristics of frequency response.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

A. Cataliotti, D. Di Cara, A. E. Emanuel, S. Nuccio
INFLUENCE OF CURRENT TRANSFORMERS ON THE MEASUREMENT OF HARMONIC ACTIVE POWER
The harmonic active power is a useful power quality quantity. For example it is used in many algorithms for the detection of the harmonic source in a complex electrical network. The highest uncertainties in such kind of measurements are introduced by the transducers. In the paper is presented an experimental analysis of the effects of current transformer in the measurement of harmonic power. It is concluded that large phase angle errors can cause as larger errors as the phase shift between harmonic voltage and harmonic current get close to ±90. Moreover if such measurements are used to determine the power flow direction, i.e., if a load or consumer pollutes or is polluted, even high accuracy class CTs may yield unsatisfactory results.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Antonio Cataliotti, Valentina Cosentino
A SINGLE-POINT STRATEGY BASED ON IEEE 1459-2000 FOR THE DETECTION OF DOMINANT HARMONIC SOURCES IN POWER SYSTEMS
This paper deals with a new single-point strategy for the detection of harmonic sources in power systems. It is based on the simultaneous measurement of three nonactive power quantities, which are derived from the approach of the IEEE Std. 1459-2000. The proposed method is an enhancement of a previous approach, already developed by the authors. The new strategy is easier to be implemented than the previous one, because it is based only on the separation of the fundamental components from the harmonic content of voltage and current. As regard this, the strategy can be entirely implemented in the time domain, by using a technique already developed by authors for the detection of fundamental and harmonic components of voltages and currents. In the paper, some simulation tests are presented, which were carried out on a IEEE standard test power system. The simulation results show that the proposed method can give useful indications for the detection of the dominant harmonic source, upstream of downstream the metering section both in the absence and in the presence of the measurement transducers.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

A. Cataliotti, A. Daidone, G.Tinè
A MODEL FOR THE SIGNAL TRANSMISSION PERFORMANCE IN MV CABLES FOR POWER LINE COMMUNICATION
The aim of this paper is the development of a theoretical model of medium voltage (MV) cables in the frequency range 50-200 kHz which can be easily implemented in the Simulink® environment. Two transmission line configurations, line-ground and line-line were considered. The model requires the knowledge of the transmission channel parameters in the frequency domain. Thus, a characterization of MV cables in the two transmission line configurations by means of experimental measurements was performed on commonly used MV cables, RG7H1R, of different sections, 95 mm² and 185 mm² with aluminium core and copper shielded. To validate the model a comparison between the attenuation constant α measured and the one simulated for both the configurations under study was carried out.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

A. Mariscotti
GENERATING HIGH FIELD INTENSITY FOR VEHICLES IMMUNITY TESTS IN THE HF-VHF RANGE
In this work the problem is presented of generating an electric field in the HF and VHF range (few MHz to a hundred MHz) for immunity tests requiring high field intensity over a large volume of space. The spiral antenna architecture is discussed with respect to a series of parameters that are inter-related and influence field uniformity, beamwidth and overall gain (to be considered in terms of required rated power of the feeding amplifier). Reference is made to selected bibliography, that is not so abundant for our problem, the large part being for GHz range integrated applications. Some design choices have been evaluated by means of simulations, underlying that the tested simulators not always give accurate results: physical size, wire gauge and reflective ground plane effect, among others. The first measurement results match closely simulation results up to 90 MHz, where there is a large discrepancy and then simulation results seem inaccurate and not trustable.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

S. Ciurlo, A. Mariscotti, A. Viacava
A HELMHOLTZ COIL FOR HIGH FREQUENCY HIGH FIELD INTENSITY APPLICATIONS
In this work a general introduction to Helmholtz coil is presented and then attention is on a practical implementation of a wideband (50 kHz) coil for high magnetic flux density applications (several mT may be obtained). A specific winding design is presented that ensures wideband operation with a resonance frequency of 55 kHz in the present implementation. Performances of the square coils for different coil separation as reported in standards and literature are presented. Field uniformity is within ±1.5% and ±0.35% inside cubic volumes of 25% and 10% of the coil side respectively, so suitable also for high accuracy applications such as sensor calibration. Wire gauge and silicon insulation ensures the possibility of applying a significant input current in order to obtain several mT over an extended frequency range.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Jankowski Piotr, Dudojć Boleslaw, Mindykowski Janusz
AN OPTIMETER DESIGNED TO REGISTER ULTRA FAST DISPLACEMENTS
In the paper authors present research results of a new simple optimeter used for register of ultra fast displacements of inductive-dynamic drive disk. Presented solution is characterised by very simple construction, high output signal and a relatively good linearity.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

OLEJNIK R. M.
MEASUREMENT UNITS IN BIBLICAL VERSES
Considered here are the units of length, mass and volume used in the Bible. The first part deals with the historical positioning of the occurrence of these measurement. The following will present the verses containing the names of these units.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Borowik Bohdan
NEW APPROACH TO MEASURING VIBRATION PARAMETERS OF THE REMOTE OBJECTS WITH THE ZIGBEE TECHNIQUE
The paper presents the monitoring and measurement process for the remote object vibration in the plain space. Wireless, RF communication in Tx/Rx duplex mode provides transfer of data with ZigBee transceivers. Presented ZigBee technology operates in many various modes on frequency 2,4 GHz allowing the coordinator node to select certain path and data. Zig Bee technology can be alternative for other vibration research techniques. The vibration displacement is processed further by DSP Digital Signal Processing made with the microcontroller.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Ieri Francesca, Pinelli Patrizia, Pucci Simone, Curradi Giampiero, Romani Annalisa
OPTICAL MEASUREMENT SYSTEM IN FOOD QUALITY. USE OF FOODLAB METHOD FOR ANALYSIS OF EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL AND OLIVE FRUIT EXTRACTS
In food quality optical measurement methods are time- and solventconsuming and require specialized personnel and expensive instruments. CDR has created an innovative system (the FoodLab method) which permits determination of the total polyphenol value of an oil in a few minutes, using a micro quantity of sample. This innovative system was employed to evaluate polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil obtained from different geographical areas and olive cultivars and having a wide range of these compounds and in olive extracts, for a rapid and simple assessment of fruit ripening degree.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Romani A., Romani M., Neri P., Olivieri G., Tacconi D., Vignolini P.
FEASIBILITY AND LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF SOYBEAN OIL AND SOY-ISOFLAVON PRODUCTION
The present work focuses mainly on evaluating the feasibility and economic sustainability of an integrated continuous soybean processing complex, having a capacity of 3,000 tons/24 hours, for the production of high quality oil for food, bio-lubricants, biodiesel and energy. The aim of this work is to estimate all input/output data based on the energy and material balanced calculation at each stage of soybean oil production in order to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Attention is also focused on the possibility of using soybean waste matter as a source of bioproducts possessing considerable added value: our aim is to develop new bioactive products to be used in phototherapy, cosmetic and agro-food industries (isoflavon production).
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Domenico Grimaldi, Francesco Lamonaca, Carmelo Macrì
CORRECTION OF THE MOTION BLUR ALTERATION IN THE HUMAN LYMPHOCYTE MICRO-NUCLEUS IMAGE BASED ON WIENER’S DECONVOLUTION
The image correction based on the Wiener’s deconvolution is proposed by evaluating the Point-Spread Function (PSF) for motion blur alteration. This correction is experimented to reduce the number of rejected images by the pre-processing procedure pointed out to correct detection of the Micro Nucleuses into human lymphocyte images acquired from the Image Flow Cytometer. The proposed correction operates in conjunction with (i) the spatial filters, pointed out to correct the bad exposure, the Gaussian out of focus and the Gaussian noise, and (ii) the Wiener’s deconvolution with PSF particularized for Gaussian out of focus alteration with high intensity. The heavy computation burden of correction based on each one Wiener’s deconvolution compared with that based on spatial filters suggests to use each one of the Wiener’s deconvolution to process the rejected images from the spatial filters, only, and not all acquired images. According to this consideration and to speed up the complete pre-processing correction procedure, the implementation is based on the computing distributed service implemented by using the LabVIEW Shared Variables. The criteria to establish the number of PCs to be used is experimental evaluated.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Domenico Grimaldi, Francesco Lamonaca
MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES TO ASSESS THE TIME SYNCHRONIZATION IN DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS
In the contest of the standard IEEE 1588, protocol for the synchronization of the node clock in Distributed System (DS), is of fundamental importance to assess the effectiveness of the synchronization. On the basis of this consideration, the aspect taken into account in the paper concerns the different measurement techniques pointed out in literature to evaluate the time delay occurring in (i) the DS among the synchronized node clocks, (ii) the telecommunication network respect to the reference clock, and (iii) the hardware and software path involved by the arrival of the command at the synchronized node and the execution of the relative action. The intent is to furnish a critical analysis of the measurement techniques, and to highlight the advantages and the limitation in the practical evaluation of the time delay.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

M. Ceccarelli, D. Grimaldi, F. Lamonaca, A. Speranza
A COMPUTER VISION APPROACH TO MICRO-NUCLEUS AUTOMATIC DETECTION AND SURFACE MEASUREMENTS
This paper reports a novel method for Nucleus and Micro Nucleuses segmentation. These biological structures are very handy to biologists for relieving structural chromosome aberration. The adopted method consists into a pipeline of advanced computer vision algorithms same of them specifically tailored for the current segmentation problem. Starting from the knowledge of approximate size and shape of Micro Nucleuses it is possible to efficiently segment all the image features by computer vision approach.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Marek Niedostatkiewicz, Grzegorz Lentka
TEST FREQUENCIES SELECTION CRITERIA FOR PARAMETER IDENTIFICATION OF ANTICORROSION COATING USING BILINEAR TRANSFORMATION
The electrical modelling of technical and biological objects has become very popular, as it allows diagnosis of their state with tools and methods designed for electrical circuits. To identify equivalent circuit parameters, usually conventional impedance spectroscopy methods are used, despite their drawbacks – long measurement time and high numerical complexity. An alternative identification method is based on the bilinear transformation of impedance function. Not only it accelerates the measurement, but also it simplifies the calculations, as the relations between measured impedance and parameters are analytical. However, the method requires a precise selection of impedance measurement frequencies. In the paper, we briefly present the bilinear identification method and compare some new frequencies selection criteria based on the length of bilinear transform identification curve on complex plane, representing the high-signal sensitivity of impedance function to model parameters. The criteria are compared in terms of identification error of parameters. As a test object the Beaunier’s model of the anticorrosion coating in its early stage of degradation has been chosen.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Doris Bao, Luca De Vito, Sergio Rapuano
SELECTING TEST SIGNALS FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPAIRMENT CLASSIFICATION IN VOIP SYSTEMS
The paper proposes a metrological analysis for selecting the test signals to be used with a method for the automatic classification of impairments in VoIP telecommunication systems. The method is able to identify the VoIP network impairments which decrease voice quality, by analyzing the power of a test signal during the call. Test signals, considered in this work, comprise speech-like signals, non- speech-like deterministic signals and non- speech-like stochastic signals, taken either from standard specifications or from literature papers on voice quality assessment. In order to evaluate the optimal test signals, two network emulators have been used to add the impairments in a controlled test network. The selected test signals improve significantly the method performance in terms of classification success rate and test duration.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Drago Cmuk, Tarik Mutapcic, Mladen Borsic
MOBILE MEASUREMENT SUPPORT FOR REMOTE LABORATORIES AND E-LEARNING SYSTEMS
Practical work in the laboratory using real instruments is a strong emphasis for theoretical knowledge but also a powerful drawback for distance learning in universities. The paper describes development of a remote laboratory for mobile devices. Given the detailed analysis of potential benefits coming from the deployment of such a system, the author analyzed the technologies suitable for its realization. Multi-tier platform has been developed to support Mobile learning and experimentation. For visualization and control of experiments a thin-client paradigm based on DHTML has been developed. It allows users to visualize and control experiments remotely on handheld devices, using mobile browser only. Application tier is based on deployment of ProperJavaRDP client with custom web server written in Java. Experiment tier runs experiment written in whichever language, thus enabling high reusability of the system. Data tier is based on deployment of customized Moodle LMS with layout adapted to fit the screen and other limitations of handheld devices. It takes care of user authentication and opening session towards Mobile Laboratory Server. This Mobile learning system can enhance user learning process by providing support for discursive learning approach according to the behavioral, cognitive and constructivist theories of learning.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

S. Nuccio, C. Spataro, G. Tinè
EFFECTS OF THE ELECTROMAGNETICAL DISTURBANCES IN THE DAQ-BASED MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS AND THEIR COMPENSATION
In previous works, we analysed the behaviour of data acquisition board based measurement instruments when they are subjected to the electromagnetic disturbances prescribed in the IEC-61326 Standard. The study has shown that the effects of both radiated and conducted emissions alter the performances of this instrumentation when not-shielded configurations are used; in fact, in these cases, the parameters which characterise a data acquisition board can reveal an appreciable degradation. On the contrary, even the heaviest disturbances cause a negligible impact if the good practices of shielding are observed. Since the full-shielded configurations are quite expensive, it would be useful to find a way to safely employ also a not-shielded configuration in the hostile electromagnetic environments. With this aim, in the paper, we propose two methods for the compensation of the electromagnetic disturbances impact. The first one is a software approach, applicable in cases of steady disturbances. The second approach is based on a two channels acquisition technique applicable with boards which can simultaneously acquire two signals. The practical application of both methods has produced satisfactory results.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Carlo Michelassi, Giacomo Monaci
AVAILABILITY ASSESSMENT OF A RAW GAS RE-INJECTION PLANT FOR THE PRODUCTION OF OIL AND GAS
Driven by the needs of highly competitive markets, the performance requirements of today’s production systems are becoming increasingly demanding. High availability is one of the key requirements for new machines and industrial plants. The objective of the present study is the assessment of the availability of a Gas Re-injection Plant used for the production of oil and gas in the Kashagan field (Kazakhstan). In order to assess the availability performance of this complex system, a broad set of studies has been carried out to gather accurate information at the level of detail considered suitable to meet the availability analysis target. Following this preliminary work, the availability analysis was performed using a simulation approach. The RBD (Reliability Block Diagram) technique, in conjunction with Monte Carlo simulations, allowed many different elements to be evaluated simultaneously to determine the plant availability.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Luca De Vito, Sergio Rapuano, Maurizio Villanacci
AN AUTOMATIC DSP-BASED CLASSIFIER FOR IMPAIRMENTS ON QAM MODULATIONS
This paper presents an instrument for the automatic classification of the common impairments on Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) signals. The instrument is intended to help telecommunication service providers to guarantee Quality of Service (QoS) to their customers. Starting from an already developed method based on the processing of the constellation diagram image, the paper presents both significant improvements in the method and the realization of a prototype of impairment classifier, based on a multi-DSP hardware architecture. Experimental results of the validation phase of the realized instrument are presented, too.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

L. Cocco, P.Gazzola, S.Rapuano, L. Rossi
VIBRATIONS MEASUREMENTS OF FORMULA ONE CAR ELECTRONIC DEVICES
F1 car is a very critical system in terms of temperature, shock and vibrations. For this reason, usually, automotive standards are no adequate for motor-sport electronic applications. Further peculiarity of F1 automobiles is the periodic change of vehicle dynamic setting. Vibration monitoring techniques are being used by F1 teams mainly to spot mechanical imbalances and, consequently, to define a car’s set up. In the competitive race context, also it is mandatory to improve the electronic components reliability, to optimize their maintenance time, to control the quality of their manufacturing and to take into account their noise and vibration pollution. This paper presents an experimental vibration measurement system implemented on Ferrari racing car model 248F1.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

L. Cocco, P.Gazzola, S.Rapuano, L. Rossi
ASSESSMENT OF VIBRATION SUSCEPTIBILITY OF ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT IN FORMULA ONE CARS
The total noise level in racing car environment is very high, in fact the engine can reach 20000 rpm (revolutions per minute) and the vehicle structure is very stiff. Upper-grade levels in terms of shock, vibration and temperatures need a careful understanding of damage mechanism, which will be active in this environment. This paper presents an experimental vibration diagnostic methodology implemented on Ferrari racing car model 248F1.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Marcantonio Catelani, Lorenzo Ciani, Valeria L. Scarano, Alessandro Bacioccola
AN AUTOMATIC TEST FOR THE SOFTWARE RELIABILITY: THE EVALUATION OF THE OVERFLOW DUE TO MEMORY LEAKS AS FAILURE CAUSE
In order to guarantee a software with high quality level vs a reasonable cost, the testing planning phase has to be study in detail, also to reduce the test time. This paper introduces the result of the application of software automatic test to one of the most common software failure causes: the overflow due to memory leaks. The analysis carried out on a single software failure cause wants to show the total generality of the technique and to define some parameters of life of the software. The general value of the method is shown applying the technique to different software and for everyone of them defining the mean time to failure, where with failure we mean only the failure due to overflow; even if the overflow it isn’t the only analyzable failure cause through the application of such software automatic test.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Marcantonio Catelani, Valeria L. Scarano, Roberto Singuaroli,Stelio Montebugnoli, Germano Bianchi, Federico Perini
NORTHERN CROSS RADIORECEIVER CHAINS: THE ENVIRONMENTAL TEST ON THE CRITICAL SUBSYSTEM
This research is developed in collaboration with the Istituto di Radioastronomia, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (IRA-INAF) located at Medicina (Bologna), in the context of the BEST (Basic Element for SKA Training) project. SKA is the name given to a new generation radio-telescope that will have 1 km² of effective collecting area. SKA will be the most sensitive radio-telescope ever built that allows a deeper knowledge of the universe. After a reliability analysis we estimated the MTBF of the two approaches so we suggested the most reliable solution to implement. This work considers the most reliable solution for the radio astronomical signal receiver chains, the solution that conveys the analog signal through optical fibre. Since the reliability prediction indicated the front-end, installed on the focal line of the antenna, as the more stressed block by environmental and climatic factors, we recommended to perform the environmental tests on it. The results of the random vibration test and the water and shock test planning are presented in this paper.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Lorenzo Ciani, Marcantonio Catelani, Lorenzo Veltroni
FAULT TOLERANT TECHNIQUES TO DIAGNOSE AND MITIGATE SINGLE EVENT UPSET (SEU) EFFECTS ON ELECTRONIC PROGRAMMABLE DEVICES
This research faces the problem of disturbance induced by high energy particles on electronic devices. Based on detailed analysis of this phenomenon, the work is divided into two parts: in the first part testing of the Single Event Upset (SEU) has been carried out with the aim of determining diagnostic techniques and the mitigation of this disturbance, taking into account the fact that testing is one of the fundamental points in electronic programmable devices; in the second part a fault tolerant technique has been devised so as to achieve the requirements demanded on a real avionic system.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Marcantonio Catelani, Valeria L. Scarano, Roberto Singuaroli, Francesco Bertocci, Paolo Palchetti
ROHS REQUIREMENTS FOR ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS: MEASUREMENTS OF CHARACTERISTICS OF SILVER EPOXY ADHESIVES SOLDER JOINTS
It is emerged the necessity to modify the soldering process of all the devices under the RoHS European Directive, in order to eliminate the presence of lead. So our research is oriented to study the use of new materials for connections in electronic devices and to measure their characteristics and reliability performances. In this paper it is shown the preliminary characterization of a new study of the use of conductive materials without lead for the adhesion of the plate, which has piezoelectric properties, with the fingers’ comb. Found a possible variability of the samples production process, it appeared opportune to apply a Design of Experiments method (D.o.E.), to understand the degrees of correlation between the interested variables. After having chosen the output control characteristics of the process, (measures of electrical resistance of every single element of transducer’s array) the variables, which are potentially responsible of the uncertainty on the aforesaid measures, have been characterized. The samples and the measurement system are implemented and the results are discussed in this paper.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Lorenzo Ciani, Marcantonio Catelani, Mario Mancini, Enrico Simoni
A NEW METHOD OF FEEDBACK CONTROL FOR POWER INVERTER BASED ON A SINGLE VOLTAGE SENSOR
The main objective of static power inverters is to produce an AC output waveform from a DC power supply. These are the types of waveforms required in adjustable speed drives (ASDs), uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), static VAR compensators (SVC), active filters, flexible AC transmission systems, and voltage compensators, which are only a few of the possible applications. For sinusoidal AC outputs, the magnitude, frequency, and phase should be controllable. The purpose of this research, in collaboration with Astrid Energy Enterprises, is to design and realize an innovative method of feedback control for inverter systems based on a single voltage sensor. This paper gives a detailed description of the system carried out and its potentiality as compared to the state of the art.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Franco Pavese
ANALYSIS OF CONSISTENCY OF THE BASIC CONCEPTS FOR THE EXPRESSION OF UNCERTAINTY IN THE PRESENT INTERNATIONAL WRITTEN STANDARDS AND GUIDES
At present, several international written standards and guides are available, dealing with the expression of uncertainty in measurement, calibration and testing, and concerning the definition of the basic concepts and related nomenclature and basic methods for data analysis. An inspection and comparison of these texts, which were prepared in a time span of more than twenty years, shows that, to different degrees, not all of them are consistent with each other, probably due mainly to an advancement of the discussion and of agreed solutions that took place in the indicated time span and that can be observed for most of them. The paper addresses an attempt to identify what appears as more or less serious inconsistencies that in author’s view should be removed in the process of revision, already started for several of them, and that may communicate a sense of confusion especially at the floor-user level.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

Patrizia Ciarlini, Umberto Maniscalco
WAVELET AND MIXTURE OF SOFT SENSORS TO IMPROVE THE MONITORING OF ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS BY NEURAL NETWORK
Soft sensors, based on Elman NNs, have been developed to provide virtual measurements at different locations on the monument surface using as input source only the measurements acquired by an Air Ambient Monitor Station located nearby. Simulation of measurements by trained NN is a useful computational tool to monitor the physical or chemical conditions of the composing materials in a not invasive way, but their accuracy has to be high as analyzed from a metrological and statistical point of view. Two different mathematical and computational tools can be adopted to improve the accuracy of the virtual measurements: a wavelet preprocessing of times series data and the mixture of soft sensors to fuse several input sources.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

V. A. Granovsky, T. N. Siraya
COMPARISON OF MEASUREMENT ACCURACY CHARACTERISTICS VIA VARIOUS MATHEMATICAL MODELS
The problem of estimation of measurement accuracy characteristics is formulated as a significant methodological problem for metrology. The main stages of the procedure of accuracy characteristics estimating are presented and discussed. The vast variety of the possible estimation of measurement accuracy characteristics is described, taking into account structural aspects. A practical approach for comparison of various accuracy estimates is proposed, which is based on the developed methodology of certification for data processing algorithms.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

C.Donciu, O.Costea
VISION BASED INTELLIGENT SEMAPHORING SYSTEM
The present paper suggest making an intelligent video system of command over crossroads with traffic lights, its main goal being to diminish of traffic congestions, to improve vehicle speed, to reduce environment pollution and to improve negative effects of traffic congestion over the physic and psychic state of the population. The architecture of the suggested system is made on a hardware level from three different areas: the video sensor’s level, the computer process level and the represented execution level and the traffic-lights that exist in the crossroad. The software architecture of this system is made out of the main routine and a number of secondary routines of image processing and of the Fuzzy command. The existing systems are useful only in low traffic crossroads, being able to interpret informations only from the near proximity of the sensors, but unable to estimate the number of vehicles waiting in line on a traffic lane.
16th Symposium on Electrical Measurements and Instrumentation & 13th Workshop on ADC Modelling and Testing (TC4), Florence, ITALY, 2008

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