An Estimate of Uncertainty Arising from Loading Speed Differences in Calibrations of Force Measuring Devices

Recently, discussion has arisen on how to estimate uncertainty due to the creep behavior of force measuring devices under calibration. There is a proposal to estimate the uncertainty based on variations of readings arising from loading speed differences between preloading and subsequent calibration cycles. However, in the case of force standard machines with linkage weights, these differences come only from the load duration at each measurement step in the calibration cycle. Though it is a major factor in the uncertainty, this time difference may not be completely representative of the creep effect. An experimental investigation is conducted herein on some other factors which may influence this uncertainty.