Current thermometry research directions

Current thermometry research directions
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This is a past event

The talk will fall into two parts:

1. In the post kelvin redefinition era instead of the simple choice of temperature traceability being achieved through the calibration of sensors to the defined temperature scales the user is presented with a more nuanced traceability choice through the mise en pratique for the definition of the kelvin (MeP-K-19). The user may desire to achieve temperature traceability to primary thermometry, linked directly to the redefined kelvin, without recourse to the intermediary defined scales. This part of the talk will focus on thermometry research within Europe, and elsewhere, seeking to turn the MeP-K-19 into a reality, and in so doing facilitating traceability by primary thermometry, below 25 K and above 1300 K, whilst ensuring the defined scales remain fit for purpose into the next decade.

2. There are many unsolved temperature measurement challenges remaining in industry, healthcare and research. The second part of the talk will discuss on-going research at NPL in addressing some of these challenges. The main focus of NPL’s applied thermometry activity is to ensure the user has on-going temperature traceability in-situ which, for example, is essential in autonomous industrial production. Approaches to addressing; sensor drift, achieving reliable surface thermometry, in-situ satellite temperature measurement validation and reliable thermal imaging, in the context of the practical challenges in space, aerospace, marine, nuclear power/decommissioning settings and clinical settings will be described.

Short biography of Professor Graham Machin FREng, BSc (Hons), DPhil (Oxon), DSc, CPhys, CEng, FInstP, FInstMC

Professor Machin is the science leader of the NPL Temperature and Humidity Group and an NPL Fellow. He has more than 30 years’ experience in thermometry research, published more than 220 technical papers and given numerous invited/keynote addresses. He is visiting Professor of Clinical Thermal Imaging (University of South Wales) and Distinguished Visiting Fellow (University of Valladolid, Spain). He represents the UK on the Consultative Committee of Thermometry (CCT) and IMEKO TC12, chairs the CCT working group for Noncontact thermometry and is an international invited expert on the CAS "very low temperature thermometry" project (2017-2022). He was President of the UK Institute of Measurement and Control (2018-2019), chair of the Euramet Technical Committee for Thermometry from (2014-2018) and served on the EPSRC Physical Sciences Strategic Advisory Team (2014-2017).

GM was awarded the Institute of Measurement and Control (InstMC) Callendar medal in 2012 for "outstanding contributions to the art of temperature measurement", Honorary Scientist of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 2019 and elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2019).

Current research interests are primary thermometry (acoustic, radiometric and especially all aspects of realising the redefined kelvin), radiation thermometry and thermal imaging, new thermocouples, sensor self-validation methods, reliable clinical thermometry (contact, non-contact and internal), reliable temperature (and other) measurements in hostile environments (especially aerospace and nuclear decommissioning).

He is project director of the "Realising the redefined kelvin" (Sep 2019) for EURAMET, a founder member of the "Body Temperature Initiative" which aims to improve clinical thermometry throughout the NHS and leads NPL’s metrology activity in nuclear decommissioning.

 

Speaker
Professor Graham Machin, FREng
Hosted by
School of Engineering
Venue
Fraser Noble Building