Doubt-free uncertainty in measurement: an introduction for engineers and students

This volume presents measurement uncertainty and uncertainty budgets in a form accessible to practicing engineers and engineering students from across a wide range of disciplines. The book gives a detailed explanation of the methods presented by NIST in the “GUM” – Guide to Uncertainty of Measurement. Emphasis is placed on explaining the background and meaning of the topics, while keeping the level of mathematics at the minimum level necessary. Dr. Colin Ratcliffe, USNA, and Bridget Ratcliffe, Johns Hopkins, develop uncertainty budgets and explain their use. In some examples, the budget may show a process is already adequate and where costs can be saved. In other examples, the budget may show the process is inadequate and needs improvement. The book demonstrates how uncertainty budgets help identify the most cost effective place to make changes. In addition, an extensive fully-worked case study leads readers through all issues related to an uncertainty analysis, including a variety of different types of uncertainty budgets. The book is ideal for professional engineers and students concerned with a broad range of measurement assurance challenges in applied sciences. This book also: Facilitates practicing engineers’ understanding of uncertainty budgets, essential to calculating cost-effective savings to a wide variety of processes contingent on measurement Presents uncertainty budgets in an accessible style suitable for all undergraduate STEM courses that include a laboratory component Provides a highly adaptable supplement to graduate textbooks for courses where students’ work includes reporting on experimental results Includes an expanded case study developing uncertainty from transducers though measurands and propagated to the final measurement that can be used as a template for the analysis of many processes Stands as a useful pocket reference for all engineers and experimental scientists