Load cells are very important components in a robot system. They help the robot to get feedback from the environment around it and generate control signals accordingly. However, like every other sensor, load cells need to be calibrated over time to maintain their accuracy and precision. In the current method, they need to be detached from the robot. Then known weights are hung below the load cells to get the raw signal from the load cells. These two types of values will then be used to generate the equations that convert the raw signal to the force values. This is a challenge as not many robots are maintenance-friendly so detaching the load cells can take a lot of time, not to mention the process can damage the load cells if not conducted carefully. This research project utilizes mechanical simulation to calculate the known force values acting on the load cells without taking them out of the robot system. Then these force values are used for the calibration process. In this thesis, the in situ calibration method will be conducted on the actuator-controlled pendulum, and a bipedal robot when it is hanging on the gantry and standing on the ground. Also, since mechanical simulation requires a lot of computational power, a geometry simplification method will also be introduced so this in situ calibration method can be used for ordinary personal computers. The results show that the new calibration method is easy to work with, the force values still meet the requirements for calibration, and the computer only needs 10-12 seconds to run each simulation. / Master of Science / A robotic system usually need the load cell to generate the correct control signal. However, the load cell needs to be calibrated over time for maintenance. The current calibration method requires the load cell to be detached from the robot so the user can apply known forces to the load cell. This thesis introduces an in situ calibration method that can calculate forces that are applied to the load cell so the user does not need to detach the load cell from the robot. An optimization method is also introduced to make the calibration process can be done on an ordinary personal computer.

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[pt] Plantas industriais necessitam de algum tipo de medição, em especial a indústria química e de óleo e gás, que empregam em maior quantidade medidores de vazão, sobretudo os de princípio ultrassônico por sua maior confiabilidade. O desempenho metrológico desse tipo de medidor é sensível a imperfeições no perfil de escoamento, e por isso é recomendado que atendam aos requisitos de instalação quanto à distância de trechos retos especificados pela norma. No entanto, em alguns casos tais recomendações não conseguem ser atendidas devido ao espaço físico compacto, mas mesmo assim é mantida a instalação de tais instrumentos em locais inadequados. Por este motivo, a avaliação dos impactos provocados pelas incertezas de medição ocasionadas por irregularidades no perfil de escoamento torna-se relevante. O presente trabalho mostrou que após vários testes com o medidor de vazão do tipo clamp-on de dois canais, instalado em variadas posições longitudinais após seguidos trechos de curva na tubulação, é possível a partir de trechos retos equivalentes a 20 diâmetros utilizar o medidor como um medidor padrão itinerante para calibração de outros medidores de vazão dispostos em linha localizados adequadamente no campo, denominado calibração in-situ. Os resultados dos testes atingiram níveis de incerteza de vazão inferiores a 1 por cento, especificada para calibração de medidores operacionais. O trabalho também mostrou que o uso do fator do medidor numa calibração pode minimizar a influência da flutuação do escoamento sobre a incerteza de medição do medidor, estimando mais realisticamente sua incerteza na ausência de flutuações. / [en] Industrial plants need some kind of measurement, especially chemical and oil and gas industries, which uses a large amount of flow meters, mainly those that uses ultrasonic principle due to their greater reliability. The metrological performance of this type of meter is sensitive to imperfections present in the flow profile, and therefore must comply the installation requirements relative to the distance of straight sections without objects that cause any kind of disruption in the flow. However, in some cases such recommendations are not met due to the compact physical space, which does not preclude the installation of such instruments. For this reason, the evaluation of impacts on the uncertainties of measurement caused by irregularities in the flow becomes relevant. This work shows that using a two channels clamp-on flow meter, installed in various longitudinal positions after consecutive bend sections in the pipe, it is possible to, distance starting from 20 diameters, use the meter as the standard traveling meter for calibration of others flow meters arranged in-line, properly located in the field, process called in-situ calibration. The test results provided an uncertainty less than 1 percent, which is usually specified for operational meters. This work also shows that the meter factor can be used to minimize the influence of the flow rate fluctuation on the uncertainty of measurement, and thus to estimate more realistically its value when there is no fluctuation.

Modeling underwater acoustic propagation comes with a variety of challenges due to the need for proper characterization of the environmental conditions. These conditions include ever changing and complex water properties as well as boundary conditions. The BYU underwater acoustics open-air tank test-bed and measurement chain were developed to study underwater acoustic propagation within a controlled environment. It was also developed to provide ways to test and validate ocean models without the high cost associated with obtaining open ocean measurements. However, tank measurements require additional characterization of boundary conditions associated with the walls of the tank which would not be present in an open ocean. The characterization of BYU's underwater acoustic tank included measuring the calibrated impulse response of the tank through frequency deconvolution of sine swept signals in order to determine the frequency dependent reverberation time through reverse Schroeder integration. The reverberation time allows for calculating the frequency dependent spatially averaged acoustic absorption coefficient of the tank enclosure boundaries. The methods used for this study, common to room acoustics, also yield insights into the Schroeder frequency limit of the tank as well as validate models used for quantifying the speed of sound in the tank. The acoustic characterization was validated alongside predicted values and also applied to a tank lined with anechoic panels in order to improve the potential for modeling the tank as a scaled open ocean environment. An initial investigation into effective tank models evaluated the idealized rigid-wall and pressure-release water-air boundary model, a finite-impedance boundary model applying the measured acoustic boundary absorption and a benchmark open ocean model known as ORCA in order to determine potential tank model candidates. This study demonstrates the efficacy of the methodology for underwater acoustic tank characterization, provides a frequency dependent acoustic boundary evaluation from 5-500 kHz, and provides an initial comparison of tank models with applied characterization.

[pt] O medidor de vazão de fluido multifásico (MM) se desenvolveu impulsionado principalmente pela necessidade da indústria de óleo e gás em medir a vazão da produção dos poços que comumente é composta por petróleo, gás e água. Em outubro de 2015, a Agência Nacional de Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis (ANP) publicou o Regulamento Técnico de Medição de Fluido Multifásico para Apropriação de Petróleo, Gás Natural e Água que apresenta os requisitos através de planos que as empresas operadoras de óleo e gás precisam preparar e submeter para obter a autorização para aplicar o MM na medição para apropriação. Contudo, esse regulamento não especifica a metodologia que deve ser utilizada no denominado plano de verificação de desempenho para avaliar desempenho do MM no campo, cabendo a cada operadora desenvolver a sua metodologia para esse fim e apresentar a ANP. Este trabalho propõe e aplica uma metodologia para verificação de desempenho para MM com resultados de testes realizados em laboratório com fluidos reais e em campo de produção de petróleo e gás. É observado que testes com tempo curto de duração, inferior a 1000 segundos, tendem a gerar incertezas mais elevadas do que testes com longa duração, com mais de 1000 segundos, como os realizados na plataforma. Sendo assim, os resultados de incerteza de medição maiores gerados no laboratório com tempos de integração curtos podem ser considerados mais conservativos que os resultados dos testes realizados na plataforma. / [en] The multiphase flowrate (MM) was driven by the necessity of the oil and gas industry to measure the production flow of the wells that are commonly composed of oil, gas and water. In October 2015, the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) published the Technical Regulation for Measurement of Multiphase Fluid for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Water produced, which presents the requirements through plans that oil and gas companies need to prepare and submit for authorization to apply the MM in the measurement for allocation. However, this regulation does not specify the methodology that should be used in the so-called performance verification plan to evaluate the performance of the MM in the field, it being incumbent on each operator to develop its methodology for this purpose and present the ANP. This work proposes and applies a methodology for performance verification for MM with test results performed in the laboratory with real fluids and in oil and gas field. It was observed that short duration tests, below 1000 seconds, tend to generate higher uncertainties than long tests, higher than 1000 seconds, such as those performed on the platform. Thus, the higher measurement uncertainty results generated in the laboratory with short integration times can be considered more conservative than the results of the tests performed in the platform.