Calibration of force reference standards
Reference standard measurement machine inspekt K 600kN
Load cells, which are used for example in classic material testing machines, must be checked periodically for their measuring accuracy with reference force standards.
The reference force standards are naturally also monitored on a constant basis in accordance with ISO 376 and are subjected to compressive and tensile testing and calibration from 100 N to 2kN in class 00, and from 2kN to 5000kN up to class 0.5. This requires that the reference force standards be subjected to precision compressive and tensile forces with low relative measurement uncertainties. Hegewald & Peschke MPT GmbH has developed a reference standard measurement machine with a maximum force of 600kN and an electric motor drive. The inspekt K 600kN was designed for the calibration of load cells and wheel load scales. The compressive load is applied with the aid of a reversing strap. For tensile testing it is possible to calibrate a transducer with an installation height of 1400mm, and for compressive testing with a height of 600 mm.
The force measurement takes place by means of a 600kN Hottinger reference force transducer, measurement class G00, in double bridge configuration. A special calibration program (module of the universal material testing software LabMaster) enables automatic initiation of the individual load calibration stages and recording of the measurement values in the test log.