Int. J. Metrol. Qual. Eng.

4, 127–134 (2013)
c EDP Sciences 2013
DOI: 10.1051/ijmqe/2013043

Measurement quality and uncertainty evaluation

in civil engineering research
A. Silva Ribeiro1, , J. Alves e Sousa2 , C. Oliveira Costa1 , J.F. Vieira de Sousa2 ,
J. Almeida Garrett1 , and L. Lages Martins1
1
Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil, Av. do Brasil 101, 1700-066 Lisboa, Portugal
2
Laboratório Regional de Engenharia Civil, Rua Agostinho Pereira de Oliveira, 9000-264 Funchal, Portugal

Received: 12 April 2012 / Accepted: 16 July 2013

Abstract. Civil engineering is a branch of science that covers a broad range of areas where experimental
procedures often plays an important role. The research in this field is usually supported by experimental
structures able to test physical and mathematical models and to provide measurement results with accept-
able accuracy. To assure measurement quality, a metrology probabilistic approach can provide valuable
mathematical and computational tools especially suited to the study, evaluation and improvement of mea-
surement processes in its different components (modeling, instrumentation performance, data processing,
data validation and traceability), emphasizing measurement uncertainty evaluation as a tool to the analysis
of results and to promote the quality and capacity associated with decision-making. This paper presents
some of the research held by the metrology division of the Portuguese civil engineering research institutes,
focused on the contribution of measurement uncertainty studies to a variety of frameworks, such as testing
for metrological characterization and physical and mathematical modeling. Experimental data will be used
to illustrate practical cases.

Keywords: Measurement uncertainty; quality; civil engineering

1 Introduction mathematical and computational tools used as well as

some practical applications.
Civil engineering is a branch of science that covers a broad
spectrum of domains where the experimental component
often plays an important role. Research in this field is 2 Research topics
usually supported by a strong experimental infrastructure Among the research areas in civil engineering this paper
whose quality depends, among other factors, on the accu- will focus on three research topics that, somehow, reflect
racy of the measurements obtained using traceable instru- the diversity of the lines of investigation in this field.
ments with high levels of accuracy. One of those areas is testing applied to geotechnical
Measurement can in this environment be a complex engineering, being the example under study taken from
process involving different steps, all contributing to its research related to triaxial compression tests in water sat-
accuracy, namely, the quality of physical and mathemat- urated soils [1], where it will be necessary to make use of
ical modeling, the performance of the instrumentation, uncertainties from regression analysis [2], with the addi-
the processing and validation of data, the traceability, the tional advantage of commonality with other applications.
measurement uncertainty evaluation and the analysis and The second topic concerns transportation and is based
interpretation of measurands results. on a study developed to evaluate the thermal expansion of
Metrology can provide valuable mathematical and a pavement test specimen type, using strain gauges with
computational tools especially useful for the study, specific thermal expansion coefficients. This example is re-
evaluation and improvement of measurement processes, lated to materials testing in order to provide information
promoting the quality and capacity associated with regarding the influence of extreme environmental condi-
decision-making. tions such as temperature and humidity in processes of
This paper aims to describe some of the research material aging, emphasizing the relevance of traceability
held by the metrology division of the Portuguese civil and mathematical modeling to characterize and to review
engineering research institutes, including some of the testing results.
The third example concerns the use of dimensional

Correspondence: [email protected] and geometrical contributions to the definition of concrete

Article published by EDP Sciences

128 International Journal of Metrology and Quality Engineering

testing specimens with assured quality in order to support measurement uncertainties. This will help users to select
research studies. In this topic, the contribution is given by sensors and to establish the required accuracy for the mea-
the characterization of geometrical quantities of metal and surement systems.
steel moulds [3, 4] used to manufacture these specimens.

4 Metrology contribution to measurement

3 Mathematical and computational tools quality in civil engineering research
Experimental data analysis is a key activity in most mea- activities
surement processes. It involves developing a mathemati-
cal model of a physical system in terms of mathematical It is widely accepted today that metrology is one of the
equations involving parameters that describe all relevant pilars that hold Quality. Measurement accuracy achieved,
aspects of the system. The model specifies how the system by this way, a relevant role in the Quality framework.
is likely to respond to input data and the nature of the Recent developments towards a probabilistic inter-
uncertainties associated with this data. This latter aspect pretation of measurement, consolidated with the ISO-
is very important, and it is increasingly recommended to GUM [1] publishing in 1993, allowed an increasing growth
perform data analysis estimating the uncertainties associ- of studies related with how to properly express accuracy
ated with it [4, 5]. and to promote conformity assessment. The concept of
Regarding the geotechnical example, the study con- measurement uncertainty was found as a major contribu-
cerns the use of uncertainties obtained from a regres- tion to both needs.
sion analysis, followed by an implicit scheme to propagate The application of these concepts to the “real world”
those uncertainties in a problem with two output quan- of different branches of Science, with all its complexity,
tities in a two-stage procedure. This type of problem has created the need to try or develop many of the mathe-
received adequate attention in a recent publication [6]. matical tools already available in order to find ways to
The quality of pavement materials is often related solve the proposed problems.
with its behaviour when subjected to mechanical test- Today, metrology can provide interesting solutions to
ing, with its deformation sometimes measured using strain deal with some of the high requirements of accuracy found
gauges mounted on the specimens. Considering that both on civil engineering research. A few examples on its con-
elements are affected by temperature, the difference be- tribution to the overall Quality will be detailed in this
tween thermal expansion coefficients should be considered section.
as a contribution to the mathematical models adopted
and, therefore, its metrological characterization required
to take this contribution into account. 4.1 Geotechnical testing case study
The requirement of materials aging testing includes the
establishment of temperature and humidity conditions. It In this particular study attention will be paid to triax-
requires the instrument calibration in order to provide ial compression tests used to typify particular soils. These
traceability that embodies the accuracy assurance within tests involve having the soil specimen loaded to failure,
the SI units and, simultaneously, to provide reference val- by compression, when submitted to a specified confined
ues that should be used as information input variables to stress. Through a series of tests, usually three (scarcity
the mathematical models and for the study of spatial and of data is a relevant point), with different confinement
temporal testing conditions. stresses, the required experimental data to draw the fail-
The repeatability of testing is usually strongly related ure line (stress coordinates representing failure, see Fig. 1)
to the quality of test results. To achieve it the measure- are obtained, from which it is possible to determine its in-
ment process must be controlled from the start. In the tercept and the slope. This information is then used to de-
case of testing the concrete properties, the testing proce- termine two parameters that characterize the soil, namely,
dure implies that the specimens should be provided with the cohesion and the friction angle.
assured dimensional and geometrical tolerances to avoid For the present study isotropic consolidated and
bias results due to their own variability. In this case, the drained triaxial compression tests were performed on spec-
moulds used to manufacture the specimens should be mea- imens that had been previously saturated, according to
sured and several geometrical quantities compared with the CEN ISO/TEC 17892-9 [1] standard. The specimens
standard tolerances, taking into account the measurement were obtained by compaction, for the same moisture con-
uncertainty as part of the conformity assessment. tent and compaction energy, so that the same bulk density
Measurement performed in situ is usually strongly de- was obtained. The specimens were compacted with a di-
pendent on influencing conditions, namely, temperature, ameter close to 70 mm, and a height/diameter relation
humidity and pressure. In the activity related to the mon- close to 2 (the test standard recommends this relation to
itoring of large structures, strain gauges are among the be in the interval [1.85, 2.25]).
most widely used sensors. Its variation due to tempera- In the context of this study nine specimens were tested,
ture effect is also significant, therefore, becomes partic- with consolidation stress values of 100 kPa, 200 kPa and
ularly relevant to understand how temperature measure- 300 kPa, to allow a comparison of the common situation
ment uncertainty can affect, in some conditions, strain of having three specimens, one at each consolidation stress
 A. Silva Ribeiro et al.: Measurement quality and uncertainty evaluation in civil engineering research 129

600 500

500 y = 0,5239x + 13,4042

φ' 400 2 α
R = 0,9997 P3

Shear stress, q ' ( kPa)

Shear stress, (kPa)

400
300 P2
300

200
200 P3 P1

100 P2
100
c' P1
0 a
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Effective normal stress, (kPa)
Effective normal stress, p ' (kPa)
Fig. 1. Evaluation of the resistance parameters using Mohr
circles at failure. Fig. 2. Straight-line regression for the evaluation of the friction
angle φ and the cohesion c .
Table 1. Results of tests for different consolidation stresses.
Table 2. Results from MCM.
Specimen P1 P2 P3
Consolidation stress/kPa 100 200 300 Specimen q  /kPa uq / kPa p /kPa up /kPa
q  at failure/kPa 132 252 355 1 132 1.63 228 0.47
p at failure/kPa 228 452 655 2 252 1.63 452 0.47
3 355 1.62 655 0.47

value (baseline condition), with a situation where there is

a double repetition at each of those testing points. In this and the following expressions:
work only the results of the shear phase will be presented,
in which, among others, the quantities measured include: σ1 = σ1 − u, σ3 = σ3 − u, (2)
horizontal (radial) stress (σ3 ), pore pressure (u), axial P
σ1 = σ3 + . (3)
force (P ), height variation (ΔH) and volume variation A
(ΔV ).
In practice, it is common to represent the failure stress The pore pressure u in the specimen, indicated by expres-
condition just by a single point, in a (p, q) or (p , q  ) sion (2), relates the total stress and the effective stress,
coordinate system, where not only for the axial stress (σ1 ) but also for the horizon-
tal stress (σ3 ). Substituting in (1) the terms of the axial
p = (σ1 + σ3 )/2, p = (σ1 + σ3 )/2, and horizontal stresses by their definitions (2) and (3), the
following expressions (4) and (5) are obtained, with which
q = q  = (σ1 − σ3 )/2 = (σ1 − σ3 )/2. (1) the uncertainty evaluation will be performed:
In Table 1 we display the consolidation stresses and P
also the failure values of p and q  for the same tests. q = , (4)
2A
Figure 3 displays the more common graphical represen- 2σ3 − 2u + (P/A)
tation of a straight-line regression, obtained by ordinary p = , (5)
2
least squares, whose parameters (slope and intercept) are
the basis for the evaluation of the friction angle φ and the where the area A is calculated using expression (6):
cohesion c [1], obtained using an Excel spreadsheet.
The usual approach is to determine the resistance pa- Vi − ΔVC − ΔV
rameter values, from such a straight-line regression by A= . (6)
Hi − ΔHC − ΔH
an ordinary least squares approach, without uncertainty
associated with them. In this case, the data displayed It should be noted that the evaluation of the area A of
in Figure 2 yields φ = arcsin(tan α) = 31.5 and c = the specimen involves quadratic terms ([1], p. 18), which
a/ cos(φ ) = 16.2. brings a degree of complexity to the evaluation of the sen-
In the case of the triaxial compression test, the output sitivity coefficients needed for applying the GUM uncer-
testing results – friction angle and cohesion – are based, tainty framework. The assumption of linearity, in this case,
as mentioned earlier, on the slope of the straight-line re- is no longer valid.
gression function and its intercept with the ordinate axis. The point pairs (p , q  ) and the respective uncertainties
This function is in general established based on just three of Table 2 are the input data for the application of the
points, as is normal practice in this type of test. The ordi- least squares method to a straight-line regression for the
nate and abscissa axes represent the shear stress and the 3 points considered [2].
effective mean normal stress, respectively. These quanti- The application of this methodology to the data of
ties, on the other hand, are calculated using expression (1) Table 2, that is to the pairs of points (p ,q  ) and respective
130 International Journal of Metrology and Quality Engineering

500
Table 3. Results of straight-line regression for specimens 1
to 3.
400 y = 0,5091x + 19,0377 α
φ /◦ uφ /◦ c /kPa uc /kPa 2
R = 1,0000
P3

Shear stress, q ' ( kPa)

No validation 31.6 – 16.7 –
300 P2
After validation 31.6 0.63 16.7 5.13

500 200
P1

y = 0,5235x + 14,2101
400 2 α 100
R = 0,9997 P3
Shear stress, q ' ( kPa)

a
300 P2 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000

Effective normal stress, p ' (kPa)

200
P1
Fig. 4. Straight-line regression with uncertainties by experi-
100 mental dispersion.

a
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 implicit scheme is implemented over φ = arcsin(b) and
Effective normal stress, p ' (kPa)
c = a/cos(φ ) yielding two Jacobian matrices with sensi-
tivity coefficients with respect to (c , φ ) and (a, b):
Fig. 3. Straight-line regression with uncertainties evaluated
using MCM.
 
cos(φ) −c sin(φ)
Jy =
0 cos(φ)
Table 4. Results of straight-line regression for specimens 1 to  
5 with experimental dispersion. −1 0
Jx =
0 −1
φ /◦ uφ /◦ c /kPa uc /kPa
Validation accepted 30.6 0.36 22.12 2.55 which in conjunction with the covariance matrix for (a,b)
 2 
u (a) u(a, b)
uncertainties, produced the values of a, b, φ (friction an- Vx =
u(a, b) u2 (b)
gle) and c (cohesion) shown in Table 3 and in Figure 3.
The validation referred to in the previous table is es- permits the propagation of uncertainty by solving Jy ·
tablished by comparing the observed R value with the V y · Jy T = Jx · V x · JxT and extracting the standard
chi-squared distribution with v = m − 2 degrees of free- uncertainty and covariance.
dom and probability 95%. As the observed R value was
outside the corresponding interval, a value σ̂ 2 = R/(m−2) u(c) = [Vy (1, 1)]
1/2

was determined to adjust the matrix Ua proportionally to 1/2

this factor. The uncertainty values u(a) and u(b) were in- u(φ) = [Vy (2, 2)]
flated in this way whereas the values of a and b remained u(c, φ) = Vy (1, 2).
unchanged.
Having available the experimental dispersion values re- The linear regression with uncertainties based on ex-
lated to the consolidation stresses of 100 kPa, 200 kPa and perimental dispersion results in a valid linear regression
300 kPa, for a total of 3 tests at each of these stresses, it model, but ideally more replicates should be used. The
was decided to use these values in two ways. First, the lin- uncertainties associated with the friction angle and the
ear regression was repeated with these experimental un- cohesion, when obtained solely by the experimental data
certainties, much larger than the previous uncertainties, are smaller than those obtained by generalised distance
and the results in Table 4 and Figure 4 were obtained. regression, with inflated (scaled) covariance matrix.
Then, the friction angles and cohesion for each of these
3 tests were calculated and an estimative for the experi-
mental dispersion of φ e de c was obtained. 4.2 Pavement materials specimen testing
Note how the introduction of larger uncertainties in
the model of linear regression led to the acceptance of the The study of pavement materials performance under ex-
model validation, with no need for an adjustment, and treme environmental conditions (of temperature and hu-
how the uncertainties of φ and c , without the adjust- midity) can be studied by testing pavement specimens
ment factor, resulted in lower values. The values of direct to high and low temperature and humidity levels, using
experimental standard deviation for φ and c were of 0.92 chambers specially suited to establish environments with
and 5.9, respectively. thermal and humidity highly controlled conditions.
It is worth pointing out that the uncertainties as- In order to obtain the behaviour of these specimens
sociated with φ e de c can be readily obtained if an displacement sensors are required, being common the use
 A. Silva Ribeiro et al.: Measurement quality and uncertainty evaluation in civil engineering research 131

Table 5. Experimental estimates of the thermal expansion

Climatic chamber coefficient for the setup.

αc /◦ C−1 u(αc )/◦ C−1

RM (invar) 1.16 × 10−5 9 × 10−7
Displacement RM (steel) 1.17 × 10−5 8 × 10−7
transducer
RM (Al) 1.18 × 10−5 10 × 10−7

predicted value, considering that the main setup material

lC is of stainless steel type.
Pavement The second stage was to perform the same testing
specimen
Electronic lS using a sample of five specimens (100 mm high and
indicator device
20 mm × 20 mm base square) from the same population to
0,0000 mm
be tested, being their (αs ) obtained after correction of the
Granite plate
setup column and transducer effects. The mathematical
model is also obtained from (1), for the required unknown
Fig. 5. Experimental setup for the evaluation of thermal ex- variable.
pansion coefficient of pavement specimen. [(lc αc Δθi ) + di ]
αs = . (9)
(ls Δθi )

of strain gauges connected to bridges to measure the dis- The analysis of the experimental results shown in Figure 6
placement variations observed at the specimen faces. may point out some conclusions:
The quality of the measurement is strongly related i. The nonlinearity found avoids the need to consider a
with the fact that both specimens and strain gauges have single estimator of the thermal expansion coefficient
similar coefficients of thermal expansion, being these usu- to be given to the specimens.
ally known with some accuracy for the strain gauges but ii. Heterogeneity of material gives similar behaviour but
not well known for the specimens worsened by the fact different estimates for each temperature interval. It
that the pavement material can be quite heterogeneous. explains the memory effect observed on the decreas-
In order to obtain estimates of the specimens coeffi- ing cycle relative to the high temperature result and
cient of thermal expansion (αs ), LNEC metrology division also the gap between the first and last points, both
provided a setup to estimate that parameter for a set of obtained at the same reference temperature.
pavement specimens. The setup had a 300 mm vertical iii. A reversibility effect was detected, with the displace-
column with horizontal arm and a granite base plate, a ments higher during the increase of temperature (top
displacement transducer (50 mm range and 0.1 μm of res- curves) than during the decrease of temperature.
olution) with a digital device indicator and a chamber able iv. The analysis of temperature cycles appear to indicate
to control temperature (stability and uniformity) within that a drift exists, with the shift calculated as the dif-
0.1 ◦ C and humidity within 0.5%rh. ference between the final and the initial displacement
The procedure developed was two stage, being the first of each cycle.
one the evaluation of the setup column coefficient of ther-
mal expansion (αc ), and the second one, the evaluation of Regarding the measurement uncertainty, estimates were
the specimens coefficient of thermal expansion (αs ). obtained again using first order GUM approach applied
For the first step, three 100 mm pure metallic bars to equation (9), using as estimate the average of the setup
(invar, steel and aluminium) were used as reference mate- column thermal coefficient given on Table 6 (u (αc ) =
rials with known αs and the testing was carried doing the 9×10−7 ◦ C−1 ). The result obtained, expressed in Figure 6,
increment of temperature from 5 ◦ C to 30 ◦ C with 5 ◦ C was of (u (αs ) = 2.0 × 10−6 ◦ C−1 ).
steps. Taking into consideration the studies carried out, it
Considering a change in temperature of Δθ, the dis- was possible to conclude that the use of extensometers to
placement d measured by the transducer, for each temper- measure displacements in specimens used on road pave-
ature step and reference material, is approx. given by (7) ment testing, was within the measurement range of ex-
and the estimates of the setup column αc by (8). tensometers and their own thermal expansion coefficient.
However, an accurate measurement of temperature during
testing is strongly advisable.
di = (ls αs Δθi ) − (lc αc Δθi ) (7)
In this process, the thermal coefficient of the glue (for
[(ls αs Δθi ) − di ] several compositions) used to stick the extensometers to
αc = . (8)
(lc Δθi ) the specimens was also evaluated previously at labora-
tory, being obtained estimates between 1 × 10−5 ◦ C−1
Calibration results are given in Table 5, being the mea- and 2 × 10−5 ◦ C−1 . Further studies are intended to be
surement uncertainty obtained using first order GUM made in order to evaluate if the overall accuracy obtained
approach. The estimate obtained is according with the is acceptable to measure the phenomena to be studied.
132 International Journal of Metrology and Quality Engineering

0.0000150

0.0000100

0.0000050
Δ l l mm

0.0000000
8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

-0.0000050

-0.0000100

-0.0000150
Temperature / ºC

Fig. 6. Results of relative displacement measured for two

tested specimens.

4.3 Concrete moulds geometrical conformity

assessment case study
Fig. 7. Ttriple gang mold (EN 196-1 dimensions and toler-
ances in mm).
Concrete is a material widely used in many structures hav-
ing specific requirements that imply physical and chemical
T
testing. Due to its inhomogeneity, the quality of the test-
ing depends on several conditions related to the process
inherent to the cast of concrete testing specimens. B’’ B’ B
In this process one of the conditions that are required
to assure reproducibility of the testing is the conformity C’’ C’ E C

assessment of the dimensional and geometrical quantities

of moulds, considering that it can directly affect the qual- A’’ A’ A
ity of the specimens performance in testing.
Moulds can have different shapes (e.g., cubic, cylinder,
prismatic and triple-gang) according to the applications D’’ D’ D
and the international standards used [3, 4]. In the studied
case, the triple gang moulds, conformity requirements are
found on EN 196-1 [4].
Fig. 8. Ttriple gang mold planes identification.
In the case of triple-gang moulds (see Fig. 7) each pris-
matic compartment should be in conformity with dimen-
sional, flatness, squareness and roughness tolerances. The
distance between joints at each compartment should be – the following sequence of displacements needed to mea-
within (40.0 ± 0.2) mm, the length (160 ± 1) mm, the sure several coordinates along the top plan (T), the
height (40.1 ± 0.1) mm, the flatness of each surface should inside vertical planes (A, B, C, D) and the base plan
be within ±0.03 mm, the squareness between each inter- (E) as described in Figure 8;
nal face and adjacent face or with bottom plane should be – the use of these coordinates to calculate the required
within ±0.2 mm and the roughness should be higher than dimensional and geometrical quantities;
N8 class. – the conformity assessment.
The metrological testing performed at LNEC can be
applied to metal/steel moulds with cubic, prismatic, cylin- A set of experimental results obtained for one compart-
der or triple-gang prismatic configuration, being sup- ment of a triple gang mould tested at LNEC are given in
ported on the use of a CMM 3D reference standard able to the following table.
measure about 200 points along the mould planes within Uncertainty plays a relevant role in the conformity as-
an expanded uncertainty of about 2 μm, providing the sessment (CA) analysis, as it defines an interval compa-
information needed to evaluate the required measurands rable with the EN 196-1 standard tolerance interval, its
and use the results to perform the conformity assessment. magnitude should be small enough to assure the CA result.
The procedure developed at LNEC is supported on The experimental procedure provides two types of re-
programmed routines that include four main actions: sults, the angle and the deviation. The latter is required to
the conformity assessment process, which needs the values
– the initial setup of a reference axis origin for the 3D of estimates (see Tab. 6) and associated uncertainties (to
coordinate system; be evaluated).
 A. Silva Ribeiro et al.: Measurement quality and uncertainty evaluation in civil engineering research 133

Table 6. Experimental results obtained for a triple mold tested Table 7. MCM results for ∠AB orthogonality deviation.
at LNEC’s metrology laboratory.
mm
Measure Nominal Min. Max. d −9, 1 × 10−3
length and experimental experimental U95% (d) 0.6 × 10−3
tolerance value/mm value/mm Skewness (d) <3 × 10−2
AC (40.0 ± 0.2) mm 39.956 39.973 Kurtosis (d) <2 × 10−2
BD (160 ± 1) mm 160.051 160.011
ET (40.1 ± 0.1) mm 40.167 40.142
Measure Nominal Experimental Deviation/
angle and meas. mm
tolerance angle/◦
∠ AB 90 ◦ / 0.2 mm 89.987 –0.009
∠ BC 90 ◦ / 0.2 mm 89.986 −0.010
∠ CD 90 ◦ / 0.2 mm 90.001 0.001
∠ DA 90 ◦ / 0.2 mm 90.002 0.015
∠ AE 90 ◦ / 0.2 mm 89.994 −0.004
∠ BE 90 ◦ / 0.2 mm 90.022 0.015
∠ CE 90 ◦ / 0.2 mm 89.992 −0.006
∠ DE 90 ◦ / 0.2 mm 89.915 −0.059
/ / CA 0 ◦ / 0.2 mm 0.016 0.011
/ / BD 0 ◦ / 0.2 mm 0.039 0.027 Fig. 9. PDF for the ∠AB orthogonality deviation.
/ / ET 0 ◦ / 0.2 mm 0.025 0.017
Measure Nominal length Deviation/mm
(flatness) and tolerance
Plan A ±0.03 mm 0.009 calibration uncertainty (U95% = 30 ) with the measure-
Plan B ±0.03 mm 0.006 ment repeatability. The results obtained are found in
Plan C ±0.03 mm 0.008 Table 7.
Plan D ±0.03 mm 0.004
Plan E ±0.03 mm 0.010 The values obtained, combining the estimate and the
uncertainty interval have an order of magnitude less than
1/10th of the tolerance, allowing to assure that the con-
In the first step of the procedure the reference CMM formity assessment can be properly done by this way.
provides an angle, θ, between every pair of planes, P1 and Based on the output deviation probability density
P2 , constructed based on two sets of points, followed by function (Fig. 9) obtained using MCM it was possible to
the numerical evaluation of their normal vectors, n1 and evaluate if the nature of the mathematical model, includ-
n2 , being: ing a trigonometric function, would introduce any asym-
|n1 · n2 | metry or change of the Gaussian shape. The evaluation of
cos θ = . (10) skewness and kurtosis confirm the expected normality of
n1  n2 
the output distribution.
The second step of the procedure is to use the estimate
of each measured angle and of the length related to the
maximum angular deviation, l, to evaluate the deviation
related to orthogonality (d⊥ ) and to parallelism (d ), re- 5 Conclusions
spectively given by:
π  Metrology probabilistic approach has mathematical and
d⊥ = l tan −θ (11a) computational tools particularly suited to improve the
2
d// = l tan (θ) . (11b) quality of measurement thus fulfilling the growing tech-
nological demands of the modern society.
Considering the nonlinearity of the mathematical model, In the context of civil engineering, where diverse frame-
the use of Monte Carlo Method (MCM) was found suit- works can be found, measurement is often a major support
able for the purpose of uncertainty evaluation. Simula- for the analysis and decision-making, whether it concerns
tions were performed for each of the experimental val- simply the relative quality of products or processes up to
ues presented in Table 6, using MatLab validated routines extreme cases where integrity, safety and risk assessment
being performed numerical simulations with sequences of determines the establishment of special requirements for
106 draws. conformity assessment.
In the case of the measurement of the angle ∠ AB, Thus, the metrological analysis and, in particular, the
the model applied was (11a), being the input variables in- evaluation of measurement uncertainty, can have a role in
troduced considering the length of (40 ± 1) mm, and a the process of Quality assurance, which should be one of
measured average angle of (89.987 ± 0.017)◦, being the the aims of the activity related to Research, Development
angle uncertainty obtained combining the CMM angular and Innovation.
134 International Journal of Metrology and Quality Engineering

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Determination of strength
5. JCGM. Evaluation of measurement data – Guide to the
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ing – Laboratory testing of soil – Part 9: Consolidated
6. JCGM. Evaluation of measurement data – Supplement 1
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to the “Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measure-
2. ISO/TS 28037:2010 The determination and use of ment” – Propagation of distributions using a Monte Carlo
straight-line calibration functions, Technical Specification, method, JCGM 101: 2008
International Organization for Standardization, Geneva 7. JCGM. Evaluation of measurement data – Supplement 2
3. BS EN 12390-1: 2002 Testing hardened concrete - Part 1: to the “Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measure-
Shape, dimensions and other requirements for specimens ment” – Extension to any number of output quantities,
and moulds JCGM 102: 2011