Evaluation of Dosimetric Impact of Uncertainty of Measurement in Estimating External Radiotherapy Dose

Cancer is a major societal public health and economic problem, responsible for one in every six deaths. Radiotherapy is the main technique of treatment for more than half of cancer patients. To achieve a successful outcome, the radiation dose must be delivered accurately and precisely to the tumor, within ± 5% accuracy. Smaller uncertainties are required for better treatment outcome. The objective of the study is to investigate the uncertainty of measurement of external radiotherapy beam using a standard ionization chamber under reference conditions. Clinical farmers type ionization chamber measurement was compared against the National Reference standard, by exposing it in a beam 60Co gamma source. The measurement set up was carried out according to IAEA TRS 498 protocol and uncertainty of measurement evaluated according to GUM TEDDOC-1585. Evaluation and analysis were done for the identified subjects of uncertainty contributors. The expanded uncertainty associated with 56 mGy/nC ND,W was found to be 0.9% corresponding to a confidence level of approximately 95% with a coverage factor of k = 2. The study established the impact of dosimetry uncertainty of measurement in estimating external radiotherapy dose. The investigation established that the largest contributor of uncertainty is the stability of the ionization chamber at 36%, followed by temperature at 22% and positioning of the chamber in the beam at 8%. The effect of pressure, electrometer, resolution, and reproducibility were found to be minimal to the overall uncertainty. The study indicate that there is no flawless measurement, as there are many prospective sources of variation. Measurement results have component of unreliability and should be regarded as best estimates of the true value. .

Measurement Uncertainty Analysis of the Rotary-scan Method for the Measurable Dimension of Cylindrical Workpieces

The measurement uncertainty analysis is carried out to investigate the measurable dimensions of cylindrical workpieces by the rotary-scan method in this paper.Due to the difficult alignment of the workpiece with a diameter of less than 3 mm by the rotary scan method,the measurement uncertainty of the cylindrical workpiece with a diameter of 3 mm and length of 50 mm which is measured by a roundness measuring machine,is evaluated according to GUM(Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement)as an example.Since the uncertainty caused by the eccentricity of the measured workpiece is different with the dimension changing,the measurement uncertainty of cylindrical workpieces with other dimensions can be evaluated the same as the diameter of 3 mm but with different eccentricity.Measurement uncertainty caused by different eccentricities concerning the dimension of the measured cylindrical workpiece is set to simulate the evaluations.Compared to the target value of the measurement uncertainty of 0.1μm,the measurable dimensions of the cylindrical workpiece can be obtained.Experiments and analysis are presented to quantitatively evaluate the reliability of the rotary-scan method for the roundness measurement of cylindrical workpieces.

Velocity Correction and Measurement Uncertainty Analysis of Light Screen Velocity Measuring Method

Light screen velocity measuring method with unique advantages has been widely used in the velocity measurement of various moving bodies.For large air resistance and friction force which the big moving bodies are subjected to during the light screen velocity measuring,the principle of velocity correction was proposed and a velocity correction equation was derived.A light screen velocity measuring method was used to measure the velocity of big moving bodies which have complex velocity attenuation,and the better results were gained in practical tests.The measuring uncertainty after the velocity correction was calculated.

A Synergistic Multi-Attribute Decision-Making Method for Educational Institutions Evaluation Using Similarity Measures of Possibility Pythagorean Fuzzy Hypersoft Sets

Due to the numerous variables to take into account as well as the inherent ambiguity and uncertainty,evaluating educational institutions can be difficult.The concept of a possibility Pythagorean fuzzy hypersoft set(pPyFHSS)is more flexible in this regard than other theoretical fuzzy set-like models,even though some attempts have been made in the literature to address such uncertainties.This study investigates the elementary notions of pPyFHSS including its set-theoretic operations union,intersection,complement,OR-and AND-operations.Some results related to these operations are also modified for pPyFHSS.Additionally,the similarity measures between pPyFHSSs are formulated with the assistance of numerical examples and results.Lastly,an intelligent decision-assisted mechanism is developed with the proposal of a robust algorithm based on similarity measures for solving multi-attribute decision-making(MADM)problems.A case study that helps the decision-makers assess the best educational institution is discussed to validate the suggested system.The algorithmic results are compared with the most pertinent model to evaluate the adaptability of pPyFHSS,as it generalizes the classical possibility fuzzy set-like theoretical models.Similarly,while considering significant evaluating factors,the flexibility of pPyFHSS is observed through structural comparison.

Helical angle measurement of worm by a coordinate measuring machine and its uncertainty evaluation

The purpose of the study concerns the measurement of worm's helical angle by a coordinate measurement machine in the ambient industrial environment. The novel measurement method and sampling strategy were described firstly. This method used the coordinate measurement machine to measure both of the worm gear's left and right surfaces. The worm surface was reconstructed based on the measured data of all the sampling points. Then a middle cylinder was established to truncate the fitted worm surfaces, and the truncated spiral lines were straightened to calculate the helical angle. The measurement uncertainty of worm's helical angle was evaluated by taking the difference of calculated helical angles along the truncated spiral lines on both the left and right side surfaces of the worm. Twenty-four measurement experiments show that the maximum measurement error of the proposed method is 0.105, and the measurement error ratios are all less than 3.5%. The result means that the measurement method can realize the precision measurement of worm's helical angle and can be employed in the generally industrial application.

Measurement Uncertainty of Blade Surface by Coordinates Measuring Machines in Rotation and Parallel Sampling Modes

This paper aims to investigate the measurement uncertainty of blade surface by coordinates measuring machines (CMMs) in different sampling modes.Two different sampling methods for the blade surface, which are the parallel mode and the rotation mode, are studied to examine their measurement uncertainty.The fundamental principles and operational processes of the two modes are presented and discussed.The measurements were performed on a twisted-face blade, and data processing was also conducted to fit the cross-section profile both of the base surface and back surface separately.Then the measurement uncertainties of two sampling methods were evaluated on different parts of the blade surface in terms of the surface profile’s curvature and twist rate.It is found that the measurement of blade surface by CMMs shows much uncertainty for both of the sampling modes because of the complexity of the blade surface.The back surface’s measurement uncertainty is larger than that of the base surface.The measurement uncertainty of cross-section profiles on the top blade surface is larger than that of the bottom blade surface.In addition, the difference between the measurement uncertainties of two sampling methods is small, especially for the base blade surface.The research means that both sampling methods can be a practical application choice for the measurement of blade surface by CMMs.

Theoretical analysis and verification of uncertainty of measurement on a cantilever coordinate measuring machine

A cantilever coordinate measuring machine(CCMM)is proposed according to the in-situ measurement requirement of workpieces with complex structures limited by the finite space of the5-axes computerized numerical control(CNC)processing site.Factors affecting uncertainty of measurement(UM)are classified and analyzed on the basis of uncertainty evaluation criteria,and the estimation technique of UM for measuring systems is presented.UM of the CCMM is estimated from the factors such as temperature,error motions as well as the mechanism deformations.Measurement results show that the actual measurement error is smaller than that of measurement requirement.

Research into Uncertainty in Measurement of Seawater Chemical Oxygen Demand by Potassium Iodide-Alkaline Potassium Permanganate Determination Method

Using the glucose and L-glutamic-acid to prepare the standard substance according to the ratio of 1：1, and the artificial seawater and the standard substance to prepare a series of standard solutions, the distribution pattern of uncertainty in measurement of seawater COD is obtained based on the measured results of the series of standard solutions by the potassium iodide-alkaline potassium permanganate determination method. The distribution pattern is as follows： Uncertainty in measurement is big and not constant at the high end, but small and constant at the low end.

Uncertainty analysis of flow rate measurement for multiphase flow using CFD

The venturi meter has an advantage in its use,because it can measure flow without being much affected by the type of the measured fluid or flow conditions.Hence,it has excellent versatility and is being widely applied in many industries.The flow of a liquid containing air is a representative example of a multiphase flow and exhibits complex flow characteristics.In particular,the greater the gas volume fraction（GVF）,the more inhomogeneous the flow becomes.As a result,using a venturi meter to measure the rate of a flow that has a high GVF generates an error.In this study,the cause of the error occurred in measuring the flow rate for the multiphase flow when using the venturi meter for analysis by CFD.To ensure the reliability of this study,the accuracy of the multiphase flow models for numerical analysis was verified through comparison between the calculated results of numerical analysis and the experimental data.As a result,the Grace model,which is a multiphase flow model established by an experiment with water and air,was confirmed to have the highest reliability.Finally,the characteristics of the internal flow Held about the multiphase flow analysis result generated by applying the Grace model were analyzed to find the cause of the uncertainty occurring when measuring the flow rate of the multiphase flow using the venturi meter.A phase separation phenomenon occurred due to a density difference of water and air inside the venturi,and flow inhomogeneity happened according to the flow velocity difference of each phase.It was confirmed that this flow inhomogeneity increased as the GVF increased due to the uncertainty of the flow measurement.

Measurement Uncertainty Evaluation of Conicity Error Inspected on CMM

The cone is widely used in mechanical design for rotation, centering and fixing. Whether the conicity error can be measured and evaluated accurately will directly influence its assembly accuracy and working performance. According to the new generation geometrical product specification（GPS）, the error and its measurement uncertainty should be evaluated together. The mathematical model of the minimum zone conicity error is established and an improved immune evolutionary algorithm（IlEA） is proposed to search for the conicity error. In the IIEA, initial antibodies are firstly generated by using quasi-random sequences and two kinds of affinities are calculated. Then, each antibody clone is generated and they are self-adaptively mutated so as to maintain diversity. Similar antibody is suppressed and new random antibody is generated. Because the mathematical model of conicity error is strongly nonlinear and the input quantities are not independent, it is difficult to use Guide to the expression of uncertainty in the measurement（GUM） method to evaluate measurement uncertainty. Adaptive Monte Carlo method（AMCM） is proposed to estimate measurement uncertainty in which the number of Monte Carlo trials is selected adaptively and the quality of the numerical results is directly controlled. The cone parts was machined on lathe CK6140 and measured on Miracle NC 454 Coordinate Measuring Machine（CMM）. The experiment results confirm that the proposed method not only can search for the approximate solution of the minimum zone conicity error（MZCE） rapidly and precisely, but also can evaluate measurement uncertainty and give control variables with an expected numerical tolerance. The conicity errors computed by the proposed method are 20%-40% less than those computed by NC454 CMM software and the evaluation accuracy improves significantly.

Determination of Heavy Metals in Tobacco by ICP-MS and Analysis of Uncertainty

The research aims to set up the determination method of heavy metals in tobacco by ICP-MS and analyze its uncertainty. Microwave digest technique is used for decomposition of the tobacco samples. Bi,Sc,Ge and In are employed as internal standards to eliminate the interference of the matrix. A method is developed for simultaneous determination of Cr,Cu,As,Cd,Hg and Pb in tobacco from Yunnan Province by ICP-MS,and the measurement uncertainty is evaluated by metrological method. The test results indicate that in the content range of0- 1. 0 g / ml,the linearly dependent coefficient of six elements is 1. 0000,and the RSD achieves 1. 5%- 11%( n = 8). The elemental content in tobacco is as follows: Cr( 2. 92,0. 24) mg / kg,Cu( 3. 64,0. 24) mg / kg,As( 0. 467,0. 025) mg / kg,Cd( 3. 12,0. 15) mg / kg,Hg( 0. 035,0. 006) mg/kg,Pb( 4. 62,0. 36) mg/kg. The uncertainty of sample size,the constant volume of the sample solution can be neglected. It is concluded that the method is accurate,simple,sensitive and rapid.

Community discovery method with uncertainty measure of overlapping nodes based on topological potential

Community discovery of complex networks,esp.of social networks,has been a hotly debated topic in academic circles in recent years.Since actual networks usually contain some overlapping nodes that are difficult to assign to a certain community,overlapping community discovery is under great demand in practical applications.However,at present network community discovery is mainly done by non-overlapping community discovery methods,overlapping discovery methods are not common.In this context,an overlapping community discovery method is proposed hereby based on topological potential and specific algorithms are also provided.This method not only considers the spread of the uncertainty of community identity of the overlapping nodes in the network,but also realizes a quantified representation,i.e.,uncertainty measure,of the community identity of the overlapping nodes.The experiment results show that this method yields the results that are consistent with those by the classic methods and are more reasonable.

Analysis and Applications of the Measurement Uncertainty in Electrical Testing

Recently, uncertainty measurement is more and more recognizable in modern data management, conformity assessment, and laboratory accreditation system because of its importance. In this paper, a set of reasonable probability explanations are introduced and an effective method is pro- posed to quantify the assessment indices for the uncertainty measurement of electrical testing laboratory. First of all, the influence from uncertainty factors during the test process is taken into account. With the use of ISO/IEC Guide 98-3 standard and probability theory, the index and model for the measurement uncertainty assessment of a laboratory is then derived. From the simulation results of safety testing, laboratory uncertainty measurement assessment activity for actual electrical appliances, and the confirmation of Monte Carlo simulation method, the appropriateness and correctness of proposed method are verified.

Comparison of GUF and Monte Carlo methods to evaluate task-specific uncertainty in laser tracker measurement

Measurement uncertainty plays an important role in laser tracking measurement analyses. In the present work, the guides to the expression of uncertainty in measurement(GUM) uncertainty framework(GUF) and its supplement, the Monte Carlo method, were used to estimate the uncertainty of task-specific laser tracker measurements. First, the sources of error in laser tracker measurement were analyzed in detail, including instruments, measuring network fusion, measurement strategies, measurement process factors(such as the operator), measurement environment, and task-specific data processing. Second, the GUM and Monte Carlo methods and their application to laser tracker measurement were presented. Finally, a case study involving the uncertainty estimation of a cylindricity measurement process using the GUF and Monte Carlo methods was illustrated. The expanded uncertainty results(at 95% confidence levels) obtained with the Monte Carlo method are 0.069 mm(least-squares criterion) and 0.062 mm(minimum zone criterion), respectively, while with the GUM uncertainty framework, none but the result of least-squares criterion can be got, which is 0.071 mm. Thus, the GUM uncertainty framework slightly underestimates the overall uncertainty by 10%. The results demonstrate that the two methods have different characteristics in task-specific uncertainty evaluations of laser tracker measurements. The results indicate that the Monte Carlo method is a practical tool for applying the principle of propagation of distributions and does not depend on the assumptions and limitations required by the law of propagation of uncertainties(GUF). These features of the Monte Carlo method reduce the risk of an unreliable measurement of uncertainty estimation, particularly in cases of complicated measurement models, without the need to evaluate partial derivatives. In addition, the impact of sampling strategy and evaluation method on the uncertainty of the measurement results can also be taken into account with Monte Carlo method, which plays a guiding role in measurement planning.

The Evaluation of Measurement Uncertainty and Its Application in the Vacuum Pressure Measurement

In order to accurately measure the pressure and the pressure difference between two points in the vacuum chamber, a large number of experimental data were used to research the performance of the three capacitance diaphragm gauge and analysis the main influences of the uncertainly degree of pressure in the process. In this paper, three kind of uncertainty, such as the single uncertainty, the synthesis uncertainty and the expanded uncertainty of the three capacitance diaphragm gauges are introduced in detail in pressure measurement. The results show that the performance difference of capacitance diaphragm gauge can be very influential to the accuracy of the pressure difference measurement and the uncertainty of different pressure can be very influential to pressure measurement. That for accurately measuring pressure and pressure difference has certain reference significance.

Parameter Uncertainty Estimation by Using the Concept of Ideal Data in GLUE Approach

The hydrological uncertainty about NASH model parameters is investigated and addressed in the paper through “ideal data” concept by using the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methodology in an application to the small Yanduhe research catchment in Yangtze River, China. And a suitable likelihood measure is assured here to reduce the uncertainty coming from the parameters relationship. “Ideal data” is assumed to be no error for the input-output data and model structure. The relationship between parameters k and n of NASH model is clearly quantitatively demonstrated based on the real data and it shows the existence of uncertainty factors different from the parameter one. Ideal data research results show that the accuracy of data and model structure are the two important preconditions for parameter estimation. And with suitable likelihood measure, the parameter uncertainty could be decreased or even disappeared. Moreover it is shown how distributions of predicted discharge errors are non-Gaussian and vary in shape with time and discharge under the single existence of parameter uncertainty or under the existence of all uncertainties.

Effectiveness of Structural and Nonstructural Measures on the Magnitude and Uncertainty of Future Flood Risks

The purpose of this research is to assess the effectiveness of various adaptation measures in reducing the magnitude and uncertainty of future flood risks in Jakarta, a megacity in Indonesia. A flood inundation model and a flood damage costs model were developed to evaluate their effectiveness. Land use changes, land subsidence, and climate change were used to describe the future scenarios. The adaptation measures include both structural and nonstructural measures. The results show that recharge and retention ponds have the potential to reduce the magnitude and uncertainty of flood risks by 33.2% and 36.4%, respectively, which are higher than the potentials of the other structural adaptation measures. Among the nonstructural adaptation measures, managing land use zones could alleviate the magnitude of flood risks by 29.0%, with an uncertainty reduction of 19.9%. These findings will assist decision makers in selecting flood adaptation measures to address future environmental changes.

General Entropy Model of Line Segments Uncertainty in GIS

Spatial data uncertainty can directly affect the quality of digital products and GIS-based decision making. On the basis of the characteristics of randomicity of positional data and fuzziness of attribute data, taking entropy as a measure, the stochastic entropy model of positional data uncertainty and fuzzy entropy model of attribute data uncertainty are proposed. As both randomic-ity and fuzziness usually simultaneously exist in linear segments, their omnibus effects are also investigated and quantified. A novel uncertainty measure, general entropy, is presented. The general entropy can be used as a uniform measure to quantify the total un-certainty caused by stochastic uncertainty and fuzzy uncertainty in GIS.

The Measurement and Uncertainty Analysis of Antenna Factor of Microwave Antennas Based on Standard Site Method

A method of Standard Site Method (SSM) in the American National Standards Institute’s ANSI C63.5 is described in the frequency ranges from 30 MHz to 1000 MHz. And a measurement system is set up for determining antenna factors (AF) of antennas on an Open Area Test Sites (OATS). AF of antennas including log-periodic antenna and biconical antenna is measured with SSM method by Shanghai Institute of Measurement and Testing Technology (SIMT), which shows good agreement to data measured by National Institute of Metrology (NIM). In the end, it analyzes the measurement uncertainty of SIMT in the 30 MHz to 1000 MHz frequency band and does comparison to that of NIM.

High Accuracy When Measuring Physical Constants: From the Perspective of the Information-Theoretic Approach

The practical value of high-precision models of the studied physical phenomena and technological processes is a decisive factor in science and technology. Currently, numerous methods and criteria for optimizing models have been proposed. However, the classification of measurement uncertainties due to the number of variables taken into account and their qualitative choice is still not given sufficient attention. The goal is to develop a new criterion suitable for any groups of experimental data obtained as a result of applying various measurement methods. Using the “information-theoretic method”, we propose two procedures for analyzing experimental results using a quantitative indicator to calculate the relative uncertainty of the measurement model, which, in turn, determines the legitimacy of the declared value of a physical constant. The presented procedure is used to analyze the results of measurements of the Boltzmann constant, Planck constant, Hubble constant and gravitational constant.