METROLOGY APPLICATIONS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING: A BRIEF REVIEW

Metrology, while often confused with the science of measuring weather (meteorology), is a very widely used field. Metrology is mainly concerned with (i) establishing the units of measurements, reproducing these units in the form of standards, and ensuring the uniformity of measurements, (ii) developing methods of measurement, analysing the accuracy of methods of measurement, establishing uncertainty of measurement, researching into the causes of measuring errors, and eliminating these. Although as engineers and scientists, we make use of measurement to quantify the physical and chemical properties of objects, and design systems to conform to standards based on unit of measurement, the principles of measurement science (metrology) is not too familiar to most engineers and scientists. The focus of this brief review is to bring to fore the (i) meaning and definitions of metrology, (ii) importance of measurement, and (iii) the importance of metrology applications in chemical engineering and engineering in general. Key words: Metrology, measurement, process control, process development, engineering design.