Mass and related quantities

Part of our Metrology Research Centre, the mass and related quantities team carries out research activities in the main application areas of mass, density, volume, pressure, acoustics, ultrasound and vibration. The team supports sectors where high accuracy and traceability are needed, such as advanced manufacturing and aviation, as well as legal metrology.

Our expertise

The mass and related quantities team concentrates on 3 main areas of activity:

Development, maintenance and dissemination of primary standards
Provision of calibration services to Canadian and international clients
R&D projects related to new measurement capabilities and calibration methods

Our latest research

New capabilities are being developed to directly realize the acoustic pascal optically, utilizing photon correlation in standing wave tubes and free-field conditions for laboratory standard and MEMS microphones.

The team is also developing directly traceable accelerometry using optically probed low-noise MEMS sensors.

Facilities and labs

NRC Kibble balance: Operated by the mass and related quantities team and the electrical standards team, the balance is employed for the primary realization of the kilogram and contributes to the global consensus value of the kilogram.
Mass laboratory: Provides high-accuracy mass calibration services in the 1 mg to 64 kg range and carries out calibrations of mass artefacts for centre of mass and magnetic susceptibility.
Density and volume laboratory: Calibration services for the derived quantity of density. Services include measurement of both solid and liquid densities, calibration of hydrometers and determination of volumes.
Pressure laboratory: Operates and maintains the mercury manometer. Calibrations of piston gauges covering pneumatic and hydraulic pressure (100 Pa to 100 MPa).
Acoustics laboratory and chamber: Calibration for laboratory standard microphones, sound level calibrators and other devices on a custom basis, covering the frequency range of 10 Hz to 25 kHz.
Vibration laboratories: Calibration services for accelerometers using optical interferometers in 2 facilities covering the frequency ranges of 1 Hz to 40 Hz and 10 Hz to 5 kHz.
Ultrasound facility: Radiation force balance to measure ultrasonic power from 0.1 W to 5 W and calibration of a portable power balance that can be used in situ in the health care sector.