Ph.D. candidate in Ingegneria Gestionale E Della Produzione , 41st cycle (2025-2028)
Department of Management and Production Engineering (DIGEP)
Profile
PhD
Research topic
Development and experimental validation of an electrostatic force system for traceable small-force metrology at INRiM
Tutors
Keywords
Biography
I, Aslam Abbas, am a PhD candidate in Management and Production Engineering (Cycle 41, A.Y. 2025/2026) at Politecnico di Torino, conducting research hosted at INRIM (Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica) under the supervision of Prof. Gianfranco Genta and Dr. Andrea Prato. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering and Management and a Master's degree in Industrial Manufacturing, bringing strong expertise in metrology, quality engineering, and industrial calibration.
1. Research Context
Accurate generation and measurement of small forces is essential for traceable mass measurements at the milligram level. An electrostatic force balance is a promising solution, because the force it produces can be linked directly to voltage and capacitance, which can both be measured with high accuracy.
Earlier research at INRIM demonstrated a simple electrostatic balance for milligram-level mass standards, with a relative uncertainty of about 10⁻³. This PhD research builds on that work.
2. Research Gap
The existing balance has shown that the approach is feasible, but it is still a prototype. Its performance is limited by instability caused by temperature and environmental disturbances, by imperfect alignment of its components, and by an incomplete understanding of how the measured capacitance behaves. In addition, a full evaluation of the measurement uncertainty is still missing. As a result, the balance cannot yet provide the accuracy and reliability required for traceable small-force and mass measurements.
3. Research Objective
The aim of this research is to develop and experimentally validate an improved electrostatic force balance for small-force and milligram-scale mass measurements, with reduced and fully documented uncertainty, approaching a relative uncertainty of 10⁻⁴.
4. Research Plan
The work follows an iterative experimental approach: the existing balance is first characterized, then improved step by step, and finally validated with milligram-scale mass standards. The plan covers the three years of the program and will be refined with the supervisors.
5. Expected Outcomes
The project is expected to deliver an improved and thermally and mechanically stable electrostatic balance, interferometrically characterized electrode parallelism, a traceably calibrated piezoelectric actuator, better control of environmental disturbances, a defined stabilization procedure for the capacitance measurement, a more accurate model of dC/dz, and a complete uncertainty budget. It will also provide quantitative experimental evidence of the uncertainty reduction achieved. Together, these results will advance the INRIM electrostatic balance from a promising prototype to a stable, well-characterized and traceable measurement system.