The laboratory maintains and disseminates the National standards of the unit of force, the newton, over the range from 0.5 N to 10 MN, ensuring metrological traceability to the International System of Units (SI) and guaranteeing high levels of accuracy for industrial, scientific, and technological applications.
The force scale covers an extremely wide range. The portion from 0.5 N to 1 MN is realized by primary force standard machines based on the “deadweight” principle, designed at INRiM, which generate force by means of calibrated masses subjected to gravitational acceleration. These systems achieve a relative expanded uncertainty of 2×10⁻⁵ (0.002%), representing the highest level of accuracy in static force generation.
For higher capacities, up to 10 MN, force is generated by hydraulic systems and measured using build-up reference force transducers, with a relative expanded uncertainty of 5×10⁻⁴ (0.05%), ensuring excellent metrological performance even at maximum load levels.
Dissemination at the highest level is carried out through the calibration of testing machines of accredited laboratories; the traceability chain then continues through the calibration of force transducers and force measurement systems used directly in industrial applications.
In parallel with its institutional activities, the laboratory conducts intensive research aimed at developing new technologies for the realization of static, dynamic, and multicomponent force standards. In particular, innovative load generation systems are designed, advanced methodologies for the dynamic characterization of transducers are developed, and solutions for the simultaneous measurement of multiple components of force and torque are investigated, meeting the needs of increasingly complex and high-technology applications.