https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20147700005
Characterization of flexure hinges for the French watt balance experiment
1 Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (LCM), 61 rue du Landy 93210 La Plaine Saint-Denis, France
2 Laboratoire National de métrologie et d’Essais (LCM), 29 av. Roger Hennequin, 78197 Trappes Cedex, France
Published online: 19 August 2014
In the French watt balance experiment, the translation and rotation functions must have no backlash, no friction, nor the need for lubricants. In addition errors in position and movement must be below 100 nm. Flexure hinges can meet all of these criteria. Different materials, profile shapes and machining techniques have been studied. The flexure pivots have been characterized using three techniques: 1) an optical microscope and, if necessary, a SEM to observe the surface inhomogeneities; 2) a mass comparator to determine the bending stiffness of unloaded pivots; 3) a loaded beam oscillating freely under vacuum to study the dynamic behavior of loaded pivots.
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2014
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
