Notice2022-16339
Gas Flow Meter Calibrations
Primary source
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Published
July 29, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Institute of Standards and Technology
Abstract
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the United States Department of Commerce, is examining the economic impact and continued need for gas flow calibration services as provided to U.S. industry by the Fluid Metrology Group on NIST's campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland. NIST is also interested in whether there is a need for gas flow meter calibration services not presently offered by NIST. NIST publishes this notice to announce a workshop that will guide NIST planning for the future of its gas flow calibration capabilities, and to request comments on government and industry interest in and needs for (1) gas flow calibrations and whether the present services are meeting those needs, (2) new gas flow calibrations and standards not presently available from NIST, and (3) calibrations and standards for multiphase flows. This is part of the effort to systematically review NIST's Measurement Services to assess gaps and ensure alignment with stakeholders' needs as discussed in the Government Accounting Office report GAO-18-445.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 145 (Friday, July 29, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 145 (Friday, July 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45760-45761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16339]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gas Flow Meter Calibrations
AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of workshop; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an
agency of the United States Department of Commerce, is examining the
economic impact and continued need for gas flow calibration services as
provided to U.S. industry by the Fluid Metrology Group on NIST's campus
in Gaithersburg, Maryland. NIST is also interested in whether there is
a need for gas flow meter calibration services not presently offered by
NIST. NIST publishes this notice to announce a workshop that will guide
NIST planning for the future of its gas flow calibration capabilities,
and to request comments on government and industry interest in and
needs for (1) gas flow calibrations and whether the present services
are meeting those needs, (2) new gas flow calibrations and standards
not presently available from NIST, and (3) calibrations and standards
for multiphase flows. This is part of the effort to systematically
review NIST's Measurement Services to assess gaps and ensure alignment
with stakeholders' needs as discussed in the Government Accounting
Office report GAO-18-445.
DATES: NIST will accept written responses to this request for
information until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 16, 2022.
Submissions received after that date may not be considered. All
submissions, including attachments and other supporting materials, may
become part of the public record and may be subject to public
disclosure. NIST reserves the right to publish relevant comments
publicly, unedited and in their entirety. Personal information, such as
account numbers or Social Security numbers, or names of other
individuals, should not be included. Do not submit confidential
business information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
Comments that contain profanity, vulgarity, threats, or other
inappropriate language or content will not be considered.
A public workshop will be held on Wednesday, September 7, 2022,
from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, virtually by web
conferencing. Interested parties must register to participate in the
public workshop by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 6,
2022, and may register by sending an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4e2421262060393c2729263a0e20273d3a60292138"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="402a2f282e6e373229272834002e2933346e272f36">[email protected]</span></a>
prior to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 6, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to Dr. John Wright, Sensor
Science Division, Physical Measurement Laboratory, National Institute
of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 8361,
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, or by electronic mail to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6b01040305451c19020c031f2b0502181f450c041d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="deb4b1b6b0f0a9acb7b9b6aa9eb0b7adaaf0b9b1a8">[email protected]</span></a>. Individuals or groups interested in touring the
gas flow standards in person are welcome and can schedule tours by
writing to the email address, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#117b7e797f3f666378767965517f7862653f767e67"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c4aeabacaaeab3b6ada3acb084aaadb7b0eaa3abb2">[email protected]</span></a>, before or after the
workshops.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mail: Chief, Sensor Science Division,
Gas Flow Calibrations, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 8440, Gaithersburg,
Maryland 20899. Email: John Wright at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c9a3a6a1a7e7bebba0aea1bd89a7a0babde7aea6bf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="adc7c2c5c383dadfc4cac5d9edc3c4ded983cac2db">[email protected]</span></a>. Phone
number: 301 975-5937.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NIST's gas flow standards use the pressure,
volume, temperature, and time (PVTt) method and working standard flow
meters to conduct research and perform customer calibrations at flows
ranging from 0.1 cm\3\/min to 4 x 10\4\ m\3\/min with uncertainties as
low as 0.025%. The smaller flows in this range are used by the
semiconductor, pharmaceutical, and aerospace manufacturing sectors. The
largest flows in the range are performed using high pressure natural
gas to support reliable trade of this fuel. More information on NIST's
gas flow standards and print publications about them can be found at
<a href="https://www.nist.gov/laboratories/tools-instruments/gas-flow-standards">https://www.nist.gov/laboratories/tools-instruments/gas-flow-standards</a>.
NIST is seeking to better understand the impact of its gas flow
calibrations on the U.S. economy, manufacturing infrastructure, and
technological base, and whether the magnitude of this impact
necessitates that NIST should: expand or reduce the calibrations
offered; expand the variety of gases used in calibrations beyond
nitrogen, noble gases, and natural gas to include semiconductor gases
and other hazardous and corrosive gases; and/or improve the
uncertainties of the present calibrations.
To measure the impact of NIST gas flow calibration services on the
U.S. economy and U.S. manufacturing, NIST welcomes information about
the ``leverage'' of NIST calibrations (i.e., cases where a few
instruments calibrated by NIST are subsequently used by a commercial
laboratory or a flow meter manufacturer to provide traceability and
accuracy for a large number of instruments) and ``impact'' of NIST
calibrations (i.e., cases where a single calibration has a major impact
on a specific commercial, technology, or government application or
project).
The following list of topics covers the major areas about which
NIST is seeking comments. The listed areas are not intended to limit
the topics that may be addressed by respondents so long as they address
a topic that would be useful in NIST's planning relative to our
offerings of gas flow calibrations. When addressing the topics below,
respondents may describe the practices of their organization or
organizations with which they are familiar. Providing such information
is optional and will not affect NIST's full consideration of the
comment.
Topics of Interest
1. Which NIST gas flow calibrations you have purchased, if any,
including:
a. If you have purchased calibrations from NIST, whether you
purchased from NIST due to convenience, accuracy, cost, customer
service, regulatory requirement, or some other reason;
b. If NIST was to terminate the calibration service(s) you
presently use, whether you have another source lined
[[Page 45761]]
up that would meet your requirements; and
c. Whether it would pose a problem to your organization if the
calibration service was not available at NIST.
2. How NIST calibration results are applied in your organization,
including numerical examples of ``leverage'' to assess the economic
impact of NIST flow calibration services. For example: ``Three working
standard flow meters periodically calibrated by NIST are the source of
calibration traceability for 2,000 flow meters manufactured at our
facilities,'' or ``Proficiency testing allows ISO 17025 accreditation
of our calibration capabilities that are applied to $1M worth of
products annually.''
3. Whether flow calibrations in your organization are traceable to
NIST, including:
a. Whether you refer to NIST flow publications or research to
support your gas flow measurements; and
b. If not directly traceable to NIST, whether you know how your
flow measurements compare to NIST flow standards (for example by
comparison against a flow meter traceable to a NIST calibration).
4. Feedback on the cost, availability, turn-around time, business
systems, and customer service provided by NIST gas flow calibration
services.
5. Whether you purchase gas flow calibrations from another National
Metrology Institute (NMI) or from another calibration laboratory, and
your organization's experience with this approach.
6. Your opinions about the range, uncertainty, quality and cost of
the NIST gas flow calibration services, and whether there are specific,
new flow calibration capabilities that NIST should consider offering to
better serve your needs. Possibilities include calibrations involving
toxic semiconductor gases, multiphase flows, gas mixtures, smaller or
larger flows, and wider temperature or pressure ranges. Details about
flow ranges and uncertainties of interest, expected frequency of use of
the service, and maximum price that you might be willing to pay for the
service are also useful.
7. Whether you manufacture and sell gas flow meters or sell
calibrations of such meters; if so, whether your meter flow values are
traceable to NIST; and, if not NIST, whether you use a secondary
laboratory, another NMI, or have your own primary standard(s).
8. Whether there are flow measurement research topics that are not
presently being studied that you would like NIST to research, and the
potential impact of such research on your organization.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 272(b) & (c).
Alicia Chambers,
NIST Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2022-16339 Filed 7-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P
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