[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 167 (Friday, August 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52249-52250]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21287]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket No.: 150813711-5711-01]


Cryogenic Flow Meter Calibrations: Request for Information and 
Notice of Public Workshop

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an 
agency of the United States Department of Commerce, plans to 
discontinue the operation of its Cryogenic Flow Measurement Facility 
(Facility), located on NIST's campus in Boulder, Colorado, on September 
30, 2015. NIST publishes this notice to request information on the 
industry's interest and needs in (1) cryogenic flow calibrations, (2) 
research areas of mutual interest to advance cryogenic flow 
calibrations, and (3) the re-establishment of the Facility at a 
different location. NIST will hold a public workshop to discuss these 
issues on Monday, September 28, 2015, on NIST's campus in Boulder, 
Colorado. Members of the public may register to participate in the 
public workshop in person or virtually by web conferencing.

DATES: NIST will accept responses to this request for information until 
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 28, 2015. No proprietary 
information should be included in the written responses to this request 
for information. The public workshop will be held on Monday, September 
28, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Interested parties 
must register to participate in the public workshop by 5:00 p.m. 
Eastern Time on

[[Page 52250]]

Friday, September 25, 2015. Please see the registration instructions in 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

ADDRESSES: Written responses to this request for information should be 
submitted to Dr. Michael Moldover, Sensor Science Division of the 
Physical Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 8440, Gaithersburg, 
Maryland 20899, or by electronic mail to [email protected]. The 
public workshop will be held at NIST's campus in Boulder, Colorado, 
which is located at 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305, in Building 81, 
Room 81-1A116. Registration will be available online at http://www.nist.gov/allevents.cfm. Please note the campus admittance 
instructions under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, please 
contact Dr. Michael Moldover by mail to 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 
8440, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, or by electronic mail to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NIST's Cryogenic Flow Measurement Facility 
(Facility), located on NIST's campus in Boulder, Colorado, provides the 
public with the service of calibrating and testing flow meters using a 
closed loop liquid-nitrogen flow system. The Facility uses a dynamic 
weighing system to measure liquid mass and to calculate total mass and 
volume flow rates through a meter under test conditions. All 
measurements are traceable to the International System of Units using 
standards maintained at NIST. Upon completion of a meter calibration, 
NIST provides the customer with a final report, tabulated data, and 
plots summarizing the results.
    The Facility has been in operation at NIST for nearly fifty years 
under the NIST Quality System (in conformance with ISO/TEC 17025). The 
calibration of cryogenic flow meters is listed among the NIST 
Calibration and Measurement Capabilities (CMC) within the key 
comparison database (KCDB) of the Bureau International des Poids et 
Mesures (BIPM). While it provides an important and unique service, NIST 
plans to discontinue the operation of the Cryogenic Flow Measurement 
Facility in Boulder at the end of September 2015. The Facility's 
current location will be used for NIST's new Communication Technology 
Laboratory.
    The purpose of this request for information is to determine the 
level of interest and the needs of the industry for this type of 
calibration service. NIST is seeking information that responds to the 
questions listed below.
    (1) What is your opinion of the quality and utility of the 
calibration services performed by the Facility?
    (2) What are the benefits of continuing the calibration services?
    (3) What are your ideas about how to collaborate with members of 
the industry or research organizations to further the research efforts 
in the field of cryogenic flow measurement, including the development 
of methods to allow cryogenic flow meters to be calibrated at room 
temperatures?
    (4) What is your opinion of the creation of a new research 
consortium for cryogenic flow measurement that would be led by NIST?
    (5) What is your opinion of the current or future need for the 
development of dynamic weighing techniques for the calibration of 
cryogenic flow meters beyond what is currently used by industry?
    (6) What is your opinion about whether the Facility should be re-
established, either at NIST's campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland, or at a 
different location?
    Multiple responses from the same organization are permitted. No 
business proprietary information should be included in any 
correspondence to NIST in response to this request for information. 
NIST will not treat any information provided in response to this 
request for information as proprietary information. Any information 
received by NIST in response to this request may be used to communicate 
with the responders regarding future projects.
    Public Workshop: NIST will hold a public workshop to lead an open 
discussion with participants regarding the questions listed above. The 
meeting will be held at NIST's campus in Boulder, Colorado on Monday, 
September 28, 2015. Participants may attend the public workshop in 
person or may participate virtually via web conferencing. All 
participants who wish to attend in person are required to register by 
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, September 25, 2015, at http://www.nist.gov/allevents.cfm. There is no registration fee. NIST will 
provide registered participants with information about how to access 
NIST's campus in Boulder, Colorado to attend in person and how to 
access the web conference to participate virtually. For participants 
attending in person, please note that federal agencies, including NIST, 
can only accept a state-issued driver's license or identification card 
for access to federal facilities if such license or identification card 
is issued by a state that is compliant with the REAL ID Act of 2005 
(Pub. L. 109-13), or by a state that has an extension for REAL ID 
compliance. NIST currently accepts other forms of federal-issued 
identification in lieu of a state-issued driver's license. For detailed 
information, please contact Arvella Musselman at (301) 975-2165 or 
visit: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/visitor/.

Richard Cavanagh,
Acting Associate Director for Laboratory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2015-21287 Filed 8-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P