[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 145 (Friday, July 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45760-45761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[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 [email protected] 
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 
[email protected]. Individuals or groups interested in touring the 
gas flow standards in person are welcome and can schedule tours by 
writing to the email address, [email protected], 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 [email protected]. 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 
https://www.nist.gov/laboratories/tools-instruments/gas-flow-standards.
    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