Uncertainty Analysis of NIST’s 20 Liter Hydrocarbon Liquid Flow Standard

Aaron N. Johnson, Chris J. Crowley, TT Yeh

Abstract

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) uses a bi-directional 20 L-displacement piston prover as its primary standard for measuring hydrocarbon liquid flows ranging from 1.86 × 10^-5 m³/s (0.3 gpm) to 2.6 × 10^-3 m³/s (40 gpm). Our analysis that shows that the prover’s uncertainty over this flow range is 0.074 % (<i>k</i> = 2, corresponding to a 95 % confidence interval). Using a dual rotor turbine meter as the transfer standard, we compare the new 20 L piston prover standard with NIST’s other hydrocarbon liquid standards and NIST’s water flow standard. The results are consistent with the presented uncertainty analysis.

Keywords

NIST liquid hydrocarbon flow standard, piston prover, water draw procedure, liquid flow calibration, uncertainty analysis

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IMEKO-TC9-2010-047.pdf

DOI

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IMEKO TC

TC9 - Flow Measurement

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