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Start of a new cycle of the European Harmonised Cubic Metre for high-pressure natural gas

20.10.2008

After the routine recalibration of all the test rigs involved (from France, Germany and the Netherlands), a new cycle for the maintenance of the European Harmonised Cubic Metre for high-pressure natural gas has been launched successfully.

In accordance with the agreement between Germany, the Netherlands and France on the establishment of a common Harmonised Cubic Metre for high-pressure natural gas (in force since 1999), a new cycle was started in 2008. The beginning of a new cycle is launched by the routine recalibration of all the test rigs involved with regard to their respective national traceability chains to the SI units. Especially in PTB's traceability chain, various changes were implemented between 2004 and 2007 on the volumetric primary standard for HP natural gas (piston prover) and on the secondary standards of the high-pressure test rig pigsarTM linked up with it. All in all, the measurement uncertainty for customer calibrations could thereby be reduced from 0.16 % to approx. 0.13 %, which was fully confirmed within the scope of the comparison measurements with the other participating institutes.
The recalibration which is now valid was the - in total - sixth one on the pigsar test rig since 1993, whereby the stability of the calibration value on the test rig within a range of ± 0.08 % over the total period of time has to be pointed out.

Contact person:

Bodo Mickan, Dept. 1.4, E-mail: Bodo.Mickan@ptb.de