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Humidity and Thermal State Behaviour

Working Group 3.41

Profile

The "Humidity and Thermal State Behaviour" Working Group deals with the following metrological topics from the field of gas analysis:

  • metrology of gas mixtures, with a focus on:

    • gas humidity in air, nitrogen and various gases used in industry
    • ethanol in breath (i.e. breath alcohol)

  • determining moisture in solids, with a strong focus on:

    • determining the moisture content in grain and oilseeds

For this purpose, different preparative and analytical methods are used, developed, characterized, proved and tested in order to produce and/or analyze metrologically defined gas mixtures (or cereal samples).

Overview of the working group's competencies:

  • National standards (R & D, operating and disseminating the units) for

    • the absolute and relative gas humidity scale, and
    • breath alcohol concentration

  • Reference procedures for moisture determination in grain and oilseeds:

    • operation/ optimization

  • Conformity assessments procedures for

    • evidential breath analyzers
    • moisture meters for grain

 

Our working group is a committed and active member of various national and international committees, including:

  • Deutscher Kalibrierdienst (DKD – German Calibration Service)
  • Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN – German Standardization Organization)
  • International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML)
  • European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)
  • European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET)
  • Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM)
  • Consultative Committee for Thermometry (CCT)

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Research/Development

Apart from R & D to further develop the national standards and to develop metrological transfer standards, our working group participates in third-party-funded projects with different executing organizations:

Current projects:
 
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/DFG:

  • HAI Quality and Demonstration, DFG package application
    within the scope of DFG Priority Programme 1294 HALO
    Cooperation with Forschungszentrum Jülich (Prof. M. Riese, Dr. M. Krämer), coordination: V. Ebert


Completed projects:

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/DFG:     

  • Isotope-dissolved insitu H2O evidence in cloud formation
    Improving understanding of ice nucleation and growth inhibition mechanisms via new isotopic tracer studies in the AIDA aerosol chamber, im Rahmen des Joint DFG/NSF call “International Collaboration in Chemistry between US Investigators and their Counterparts Abroad (ICC)”    Cooperation with University of Chicago, Forschungszentrum Jülich and Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe
  • SHARC: Swift airborne Hygrometer for Atmospheric Research on Halo, within the scope of DFG Priority Programme 1294 HALO


Further projects:

  • Development, testing and validation of compact, aircraft-carried, extractive, absolute working laser hygrometers
    Subproject within the "European Facility for Airborne Research in Environmental and Geosciences – EUFAR",
    an FP7 infrastructure application (Integrating Activities),
    Cooperation with Forschungszentrum Jülich and other partners 


EMRP/EMPIR projects:

  • Humidity Measurement in Energy Gases (Natural Gas), ENG01 
    2 PTB subprojects, partial project coordination "Sensor Systems" Opens external link in new windowENG01
  • Metrology for pressure, temperature, humidity and airspeed in the atmosphere,
    ENV07Opens external link in new windowMETEOMET 1
  • Metrology for biogas, ENG54 Opens external link in new windowBIOGAS 
  • Metrology for Essential Climate Variables, ENV58 Opens external link in new windowMETEOMET2
  • Metrology for Humidity at High Temperatures and Transient Conditions, IND11 Opens external link in new windowHIT

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Services

Within the scope of gas humidity:

  • Calibration of hygrometers and preparative gas humidity standards based on different functional principles

Contact: R. Deschermeier

Please address requests about calibration and questions about the topic gas humidity to our e-mail address Opens window for sending emailgasfeuchte(at)ptb.de

 

For evidential breath analysers:

  • Type examinations of evidential breath analyzers for conformity assessment procedures according to the Measures and Verification Act (MessEG) and the Measures and Verification Ordinance (MessEV), Annex 4, Module B
  • Traceability of the verification standards for breath alcohol for the verification authorities and the police to PTB's primary standard for breath alcohol measurement
  • Cooperation and exchange of information with the verification authorities and the police

Contact: R. Klüß

 

For measuring instruments for moisture concentration in grain:

  • Type examinations of measuring instruments for moisture concentration in grain for conformity assessment procedures according to the Measures and Verification Act (MessEG) and the Measures and Verification Ordinance (MessEV), Annex 4, Module B
  • Traceability of the verification standards for moisture concentration in grain of the verification authorities for the different measuring principles of the measuring

Contact: R. Klüß

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Information

General information about the activities of Working Group 3.41

 

  •  New Measures and Verification Act and the Measures and Verification Ordinance (MessEG/MessEV)
    Information about the new Mess EG/MessEV and about the type examination process
    can be found on the website of PTB's Conformity Assessment Body Opens external link in new windowLink

  • Software Guide according to WELMEC 7.2
    WELMEC (European Cooperation in Legal Metrology) is a European organization which serves to harmonize legal metrology in Europe. In Germany, Software Guide WELMEC 7.2 of the MID (Measurement Instruments Directive) is applied to all measuring instruments that are governed by the MessEG/MessEV and/or the MID 2004/22/EC. You can find the latest version of this guide here: Opens external link in new windowLink 


Subject-specific information

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