Uncertainty evaluation procedure and intercomparison of bell provers as a calibration system for gas flow meters

Abstract

Many NMIs (national measurement institutes) and calibration laboratories worldwide use a bell prover as a calibration system for gas flow meters. The basic definition and procedure to estimate the bell prover uncertainty have been given in previous studies. After the announcement of a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) in 1998 by the BIPM (Bureau International des Poids at Mesures), many NMIs have needed to have more details of uncertainty evaluation procedure of the bell prover. In this study, more details of the test procedure of bell prover uncertainty are presented with a modification of position of the temperature and the pressure sensor to measure more exact values. The other modification is to use three precise guide rods with bearings to make the pressure in the bell more stable. Furthermore, a laser interferometer is used to enhance the measurement accuracy of the testing time and the traveling length of the bell. The uncertainty of the bells estimated by the procedure given in this study is 0.13% at the confidence level of 95%, rather than 0.17% of the previous one. Recently, the results of CCM.FF-K6, which is an international comparison of NMIs organized by the CIPM (Comité International des Poids et Mesures), show that the uncertainty of the KRISS (Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science) bell prover estimated by this study is reasonable.