Cryogenic Technology Resources

Cryogenic Flow Metering and Calibration Services

The Cryogenic Flow Measurement Facility (CFMF) was developed by NBS/NIST’s Cryogenics Division in Boulder, Colorado around 1970. The facility was operated by NIST to meet industry needs for cryogenic flow metering from the early 1970's through 2015.

The facility used liquid nitrogen as a cryogen to test and calibrate flow meters and other cryogenic devices, although the calibration also applied to LNG. Mass flow calibrations were conducted from 0.95 kg/s to 9.5 kg/s and volume flow calibrations from 76 L/min to 760 L/min (equivalent to 20 gpm to 200 gpm). During calibrations, the liquid nitrogen temperature was approximately 80 K and the pressure ranged from 0.40 MPa to 0.76 MPa (50 psig to 100 psig). The uncertainty for totalized mass flow was 0.17% at a 95% confidence level; for volume flow, the uncertainty was 0.18%. A more detailed description of the facility is given in a 2008 report and a 2010 presentation.

In 2016 the facility was relocated and operated at the Colorado Engineering Experiment Station, Inc. (CEESI), in Nunn, Colorado. Calibrations of cryogenic flow meters were carried out under a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) between NIST and CEESI until the end of 2019. The facility was shut down at that time, and its future is uncertain. Until about 2019 it was the only such facility in the world. The Dutch Metrology Institute has now developed a similar flow calibration facility for LNG, which came online in about 2019.

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