The Laboratory maintains and develops three systems constituting the national gas flow and volume standard, operating in the flowrate range between 0.0015 cm3/s and 8.5 dm3/s, and volume up to 500 dm3 for flow rates between 8.5 cm3/s and 8.5 dm3/s.
The laboratory is active in metrological research and the dissemination of measurement units of gas flow-rate and volume.
The systems currently in use operate by performing a volumetric measurement of the gas passing through them, corrected through the mass balance method.
The three systems currently in use, in increasing order of capacity, are:
- MicroGas: plunger piston, type system, with local temperature stabilization by thermal bath (stability ± 0.03 °C) and movement control by feedback loop based on measurement of internal pressure. This standard allows the measurement of flow rates between 0.0015 cm3/s and 20 cm3/s;
- BellGas: Bell prover type system, with movement by gravity (pressure equilibrium with the surrounding ambient). This system work between 8.5 cm3/s and 2 dm3/s and allows the measurement of volumes up to 120 dm3 at the cited flow rates;
- MeGas: Plunger piston type system, with velocity controlled movement; a new method of feedback loop based on the internal pressure measurement is undergoing final testing. This system allows the measurement of flow rates ranging from 0.15 dm3/s to 8.5 dm3/s, and volume between 50 dm3and 500 dm3.
The further development of the national standard is aimed at reducing uncertainty in the three systems by improving both measurement techniques and correction calculation methodologies.