A primary standard for the volume flow rate of natural gas under high pressure based on laser Doppler velocimetry

In December 2003, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) started the development of an optical-based primary flow rate standard for application in natural gas under high pressures (up to 5.5 MPa). The concept underlying this technology will be presented in this paper. The technical approach is based on the application of a conventional laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) as well as on a new LDV-based boundary layer sensor. Both technologies are used to determine the characteristic values of the core flow and the boundary layer in a nozzle flow in a separated approach. Because of the high relevance to the demonstration of traceability and to the evaluation of the uncertainty, the related data processing (especially for the boundary layer) is explained in detail. Finally, after summarizing the uncertainty budget for the optical-based primary standard, we will demonstrate the approval of the new primary standard by means of a comparison with the established conventional traceability of PTB for high-pressure natural gas.