§ 1065.309 Continuous gas analyzer system-response and updating-recording verification—for gas analyzers continuously compensated for other gas species.
(a) Scope and frequency. This section describes a verification procedure for system response and updating-recording frequency for continuous gas analyzers that output a single gas species mole fraction (i.e., concentration) based on a continuous combination of multiple gas species measured with multiple detectors (i.e., gas analyzers continuously compensated for other gas species). See § 1065.308 for verification procedures that apply to continuous gas analyzers that are not continuously compensated for other gas species or that use only one detector for gaseous species. Perform this verification to determine the system response of the continuous gas analyzer and its sampling system. This verification is required for continuous gas analyzers used for transient or ramped-modal testing. You need not perform this verification for batch gas analyzers or for continuous gas analyzers that are used only for discrete-mode testing. For this check we consider water vapor a gaseous constituent. This verification does not apply to any processing of individual analyzer signals that are time-aligned to their t50 times and were verified according to § 1065.308. For example, this verification does not apply to correction for water removed from the sample done in post-processing according to § 1065.659 (40 CFR 1066.620 for vehicle testing) and it does not apply to NMHC determination from THC and CH4 according to § 1065.660. Perform this verification after initial installation (i.e., test cell commissioning) and after any modifications to the system that would change the system response.
(b) Measurement principles. This procedure verifies that the updating and recording frequencies match the overall system response to a rapid change in the value of concentrations at the sample probe. It indirectly verifies the time-alignment and uniform response of all the continuous gas detectors used to generate a continuously combined/compensated concentration measurement signal. Gas analyzer systems must be optimized such that their overall response to rapid change in concentration is updated and recorded at an appropriate frequency to prevent loss of information. This test also verifies that the measurement system meets a minimum response time. For this procedure, ensure that all compensation algorithms and humidity corrections are turned on. You may use the results of this test to determine transformation time, t50, for the purposes of time alignment of continuous data in accordance with § 1065.650(c)(2)(i). You may also use an alternate procedure to determine t50 consistent with good engineering judgment. Note that any such procedure for determining t50 must account for both transport delay and analyzer response time.