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Engineering Laboratory

The Engineering Laboratory promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology for engineered systems in ways that enhance economic security and improve quality of life.

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Update on NIST’s Champlain Towers South Investigation
Animation shows particles as blue dots circulating through a living room via windows, fans and filters.
Streamlined NIST Tool Could Help Homeowners, Renters Reduce Airborne Exposure to COVID
A couch is in flames in a mocked-up room inside a large fire testing facility.
Saving Lives by Making Upholstered Furniture More Resistant to Fire

News and Updates

SchematicDrawingConeCalorimeter

Happy Retirement, Cone Calorimeter!

After 40 years in service as a groundbreaking NIST-invented device for measuring the flammability of materials at the lab bench scale, the NIST cone calorimeter

Industry Impacts

Photo of a burnt faceplate from a firefighter's gear

Firefighter Protective Equipment

Firefighters rely on self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBA) to protect them from dangerous heat and toxic smoke. NIST research helped to improve industry
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Net-Zero Energy House

To decrease the $225 billion that U.S. consumers spend each year in household energy costs will require accurate, reliable information about how new
Homeowner looks at the Remain of His Neighborhood

Structural Resilience of Infrastructure

The best way to prevent buildings, bridges and other structures from collapsing—whether because of natural forces, human error or malicious attacks—is to learn

Software

FDS and Smokeview

Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) is a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of fire-driven fluid flow. The software solves numerically a form of the Navier

BEES

The BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) software brings to your fingertips a powerful technique for selecting cost-effective

CONTAM

CONTAM is a multizone indoor air quality and ventilation analysis computer program designed to help you determine: (a) airflows: infiltration, exfiltration, and
NIST STEP File Viewer screenshot

STEP File Analyzer and Viewer

The STEP File Viewer supports parts and assemblies, dimensions and tolerances, supplemental geometry, datum targets, and point clouds. The Analyzer generates a
evapcond

EVAP-COND, Version 4

EVAP-COND is a software package that contains NIST's simulation models for a finned-tube evaporator and condenser. The "tube-by-tube" modeling scheme allows for
CFAST

CFAST

The Consolidated Model of Fire and Smoke Transport, CFAST, is a computer program that fire investigators, safety officials, engineers, architects and builders

VCCTL Software

(Return to Cement Hydration and Degradation Modeling Software) The Virtual Cement and Concrete Testing Laboratory (VCCTL) software provides a virtual testing
View All Software

Tools and Instruments

Manufacturing Robotics Testbed

Manufacturing Robotics Testbed

The NIST manufacturing robotics test bed consists of several labs located in three buildings on the main NIST campus. Combined, these serve as a resource for
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Fire Calorimetry Database (FCD)

The National Fire Research Laboratory (NFRL) operates calorimeters to measure the heat and combustion products for fires in the range of 50 kW to 20,000 kW

Awards

Taking Measure Blog

Popular Links

Products and Services

Contacts

  • Engineering Laboratory
    (301) 975-5900
    100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8600
    Gaithersburg, MD 20899