Engineering Laboratory

Equipment stands on tripods on a balcony with the beach and sea in the background.

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

Joannie Chin stands with arms crossed, wearing safety goggles, in front of scientific equipment.

Building in a Changing Climate: A Q&A With NIST’s Joannie Chin

News and Updates

Photo on top showing researchers studying a large concrete structure on a wall; image on bottom showing a heat map of forces on a similar simulated structural column.

New Building Standard Paves the Way for Collapse-Resistant Structures

June 5, 2023

Buildings in the U.S. are generally designed to withstand rain, wind, snow and the occasional earthquake. Now a new building standard can help engineers prevent

Photo shows a NIST firefighter on standby watching a shed burn next to a target structure representing a wall of a residence during an experiment.

For Sheds in Wildfire Zones, NIST Researchers Determine How Close Is Too Close to Home

June 1, 2023

How far away do sheds need to be located to significantly limit fire spread to homes? New research led by NIST has begun to provide important answers.

Concrete columns lay on their sides inside a warehouse with lots of space around each one.

May 31, 2023, Champlain Towers South Investigation Update: Second Warehouse Will Allow New Phase of Testing

May 31, 2023

On May 11, 2023, the MDPD and the NCST finished moving a portion of evidence retrieved from the Champlain Towers South building into a second warehouse.

The graphic depicts a firefighter wearing protective turnout gear with a diagram of the three layers of the gear, which are the outer shell, the moisture barrier and thermal barrier.

Researchers Pin Down PFAS Prevalence in Firefighter Gear

May 1, 2023

The findings hint at potential solutions for safer equipment.

Events

Enable Small and Medium Suppliers with Additive Manufacturing Data (Black and White Photo)

Empowering Small and Medium Size Enterprises Through Effective Additive Manufacturing Data Management

Tue, Jun 6 - Thu, Jun 8 2023

The workshop will explore how best to empower the productive working relationship of small and medium size Enterprises

Standards and Performance Metrics for On-Road Automated Vehicles Workshop

Tue, Sep 5 - Fri, Sep 8 2023

On-road automated vehicles (AVs) are expected to significantly influence key aspects of everyday life. However, these

Software

Tool for Evaluation of Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide Disinfection of N95 Masks in Small Rooms

June 3, 2020

This spreadsheet tool estimates the vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) concentration in air of rooms used for VHP mask disinfection systems. The tool employs a

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

February 5, 2018

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

CONTAM

January 8, 2021

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

STEP File Analyzer and Viewer

The STEP File Viewer supports parts, assemblies, dimensions, tolerances, and more. The Analyzer generates a spreadsheet of all entity and attribute information

EVAP-COND, Version 4

May 1, 2016

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

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

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Tools and Instruments

Smart Manufacturing Systems (SMS) Test Bed

The Smart Manufacturing Systems (SMS) Test Bed is comprised of three major components: Computer-Aided Technologies (CAx) Lab Manufacturing Lab Data publication

Integrating Sphere-based Weathering Device

In the artificial ultraviolet (UV) weathering of materials, a need exists for weathering devices that can uniformly illuminate test specimens with a high level

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

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

Amy Mensch Receives The 2023 Young Investigator Award in Engineering Sciences

To recognize a promising young investigator who is making outstanding contributions to progress in science or engineering.

Jordan Weaver Receives 2022 Acta Materialia Outstanding Reviewer Award

The Outstanding Reviewer awards are for excellence in reviewing throughout the calendar year of 2022. These awards are selected by the

2022 - Bronze Medal Award---Jennifer Helgeson, Priya Lavappa, David Webb

For developing a software tool that supports prioritizing alternative solutions and investment decisions for improving community resilience.

2022 - Bronze Medal Award---Guodong Shao

For the development of an ISO standard that facilitates the implementation of digital twins in manufacturing to improve analysis and decision-making.