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Projects/Programs

Displaying 1 - 25 of 28

Advanced Fire Modeling

Ongoing
OBJECTIVE: To develop and maintain robust, validated fire models—and the associated visualization and analysis tools—for (1) performance-based design, (2) forensics (fire reconstruction), and (3) fire research applications in the built and natural environments. TECHNICAL IDEA: The development first

Advanced Gas-Phase Fire Retardants Project

Completed
Objective: By 2016 1, to provide data on and an understanding of the role of particle formation in limiting the action of gas-phase active phosphorous-based fire retardants added to polymers. What is the new technical idea? To effectively develop new fire retardants, industry needs an

Automated Tools for Material Property Calibration

Ongoing
Objective: To develop open source, freely available tools for property calibration and maintain archived, version-controlled material property sets with demonstrated accuracy. These tools should be: Accurate: Parameters predict experimental data Realistic: Values agree with physics Efficient: Fast

Building Fire Safety Evaluation

Ongoing
Objective: To enable a reduction in residential fire deaths and injuries by conducting targeted research on advanced household fire alarms and cooking fire hazard reduction, and developing a system for evaluating the impact of new fire protection technology on residential life safety. What is the

Design Fires for Structures Project

Completed
Objective: By 2016 to develop (1) the measurement science to fully characterize, deliver, and measure repeatable structurally significant fires for use in large-scale structural fire experiments and (2) a performance-based design framework linking fire intensity measures with expected structural

Dynamic Plasticity: Non-Equilibrium Mechanics

Ongoing
The optimization of high-speed machining processes through powerful finite element modeling techniques is an important pathway to American manufacturing competitiveness in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Quantitatively accurate simulations of machining rely on robust constitutive

Engineered Fire Safe Products

Ongoing
Objective To develop a database that maintains the tools (experimental and analytical), measurement data (for model calibration and validation), material property sets, and validation data needed to enable quantitative prediction of material flammability behavior (e.g., ignition, steady burning, and

Fire Risk Reduction in Buildings Program

Ongoing
Objective: To develop and apply advances in fire and structure-fire measurement capabilities and behavior predictive computational tools, standardized fire testing tools and methodologies, advanced fire detection technologies, and advanced fire resistant materials to enable innovative, cost

Fire Risk Reduction in Communities Program

Ongoing
Objective: To develop and deploy advances in measurement science to improve the resilience of communities and structures to unwanted fires through innovative fire protection and response technologies and tactics. What is the new technical idea? There are two new technical ideas, using measurement

Flammability Metrics for New Low-GWP Refrigerants

Ongoing
Objective: To develop the capability to measure and predict the burning velocity of mixtures of low-Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants to allow the ranking of the mixtures in terms of their flammability, to assist in the selection and implementation of the best replacements for high-GWP

High Temperature Performance of Fire Fighter Equipment

Ongoing
OBJECTIVE: To improve the safety and effectiveness of fire fighters by developing science-based standard test methods that characterize the performance of fire fighting equipment and gear under fire environment conditions. TECHNICAL IDEA: This project aims to improve the performance of fire fighter

Impact of Material Composition on Ignitability and Fire Growth

Ongoing
Volume 1 Experimental Observations of the Burning Behavior of Combustible Solids in Parallel Panel Configuration at Full-Scale ( NIST Technical Note 2282 ) Report Summary This report provides an overview of measurements (e.g., heat release rate, gaseous species production, and flame-to-surface heat

Low Heat Release Upholstered Furniture

Ongoing
PROJECT OBJECTIVE: The objective is to reduce the fire hazard of residential upholstered furniture by providing 1) a methodology and guidance on non-fire-retardant mitigation strategies that will result in L-RUF, 2) robust standard reference cigarettes for smoldering ignition testing and the

Measurement of Structural Performance in Fire

Ongoing
Objective - To support the development of performance-based building codes, validate computational tools for structural fire resistance, and apply new metrology techniques to characterize structural responses to fire through large-scale experiments. What is the new technical idea? Innovation in

National Fire Research Laboratory: Advanced Metrology

Ongoing
OBJECTIVE: To develop, improve, and maintain capabilities necessary to safely conduct measurements of large fire behavior and structural-fire response with quantified accuracy. ​ TECHNICAL IDEA: The new and unique measurement capabilities of the National Fire Research Laboratory allow scientists and

National Fire Research Laboratory: Operations and Safety

Ongoing
Objective: By 2016, to develop the research portfolio and standard operating procedures including standard test protocols, finalized safety program, and robust business and operational model for large-scale fire-structural experiments. What is the new technical idea? Currently there is no research

NIST/NRC Fire Research Collaborations

Ongoing
Objective: To provide measurement data and analysis tools that enable accurate, efficient, probabilistic risk assessments for fire scenarios in nuclear power plants. Recent Research: Brief descriptions and links to technical reports developed from recent NIST/NRC collaborations focused on Cable

Performance-Based Design Methodologies for Structures in Fire Project

Ongoing
Objective: By 2016, to develop performance-based methods to predict and evaluate fire behavior of steel and concrete structures and to deliver validated and improved tools, guidance, and draft standards for the fire resistance design and assessment of structures. What is the new technical idea

Performance-based Design for Structures in Fire - Modeling and Validation

Ongoing
Objective: To produce validated computational tools and technical guidance enabling the development of performance­-based standards for the cost-effective fire resistance design and assessment of structures. What is the new technical idea? The focus of this project is to develop a comprehensive

Public Health Risks to First Responders

Ongoing
OBJECTIVE: To identify a firefighter’s relative risk of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) released from their protective gear. TECHNICAL IDEA: The new technical idea is to determine the type, root source, and release mechanism of PFAS from FFG, which could be used to restrict

Quantifying Firebrand Exposures for WUI Ignition Potential

Ongoing
Objective - To quantify the threat of firebrand (ember) exposure from WUI fires on structures and structural materials. What is the new technical idea? Despite the increasing frequency and losses from WUI fires, compared to fires within structures, there has been relatively little research on WUI

Reduced Ignition and Flame Spread with Nano-Engineered Foam Project

Completed
Objective: By 2015 2, to develop the measurement science that enables (1) design and manufacturing of low fire hazard soft furnishings through commercialization of low heat release, inexpensive, and EHS compliant nanoparticle-based fire retardant foam, (2) to assess the EHS attributes of