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Technical Note (NIST TN)

Evaluating smoldering behavior of fire-blocking barrier fabrics

January 29, 2015

Author(s)

Shonali Nazare, William M. Pitts, Szabolcs Matko, Rick D. Davis

This study reports on the smoldering propensity of commercially available barrier fabrics (BFs) in a small-scale mock-up configuration. Most BFs are smolder...

Defensive code's impact on software performance

January 26, 2015

Author(s)

David W. Flater

Defensive code is instructions added to software for the purpose of hardening it against uncontrolled failures and security problems. It is often assumed that...

Monitoring Techniques for the Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility

December 31, 2014

Author(s)

Mark W. Davis, William M. Healy, Matthew Boyd, Lisa Ng, William V. Payne, Harrison Skye, Tania Ullah

NIST has constructed a Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility that will be used as a testbed for investigating the measurement science related to systems...

Characterization of Airborne Nanoparticle Released from Consumer Products

December 1, 2014

Author(s)

Andrew Persily, Liang Chung J. Lo, Steven J. Nabinger, Dustin Poppendieck, Li Piin Sung

Polymer and other coatings are commonly used to protect, enhance, or decorate wood, plastic and metal products used in homes and other buildings. Nanoparticles...

Simulation of a Fire in a Hillside Residential Structure - San Francisco, CA

November 13, 2014

Author(s)

Kristopher J. Overholt, Craig G. Weinschenk, Daniel M. Madrzykowski

Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), which is a fire model that is developed and maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), was used to...

Screening for factors affecting application performance in profiling measurements

October 30, 2014

Author(s)

David W. Flater

This report provides an example application of screening techniques in experimental computer science, including validation and selection of metrics and measures...

Development of a Test Method to Determine Carbon Monoxide Emission Rates from Portable Generators

October 28, 2014

Author(s)

Steven J. Emmerich, Andrew K. Persily

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff is considering developing a performance standard to address the hazard of acute residential carbon...

Carbon Monoxide Exposure Analyses in Support of Emission Rate Limits for Portable Generators

October 20, 2014

Author(s)

Andrew K. Persily, Steven J. Emmerich, Brian J. Polidoro

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and others are concerned about the hazard of acute residential carbon monoxide (CO) exposures from portable...

Simulations of an Attic Fire in a Wood Frame Residential Structure-Chicago, IL

October 17, 2014

Author(s)

Craig G. Weinschenk, Daniel M. Madrzykowski, Kristopher J. Overholt

The Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) fire model, which is developed and maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), was used to...

Performance of Portable Radios Exposed to Elevated Temperatures

October 9, 2014

Author(s)

Michelle K. Donnelly, William F. Young, Dennis G. Camell

This study investigates the performance issues associated with the use of handheld portable radios by fire fighters working in elevated temperature environments...

Sensitivity Analysis of Installation Faults on Heat Pump Performance

October 8, 2014

Author(s)

Piotr A. Domanski, Hugh Henderson, William V. Payne

Numerous studies and surveys indicated that typically-installed HVAC equipment operates inefficiently and wastes considerable energy due to different...

Structural Design for Fire: A Survey of Building Codes and Standards

October 1, 2014

Author(s)

Dat Duthinh

This document is a critical assessment of building codes and standards pertaining to structural design for fire from the United States, Canada, European Union...

A Review of Risk Perception in Building Fire Evacuation

October 1, 2014

Author(s)

Max T. Kinateder, Erica D. Kuligowski, Paul A. Reneke, Richard Peacock

Risk perception (RP) is studied in many research disciplines (e.g., safety engineering, psychology, or sociology), and the contexts surrounding the ways in...

Roadmap for Building Commissioning Research Workshop Summary Report

September 30, 2014

Author(s)

Natascha S. Milesi-Ferretti, David Shipley, Walter Zalis, Steven T. Bushby

This report summarizes the results of the Building Commissioning Research and Measurement Science Needs Webinar Workshop held on April 29, 2014, sponsored by...

Potential Research Areas in Residential Energy Storage for NISTs Engineering Laboratory

September 25, 2014

Author(s)

Mark A. Kedzierski, William V. Payne, Harrison M. Skye

This paper recommends research that is required to develop and, thus, enable cost effective, residential electricity storage systems for renewable energy. As...

A Review of Risk Perception in Building Fire Evacuation

September 25, 2014

Author(s)

Max Kinateder, Erica D. Kuligowski, Paul A. Reneke, Richard Peacock

Risk perception (RP) is studied in many research disciplines (e.g., safety engineering, psychology, and sociology), and the context in which RP is studied...

Movement on Stairs During Building Evacuations

September 25, 2014

Author(s)

Erica D. Kuligowski, Richard Peacock, Paul A. Reneke, Emily A. Wiess, Jason D. Averill, Robert Hagwood, Enrico Ronchi, Bryan Hoskins, Michael Spearpoint

The time that it takes an occupant population to reach safety when descending a stairwell during building evacuations is typically described by measureable...

Facility Smart Grid Interface and a Demand Response Conceptual Model

August 28, 2014

Author(s)

David G. Holmberg, Steven T. Bushby, David B. Hardin

Residential, commercial, and industrial facilities have potential to support electric grid reliability with demand response (DR) via use of facility energy...

Effect of Acoustic Excitation on R134a/Al2O3 Nanolubricant Mixture Boiling on a Reentrant Cavity Surface with Extensive Measurement and Analysis Details

August 6, 2014

Author(s)

Mark A. Kedzierski, Steven E. Fick

This paper quantifies the influence of acoustic excitation of Al2O3 nanoparticles on the pool boiling performance of R134a/polyolester mixtures on a Turbo-BII...

Nanoparticle Released from Consumer Products: Flooring Nanocoatings and Interior Nanopaints

July 21, 2014

Author(s)

Li Piin Sung, Tinh Nguyen, Andrew K. Persily

Nanoparticles are increasingly incorporated in flooring coatings and interior paints to improve their abrasion and microbial resistance. One particular concern...

The Use of Elevators for Evacuation in Fire Emergencies in International Buildings

July 21, 2014

Author(s)

Max T. Kinateder, Hidemi Omori, Erica D. Kuligowski

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of elevator evacuation from high-rise buildings with a focus on the safety of mobility impaired occupants...

Detecting Faults in Building Air Handling Units - A Background Study for Developing Intelligent Agents for Optimizing Building HVAC Systems

May 1, 2014

Author(s)

George E. Kelly, Steven T. Bushby

One approach to the optimization of building heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems involves the use of intelligent agents. These Agents can...

An improved method of modeling infiltration in commercial building energy models

April 28, 2014

Author(s)

Lisa C. Ng, Steven J. Emmerich, Andrew K. Persily

As various strategies for improving building envelope and HVAC equipment efficiencies are increasingly used to reduce building energy use, a greater percentage...

The ghost in the machine: Don't let it haunt your software performance measurements

April 28, 2014

Author(s)

Vreda Pieterse, David Flater

This paper describes pitfalls, issues, and methodology for measuring software performance. Ideally, measurement should be performed and reported in such a way...

Software Independent Data Mapping Tool for Structural Fire Analysis

March 12, 2014

Author(s)

Dilip K. Banerjee

In order to model the structural behavior under fire, three separate analyses need to be conducted: a) fire propagation and growth (fire modeling), b) transient...

Best Practices for Sample Collection and Transport in an Initial Response to Potential Biothreat Materials

March 5, 2014

Author(s)

Jayne B. Morrow, Autumn S. Downey, Lisa Delaney

In the event of a suspected or confirmed biological threat, public safety, law enforcement and public and environmental health authorities may collect samples...

General Guidance on Emergency Communication Strategies for Buildings, 2nd Edition

February 14, 2014

Author(s)

Erica D. Kuligowski, Hidemi Omori

When a building emergency occurs, it is not always sufficient to simply initiate alarm bells. Individuals may not know what the alarm bell means and as a result...

The U.S. Manufacturing Value Chain: An International Perspective

February 10, 2014

Author(s)

Douglas Thomas

This report uses input-output data from the World Input-Output Database along with the methods developed by Wassily Leontief to track the intermediate goods and...

Estimation of uncertainty in application profiles

February 3, 2014

Author(s)

David W. Flater

Application profiling tools are the instruments used to measure software performance at the function and application levels. The most powerful measurement...

Smoke Component Yields from Bench-scale Fire Tests: 2. ISO 19700 Controlled Equivalence Ratio Tube Furnace

December 19, 2013

Author(s)

Nathan D. Marsh, Richard G. Gann, Marc R. Nyden

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