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Buildings & Construction

Building codes & standards

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Displaying 176 - 200 of 205

Investigation Plan - National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Technical Investigation of Building and Emergency Communications System Performance in the Joplin, Missouri, Tornado of May 22, 2011

May 24, 2012
Author(s)
Marc L. Levitan, Long T. Phan, Erica D. Kuligowski, Franklin T. Lombardo, David P. Jorgensen
Following the May 22, 2011 tornado that devastated the City of Joplin, NIST sent four engineers to Missouri on May 24 through May 28 to conduct a preliminary reconnaissance. Based on analysis of the data collected and other criteria required by law and

Strategic Roadmap for Fire Risk Reduction in Buildings and Communities

April 18, 2012
Author(s)
Anthony P. Hamins, Jason D. Averill, Richard G. Gann, Nelson P. Bryner, Rick D. Davis, David T. Butry, Alexander Maranghides, Jiann C. Yang, Daniel M. Madrzykowski, Matthew F. Bundy, Samuel L. Manzello, Jeffrey W. Gilman, Francine K. Amon, William E. Mell
The burden of fire on the U.S. economy continues to be large, comprising approximately $280 billion annually, or 2 percent of GDP. Over the last 30 years, civilian fire deaths and injuries have decreased due to the efforts of many people and organizations

Letter to the Editor of the CTBUH Journal

December 1, 2011
Author(s)
Sivaraj Shyam-Sunder, Jason D. Averill, Fahim Sadek
NIST was invited to comment on the articles written for a special issue of the CTBUH Journal, marking the ten years passed since the 2001 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. This letter to the editor reacts to the role of the NIST WTC Investigation

An Information Model Standard for Facility Integration With A Smart Grid

November 1, 2011
Author(s)
Steven T. Bushby
The National Electrical Manufacturer's Association (NEMA) and the American Society of Heating Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) are working to cooperatively develop a national Facility Smart Grid Information Model standard. This

Alternate Smoldering Ignition Sources: A Literature Review with Analysis

October 1, 2011
Author(s)
Richard G. Gann, Amanda P. Robbins
Current existing and proposed U.S. flammability standards for soft furnishings such as mattresses and upholstered furniture specify a “standard” cigarette as the ignition source in smoldering resistance performance tests. With the prevalence of reduced

Load Combination Requirements in ASCE Standard 7-10: New Developments

April 14, 2011
Author(s)
Therese P. McAllister, Bruce Ellingwood
The fundamental load combination requirements for strength design (or load and resistance factor design) appearing in Section 2.3 of ASCE Standard 7-10 advance those first developed and implemented in 1982, which since have achieved a state of maturity and

Interlaboratory Study of Alternate Filter Papers for Use in ASTM E 2187

December 11, 2009
Author(s)
Richard G. Gann, William F. Guthrie
ASTM E 2187 has become the internationally referenced standard for designing and specifying less fire-prone cigarettes. In this test method, a lit cigarette is laid on multiple layers of filter paper, and the observer identifies whether the cigarette burns

Building Occupant Safety Research 2008

June 12, 2009
Author(s)
Richard D. Peacock, Jason D. Averill, Erica D. Kuligowski, Richard W. Bukowski
Historically, building egress systems have evolved in response to specific large loss incidents. Currently, systems are designed around a concept of providing stair capacity for the largest occupant load floor in the building with little or no

Stairwell Evacuation from Buildings: What We Know We Don't Know

June 12, 2009
Author(s)
Richard D. Peacock, Jason D. Averill, Erica D. Kuligowski
Occupant descent down stairwells during building evacuations is typically described by measureable engineering variables such as stairwell geometry, speed, density, and pre-evacuation delay. In turn, predictive models of building evacuation use these

Sensitivity of a Smoke Toxicity Test Method to Test Conditions

September 26, 2008
Author(s)
Nathan D. Marsh, Richard G. Gann, Jason D. Averill, Marc R. Nyden
Experiments have been conducted in the NFPA 269/ASTM E 1678 radiant apparatus to determine the sensitivity of toxic gas generation to atmospheric oxygen availability and to the conformation of the test specimen. CO and HCN generation can be dependent on