An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
This paper details an experimental program that gathered photoelectric and ionization analog output smoke sensor, thermal sensor, and an electrochemical CO sensor output signals during exposure to various fire and non-fire stimuli reproduced in the fire
Thomas G. Cleary, Michelle K. Donnelly, George W. Mulholland, B Farouk
Modeling fire detector performance requires detailed information on the environment surrounding the detector, the species transport (heat, smoke, gas) from the surrounding to the sensing surface or volume, and the sensor response. The species transport to
Thomas G. Cleary, Michelle K. Donnelly, William L. Grosshandler
This paper describes the fire emulator/detector evaluator which was developed by NIST. The FE/DE has proven to be a very flexible design. The main function of the device is to reproduce the environment (temperature, air velocity, aerosol and gas species
The pressures of competing in the global marketplace are forcing building control companies, equipment and systems manufacturers, energy providers, utiliites, and design engineers to improve performance and reduce costs. One means of meeting this twin
Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) has been used to study polymeric materials with nanometer spatial resolution. Indentation methods based on SPM technology include the use of cantilever probes with an atomic force microscope (AFM), depth-sensing transducers
The standard test method for evaluating sealant performance is the ASTM C719, which resulted from the pioneering work of NIST researcher Authur Hockman. This test method is a threshold or torure test. This presentation will detail efforts to move away from
Modern building fire sensors are capable of supplying substantially more information to the fire service than just the simple detection of a possible fire. With the increase in the number of sensors installed in buildings for non-fire purposes, it is
Measurements of particles size distributions and optical properties of smoke detector test smokes may yield a better understanding of existing detector designs and facilitate design improvements; NIST is making such measurements now on smokes produced in
Rheological tests on cement paste were used to successfully select the type and dosage of mineral admixtures that improved concrete workability. Among the six different mineral admixtures tested, the ultra fine fly ash (UFFA), was determined to give the
Richard D. Peacock, Richard W. Bukowski, Paul A. Reneke, Jason D. Averill, S. H. Markos
U.S. passenger train fire safety has historically been addressed primarily through the citation of small-scale flammability and smoke emission tests and performance criteria promulgated by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). This approach has
Jeffrey W. Gilman, Takashi Kashiwagi, A B. Morgan, Richard H. Harris Jr., L D. Brassell, W H. Awad, Rick D. Davis, L Chyall, T E. Sutto, Paul C. Trulove, H DeLong
A new approach to address the ever increasing demand for higher performance flame retarded products has recently focused on use of mica-type clays nano-dispersed in commodity polymers. These "nanocomposites" exhibit the unusual combination of reduced
It is generally recognized that the vast majority of deaths associated with accidental enclosure fires are due to smoke inhalation. Older reviews of autopsy results suggested that the fraction was on the order of 2/3. In the United States there is evidence
Stephen Fallis, Russell Reed, Jennifer L. McCormick, Kim Wilson, Gary Holland
The Advanced Propellant/Additive Development for Gas Generators project is a collaborative effort between General Dynamics OTS-Aerospace (GD) in Redmond, WA and the Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division (NAWCWD) in China Lake, CA. The project
This study considers the situation of two isothermal rooms linked to one another via an opening of varying size. Air and a neutrally buoyant contaminant are transferred through the opening in an essentially one way flow situation, driven by forced
This paper presents an expert rule set for air-handling units (AHUs) and examines the performance of the rule set using simulation and field data. APAR (air-handling unit performance assessment rules), the software implementation of the rule set, is first
Jiann C. Yang, Michelle K. Donnelly, N C. Prive, William L. Grosshandler
This paper is an abridged version of NISTIR 6319. The design, construction, demonstration, and operation of a bench-scale device capable of screening the fire suppression efficiency of liquid agents are described in detail in this report. The apparatus is
Xiaohong Gu, D T. Raghavan, Tinh Nguyen, Mark R. VanLandingham, D Yebassa
One of the major disadvantages of polyester materials is their sensitivity to hydrolysis. In this paper, tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to examine the microstructure of polyester films before and after exposure to an alkaline
One of the potential candidates for halon 1301 replacement in aircraft engine nacelle and dry bay fire protection applications and fuel tank ullage inerting is trifluoroiodomethane (CF3I). Before CF3I can be considered as a potential drop-in replacement
This paper evaluates performance merits of CO 2 and R134a automotive air conditioning systems using semi-theoretical cycle models. The R134a system had a current-production configuration which consisted of a compressor, condenser, expansion device, and
This paper is a derivative of G2001-1392, Database-Assisted Wind Load Capacity Estimates for Low-Rise Steel Frames, by Jang, S., et al., intended for publication in the Journal of Structural Engineering.The original paper's abstract was:A comparative study
Most cellular solids are random materials, while practically all theoretical results are for periodic models. To be able to generate theoretical results for random models, the finite element method (FEM) was used to study the elastic properties of solids
Calcium hydroxide is one of the main reaction products resulting from the hydration of Portland cement with water. It is also one of the more soluble phases found in hydrated cement systems. The influence of calcium hydroxide dissolution and its effect on
Dale P. Bentz, C Haecker, K K. Hansen, O M. Jensen, J F. Oleson, H S. Stang
The influence of cement particle size distribution (PSD)on autogenous strains and stresses in cement pastes of identical water-to-cement ratio is examined for cement powders of four different finenesses. Experimental measurements include chemical shrinkage
The use of multizone airflow and contaminant dispersal models requires a range of data. In terms of airflow analysis, these data include leakage characteristics of airflow elements, wind pressure coefficients, ventilation system characteristics such as
Concerns about maintaining optimum operating conditions for central plants in order to minimize energy usage and cost have highlighted the need for accurate measruements of electrical power, fluid flow and temperature chillers and boilers. In particular