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The papers in this issue were selected from presentations made at the ASHRAE IAQ 2013: Environmental Health in Low Energy Buildings conference held in Vancouver Canada in October 2013. The conference was held specifically to review the state of knowledge
Jiann C. Yang, Thomas G. Cleary, George W. Mulholland, D L. Urban, Gary A. Ruff, Zeng-guang Yuan, Marit Meyer, Victoria Bryg
A series of smoke experiments were carried out in the Microgravity Science Glovebox on the International Space Station (ISS) Facility to assess the impact of low-gravity conditions on the size distribution and structure of the smoke aerosol. This
Gregory T. Linteris, Valeri I. Babushok, Patrick T. Baker
The effect of water vapor on hydrocarbon combustion (CH4, C2H4, C3H8) was studied in the presence of an HFC agent (HFC-125). The effect depends on the F/H ratio of the initial mixture. A promotion effect was observed in mixtures with the F/H ratios ranging
Chao Zhang, John L. Gross, Therese P. McAllister, Guo-Qiang Li
Steel columns may be exposed to thermal radiation from localized burning of a fire source nearby. Current structural fire design methods are based on uniform heating and, therefore, uniform temperature conditions, and no practicable methods are provided to
Chao Zhang, John L. Gross, Therese P. McAllister, Guo-Qiang Li
Real fires start from localized burning, and will not develop to flashover if in an open space or in large open-plan compartments. Temperatures of gas and exposed steel columns in localized fires are not uniform. Current structural fire design methods are
The production of firebrands contributes to the spread of disastrous large outdoor fires. As structures are exposed to wind, stagnation planes are produced around structures. In a prior scoping study, the authors demonstrated that firebrands may accumulate
Mulch is commonly found near buildings and is a useful surrogate to study various fuels that may be present near buildings. To this end, mulch beds were exposed to continuous, wind-driven firebrand showers. These experiments build on our prior work where
Alexander Maranghides, Mike Hennig, Gene Robinson, Karen Jackson
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has invested in the development of instrument packages and measurement science to enable the successful scientific use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the wildlands and at the Wildland Urban
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 (i.e., particles having at least one dimension smaller than 100 nm) are increasingly being added
Stuart M. Adams, Marc L. Levitan, Friedland J. Carol
This paper examines the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to capture imagery for use in post-disaster field studies at the neighborhood and individual building level. Applications of UASs in recent disasters as described in the literature are reviewed
Wildfires that spread into communities, referred to as Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fires, have destroyed communities throughout the world. In the USA, over 46 million homes in 70,000 communities are at risk of WUI fires [1-2]. Historically, fire safety
Valeri I. Babushok, Gregory T. Linteris, Donald R. Burgess Jr., Patrick T. Baker
The kinetic mechanism of hydrocarbon flame inhibition by the potential halon replacement 2-BTP has been assembled, and is used to study its effects on premixed methane-air flames. Simulations with varying CH4-air stoichiometry and agent loading have been
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that up to half of non-fatal monoxide (CO) poisoning incidents during the hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005 involved generators operated outdoors but within seven feet of the home
Polymer nanocomposites are increasingly used in outdoor structures. However, polymers are susceptible to degradation by solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which potentially releases nanofiller during polymer nanocomposites' life cycle. Such release may pose
Steven J. Emmerich, Andrew K. Persily, Liangzhu Wang
Serious concerns exist about the hazard of acute residential carbon monoxide (CO) exposures from portable gasoline-powered generators, which can result in death or serious adverse health effects. As of April 23, 2013 and as shown in Figure 1, the U.S
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff is considering developing a performance standard to address the hazard of acute residential carbon monoxide (CO) exposures from portable gasoline engine-powered generators that result in death or
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 gasoline-powered generators, which can result in death or serious adverse health effects in
This report documents the effort launched by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop, organize, and convene a workshop on sustainability to promote the adoption and use of sustainable construction and manufacturing and guide
Wildfires that spread into communities, referred to as Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fires, have destroyed communities throughout the world. In the USA, over 46 million homes in 70,000 communities are at risk of WUI fires [1-2]. These fires have destroyed
Abstract Based on recent EPA Greenhouse Gas Inventories, releases of methane (CH4) from the natural gas supply chain in the United States account for approximately 23% of the total US CH4 emissions. However, there continue to be questions regarding the
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 installation errors (faults), e.g., improper refrigerant charge, incorrect airflow, oversized equipment
In the early part of the 1970's built-up-roofing dominated the U.S. membrane roofing industry. It was estimated that 10 to 15 percent of these roofs failed, but by the late 1980's new membranes were being rapidly adopted. Among them, EPDM (ethylene
The safe use of nanocomposites depends, in part, on a good understanding of the fate of nanofillers throughout the nanocomposite‘s lifecycle. Various modifications of ISO weathering protocols have been proposed to assess what is released and at which rate
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 which different concepts of RP are applied vary greatly. Definitions of RP can be broadly divided
This document is a critical assessment of building codes and standards pertaining to structural design for fire from the United States, Canada, European Union members, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. These countries were selected because of their