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Two full-scale fire experiments were conducted to determine the mode of penetration of a tire fire into the passenger compartment of a motorcoach. A special burner was designed to imitate the frictional heating of hub and wheel metal caused by failed axle
An in-depth analysis of U.S. residential fire statistics shows that although the total number of fires and deaths due to mattress fires has dropped as a result of several regulatory approaches, the mattress/bedding fires continue to account for one of the
Residential fire sprinklers have long proven themselves as life safety technologies to the fire service community. Only until recently have they shown to be cost-effective for homeowners, as installation costs have fallen and performance increased. While
Therese P. McAllister, Fahim Sadek, John L. Gross, Jason D. Averill, Richard G. Gann
This paper summarizes the primary structural systems which comprised World Trade Center 1, World Trade Center 2, and World Trade Center 7. The buildings were destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This paper describes the four major
In this study, environmentally stressed OS fabrics containing melamine fiber blends were evaluated for thermal and mechanical properties that are critical to the protective performance of firefighter turnout gear. Environmental stress factors that affect
Tinh Nguyen, Bastien T. Pellegrin, Coralie Bernard, Savelas A. Rabb, Paul E. Stutzman, Justin M. Gorham, Xiaohong Gu, Lee L. Yu, Joannie W. Chin
Nanofillers are increasingly used for enhancing multiple properties of polymeric materials in many applications. However, polymers are susceptible to photodegradation by solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation Therefore, nanofillers in a polymer nanocomposite
Therese P. McAllister, Fahim Sadek, John L. Gross, Steven W. Kirkpatrick, Robert S. MacNeill, R. Bocchieri, Mehdi S. Zarghamee, Omer O. Erbay, Andrew T. Sarawit
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducted an extensive investigation of the collapse of World Trade Center towers (WTC 1 and WTC 2) and the WTC 7 building. This paper describes the reconstruction of impact damage to each of the
Richard D. Peacock, Thomas G. Cleary, Paul A. Reneke, Daniel Murphy
A review is presented of the state of the art of smoke production measurement, prediction of smoke impact as part of computer-based fire modeling, and measurement and prediction of the impact of smoke through deposition of soot on and corrosion of
Sayaka S. Suzuki, Samuel Manzello, Matthew Lage, George Laing
A full scale, proof-of-concept experiment was conducted to investigate firebrand production from a burning structure. In this experiment, NIST researchers were invited to set up instrumentation during a structure burn down. As the structure burned
Samuel L. Manzello, Sayaka S. Suzuki, Yoshihiko Hayashi
Until recently, attempting to experimentally quantify the vulnerabilities of structures to ignition from firebrand showers has remained elusive. The coupling of a two unique facilities has begun to unravel this difficult problem. The NIST Firebrand
Kevin B. McGrattan, Andrew J. Lock, Nathan D. Marsh, Marc R. Nyden
This report documents the first phase of a multi-year program called CHRISTIFIRE (Cable Heat Release, Ignition, and Spread in Tray Installations during Fire). The overall goal of the program is to quantify the burning characteristics of grouped electrical
Sayaka S. Suzuki, Samuel Manzello, Yoshihiko Hayashi
Wildfires that spread into communities, commonly referred to as Wildland-Urban Interface Fires (WUI), are a significant international problem. Post-fire damage studies have suggested for some time that firebrands are a significant cause of structure
This work presents estimates of time histories of pressure coefficients at several taps on the roof of a 1/200 model of a 200 x 100 x 20 ft low-rise building with a 1/24 slope gable roof building. The estimates were obtained by large eddy simulation (LES)
Wenjuan Wei, Sylvester M. Greer, Cynthia H. Reed, Andrew K. Persily, Yinping Zhang
A liquid-inner tube diffusion-film-emission (LIFE) reference was developed to quickly evaluate the performance of a chamber system for furniture/building material VOC emission tests. The reference has a constant emission rate determined by an analytical
Previously we quantified the chemical and mechanical deterioration of polyaramid and polybenzimidazole-based protective clothing fabrics that resulted from concurrent thermal, moisture, and simulated sunlight exposure. This paper reports on individual
Chiara F. Ferraris, Paul E. Stutzman, William F. Guthrie
Rheological measurements are often performed using a rotational rheometer. In this type of rheometer, the tested fluid is sheared between two surfaces, one of which is rotating [1]. Usually, the angular velocity is imposed and the response of the material
Dong H. Rim, Lance L. Wallace, Steven J. Nabinger, Andrew K. Persily
Cooking stoves are one of the most common combustion sources of indoor ultrafine particles (UFP). UFP have been observed to be associated with adverse health effects such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. This study investigates the effectiveness
Amanda P. Robbins, Erica D. Kuligowski, Steve M. Gwynne
A systematic approach to the identification of fire-safety scenarios for analysis is desirable in order to identify important scenarios and to help ensure a consistent approach for different analysts. The number of possible fire-safety scenarios in any
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
Mani Golparvar-Fard, Behshad Ghadimi, Kamel Saidi, Geraldine Cheok, Marek Franaszek, Robert R. Lipman
This paper presents a new image-based approach for 3D mapping the locations of the rebar and embedded components in a railway bridge deck prior to placement of concrete. Our approach enables practitioners to quickly and automatically identify where the
Richard D. Peacock, Erica D. Kuligowski, Jason D. Averill
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
Building designers, contractors, owners and managers have long been challenged with providing quality indoor environments at a reasonable energy cost. Current efforts to improve building energy efficiency, including goals of sustainability and net-zero
The scope of this chapter is to introduce the current technology for measuring the rheological properties of concrete. The need to evaluate or assess the flow properties of concrete has resulted in the invention or design and standardization of hundreds of
Samuel L. Manzello, Sayaka S. Suzuki, Yoshihiko Hayashi
An experimental campaign was undertaken to determine vulnerabilities of siding treatments, walls fitted with eaves, and glazing assemblies to firebrand bombardment using the NIST Dragon installed in the Building Research Institutes Fire Research Wind
This report documents the beyond-design-basis test results of the performance of one metallic and two elastomeric seals typically used in spent fuel transportation packages. Tests were conducted using a scale-model package made of stainless steel SS 304