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Search Publications by: Thomas Cleary (Fed)

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Displaying 26 - 50 of 141

A Soot Deposition Gauge for Fire Measurements

March 12, 2018
Author(s)
Amy E. Mensch, Thomas G. Cleary
The goal of this exploratory project is to demonstrate the feasibility of a conductometric measurement to determine the time-resolved soot deposition on surfaces in fire environments. Quantitative soot deposition data enabled by this measurement method is

Quantifying Thermophoretic Deposition of Soot on Surfaces

October 2, 2017
Author(s)
Amy E. Mensch, Thomas G. Cleary
Quantitative data on deposition of soot agglomerate particles in the literature is needed to advance fire forensic analysis as well as fire model predictions of visibility and detector activation. This paper provides direct measurements of thermophoretic

Polarized Light Scattering of Smoke Sources and Cooking Aerosols

October 1, 2017
Author(s)
Thomas Cleary, Amy Mensch
Light scattering data was gathered during experiments conducted in an ANSI/UL 217 test room constructed at NIST to assess the performance of currently available smoke alarms. Smoldering and flaming fires along with cooking experiments were conducted. The

Ignition of Mulch by Firebrands in Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI) Fires

February 19, 2017
Author(s)
Samuel Manzello, John R. Shields, Thomas Cleary, Jiann C. Yang
Firebrands or embers are produced as trees and structures burn in wildland/urban interface (WUI) fires. Hot firebrands ultimately come to rest and may ignite fuels far removed from the fire, resulting in fire spread. It is believed that firebrand showers

Moment Method for Obtaining Particle Size Measures of Test Smokes

February 19, 2017
Author(s)
Thomas Cleary, D W. Weinert, George Mulholland
The number concentration, ionization chamber output, and mass concentration were recorded continuously for five different test smokes generated in the fire emulator/detector evaluator. The number and the mass concentrations are direct measures of the

Recent Developments in Building Fire Detection Technologies

February 19, 2017
Author(s)
William L. Grosshandler, Jason D. Averill, Thomas Cleary, D W. Weinert
Sensing technologies and their application to detecting fires in buildings continue to evolve, and recent advances are summarized in this article. Work being conducted at NIST on characterizing smoke and on bench-scale evaluation of multi-element detectors

Time Resolved Size Distributions of Test Smokes and Nuisance Aerosols

February 19, 2017
Author(s)
Thomas Cleary
An electrical low-pressure impactor (ELPI) has been used to measure the size distribution of various test smokes and nuisance aerosols generated in the fire emulator/detector evaluator (FE/DE). Previously reported size results were time-averaged values

Video Detection and Monitoring of Smoke Conditions

February 19, 2017
Author(s)
Thomas Cleary
Initial tests have been performed to assess detection limits and smoke obscuration monitoring for a video scene under different lighting and smoke concentration conditions. An illuminated exit sign located in the fire emulator/detector evaluator duct was

Smoke Characterization and Feasibility of the Moment Method for Spacecraft Fire Detection

February 17, 2015
Author(s)
Jiann C. Yang, Thomas G. Cleary, George W. Mulholland, Marit Meyer, Victoria Bryg, D L. Urban, Zeng-guang Yuan, Gary A. Ruff
The Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment (SAME) has been conducted twice by NASA and provided the first real-time aerosol data in a spacecraft micro-gravity environment. Flight experiment results have recently been analyzed with respect to comparable

Pyrolysis Smoke Generated Under Low-Gravity Conditions

January 17, 2015
Author(s)
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

Smoke Alarm Performance in Kitchen Fires and Nuisance Alarm Scenarios

February 6, 2013
Author(s)
Thomas G. Cleary, Artur A. Chernovsky
Tests were conducted to assess the performance of various residential smoke alarms to kitchen fires and nuisance alarm cooking scenarios. A test structure representing a kitchen, living room and hallway was constructed to conduct the tests. Eight different

A Literature Review of the Effects of Fire Smoke on Electrical Equipment

July 31, 2012
Author(s)
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

An Analysis of the Performance of Smoke Alarms

June 21, 2011
Author(s)
Thomas G. Cleary
Test results from the NIST 2008 Smoke Alarm Sensitivity Study were used in a smoke alarm performance analysis to examine the effects of pre-movement time, reduced travel speeds through smoke, and smoke optical density limit on occupant survivability given

High Pressure Release and Dispersion of Hydrogen in a Partially Enclosed Compartment

March 1, 2011
Author(s)
Kuldeep R. Prasad, Thomas G. Cleary, William M. Pitts, Jiann C. Yang
The study of compressed hydrogen release from high-pressure storage systems has practical application for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Such releases may occur either due to accidental damage to a storage tank or connecting piping, or direct PRD

Results from a Full-Scale Smoke Alarm Sensitivity Study

April 9, 2010
Author(s)
Thomas G. Cleary
A series of 24 full-scale experiments was conducted to examine the effects of alarm type (photoelectric, ionization, and dual sensor), alarm location, fabric type (100% cotton and 100% polyester), polyurethane foam density, ignition scenario, and room

Full-Scale Residential Smoke Alarm Performance

September 8, 2009
Author(s)
Thomas G. Cleary
A series of 24 full-scale experiments were conducted in a multi-room structure to examine the effects of alarm type (photoelectric, ionization, and dual sensor), alarm location, fabric type (100 % cotton and 100 % polyester), polyurethane foam density

Testing the Performance of Hydrogen Sensors

September 8, 2009
Author(s)
Nathan D. Marsh, Thomas G. Cleary
The acceptance of hydrogen as a widely-available energy source will depend to some extent on the perceived and actual safe dispensing and storage of hydrogen by the general public. Reliable detection of an accidental hydrogen gas release and mitigation of