December 2004

BFRL Monthly Highlights

October 2004

November 2004

December 2004

January 2005

April 2005

PAST Highlights

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BFRL Releases Building Ventilation Data

BFRL has completed an analysis of building ventilation data collected as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation (BASE) study. These ventilation data pro-vided a unique opportunity to obtain new information for U.S. office buildings, including ventilation system design values, measured ventilation performance, and the relationship of these measurements to design values and to requirements in standards. A key outcome of this study is the documentation of measured supply and outdoor air ventilation rates that are quite different from their design values. While not necessarily unexpected, this finding highlights the need for good ventilation system commissioning and maintenance if design intent is going to be realized in practice. In addition, the analysis provides important insights into the measurements methods used in the BASE study, which will be useful in future field studies of building ventilation. A complete description of the analysis and results are contained in NISTIR 7145.

Contact:
Andrew Persily
301-975-6418

BFRL Releases Report on Risk Analysis for Extreme Events

The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania recently has completed a report, entitled Risk Analysis for Extreme Events: Economic Incentives for Reducing Future Losses. Released as NIST GCR 04-871, it documents the need for linking risk assessment, risk perception, and risk management in order to develop meaningful strategies for dealing with extreme events. Cases where extreme events exhibit interdependencies, either among individual stakeholders or among stakeholder groups, are given special attention.

The report contains several case illustrations on how building owners and other key stakeholders facing a hurricane or earthquake hazard respond to alternative risk management programs. The case illustrations serve to highlight the importance of public-private partnerships, the key role of building codes, and the potential for long-term loans for mitigating the effects of natural and man-made hazards.

See www.bfrl.nist.gov/oae/oae.html for electronic copies of both reports.

Contact:
Robert Chapman
301-975-2723

BFRL Demonstrates New Thermal Insulation Test Facilities for Industry

During the ASTM International October 2004 Committee Week, BFRL researchers Robert Zarr, Dale Bentz, and William Healy hosted several industry representatives attending the meetings of the ASTM C16 Committee on Thermal Insulation. The visits to NIST included presentations and tours of new BFRL measurement facilities on high-temperature thermal insulation reference materials, thermal performance of fire resistive materials, and moisture detection in buildings using ultra-wideband radar. For high-temperature reference materials, industry representatives have requested that ASTM C16 initiate a thermal insulation reference materials task group to develop candidate materials for NIST to examine. There also was interest expressed by European representatives for NIST to collaborate with similar efforts underway in Europe. Industry representatives also indicated the need for simpler test methods for estimating the properties of fire resistive materials and suggested that the solution of moisture-related problems is one of the most critical areas of research for insulation manufacturers.

Contact:
Robert Zarr
301-975-6436

 

 

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