June 2001

BFRL Monthly Highlights

June 2001

July 2001

August 2001

Sept. 2001

PAST Highlights

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Sun Shines on NIST Building Integrated Photovoltaic Researchers

Recently more than 1,200 manufacturers, builders, educators, policymakers, and researchers convened in Washington, D.C., for the Forum 2001 Solar Energy Conference. The conference, which was cosponsored by 12 different organizations, provided a comprehensive resource for interested attendees. The conference included 87 technical sessions, 13 workshops, four tours, an equipment exposition, numerous society meetings, and a solar house that was erected on the Mall and visited by over 25,000 people.

NIST played a major role in this conference by authoring three technical papers, serving as a session chair, and providing a tour stop for conference attendees. The tour stop was structured to give participants an overview of BFRL’s building integrated photovoltaics program, a tour of the facilities being used in this research, and to present the latest findings.

At the conference’s awards banquet, BFRL’s Building Integrated Photovoltaic Research Team was honored by receiving one of only four best paper awards. The paper entitled “Measured Performance of building Integrated Photovoltaic Panels” was authored by Hunter Fanney, Brian Dougherty, and Mark Davis. This paper also has been accepted for publication in ASME’s Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. All three authors received a certificate at the ceremony.

CONTACT: Brian Dougherty
Mechanical Engineer
Heat Transfer and Alternative Energy Systems Group
Building Environment Division

New ISO Standard on Service Life Planning of Buildings

While new constraints are being imposed by environmental and other regulations in many countries, demands are being made for buildings and other constructed assets to perform more cost-effectively. To help overcome barriers to innovation and facilitate establishment of rational criteria for acceptance of innovation, Subcommittee 14, Design Life, in ISO Technical Committee 59, Building Construction, is developing a standard, ISO 15686, Buildings and Constructed Assets: Service Life Planning. The subcommittee is chaired by Geoff Frohnsdorff of BFRL. The standard will have at least six parts and the first three parts—Part 1, General Principles; Part 2, Service Life Prediction Procedures; and Part 3, Performance Audits and Reviews—already have been approved as international standards by ISO. Other parts being drafted are Part 4, Database Requirements; Part 5, Life-Cycle Costing; and Part 6, Guidelines for Addressing Environmental Impact. In the present phase of the standard development, the focus is on the fabric of the building; however, it is intended that the service systems (electrical, mechanical, and plumbing) will be considered later. 

CONTACT: Geoff Frohnsdorff
Chief
Building Materials Division

NFPRF Honors NIST Scientists for Firefighter Safety Research

J. Randall (Randy) Lawson of BFRL, and William (Ruddy) E. Mell of the University of Utah have been announced as the winners of the 2001 Harry C. Bigglestone Award for Excellence in Communications for their publication of the pioneering work on developing an accurate and flexible model of heat transfer through protective clothing for firefighters. The study was funded jointly by NIST and the United States Fire Administration. The award-winning paper, “Heat Transfer Model for Fire Fighter’s Protective Clothing,” appeared in Fire Technology, Vol. 36, No. 1, 2000. The Bigglestone Award, sponsored by the National Fire Protection Research Foundation (NFPRF), Quincy, Mass., is presented to the authors of the best paper submitted to Fire Technology during the previous year. The award and invited lecture are presented at the 2001 National Fire Protection Association’s Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif. 

CONTACT: Randy Lawson
General Physical Scientist
Fire Fighting Technology Group
Fire Research Division

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