Engineering Laboratory

Photograph of large residential-style home with blue tile roof and solar panel in suburban campus setting.

A House Ahead of its Time

50 Years of Fire Safety Advances at NIST

Side view of a woman wearing safety glasses, ear protection, and a blue lab coat. With one hand, she is holding a stainless steel frying pan over an electric stove. With her other hand, she is using a spatula to prod bacon in the pan. The room is smoky.

New Smoke Alarms Are Better at Detecting Fires but Still Beep for Bacon

News and Updates

Left side is a photo of a firefighter dressed in full equipment, including heavy clothing, a helmet and a breathing mask. Right side is a diagram showing the three layers typically found in firefighter gear: outer shell, moisture barrier and thermal barrier.

PFAS Found in Firefighter Gloves, Hoods and Wildland Gear

December 17, 2024

The amount of PFAS in each sample varied greatly, so it may be possible to design gear that reduces exposure.

NIST Transfers Evidence From Champlain Towers South to Miami-Dade Police Department

November 21, 2024

The National Construction Safety Team has reached an important milestone in its investigation into the 2021 partial collapse of Champlain Towers South.

AI Can ‘Hear’ When a Lithium Battery Is About to Catch Fire

November 14, 2024

NIST researchers have trained AI to detect the telltale sound even in noisy environments.

A House Ahead of Its Time

November 4, 2024

A decade in, NIST’s superefficient house continues to generate results and advance building science.

Software

Tool for Evaluation of Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide Disinfection of N95 Masks in Small Rooms

June 3, 2020

This spreadsheet tool estimates the vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) concentration in air of rooms used for VHP mask disinfection systems. The tool employs a

FDS and Smokeview

Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) is a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of fire-driven fluid flow. The software solves numerically a form of the Navier

BEES

February 5, 2018

The BEES ( Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) software brings to your fingertips a powerful technique for selecting cost-effective

CONTAM

January 8, 2021

CONTAM is a multizone indoor air quality and ventilation analysis computer program designed to help you determine: (a) airflows: infiltration, exfiltration, and

STEP File Analyzer and Viewer

December 13, 2024

The free STEP File Viewer supports parts, assemblies, dimensions, tolerances, and more. The Analyzer generates a spreadsheet of all entity and attribute

EVAP-COND, Version 5.0

January 1, 2020

EVAP-COND is a software package that contains NIST's simulation models EVAP and COND for finned-tube evaporators and condensers. The “tube-by-tube” scheme in

CFAST

CFAST (Consolidated Model of Fire and Smoke Transport) is a computer program that helps fire investigators, safety officials, engineers, architects, and

VCCTL Software

(Return to Cement Hydration and Degradation Modeling Software) The Virtual Cement and Concrete Testing Laboratory (VCCTL) software provides a virtual testing

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Tools and Instruments

SPHERE

In the artificial ultraviolet (UV) weathering of materials, a need exists for weathering devices that can uniformly illuminate test specimens with a high level

Additive Manufacturing Metrology Testbed (AMMT)

The NIST Additive Manufacturing Metrology Testbed is a fully custom, open-platform laser powder bed fusion (LBPF) system to advance monitoring, controls, and

Additive Manufacturing Powder Metrology Laboratory

NIST researchers are developing and deploying test methods, protocols, and exemplar data for characterizing the properties of metal powders used in commercial

Additive Manufacturing Research Center (AMRC)

The Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) Research Facility is now called the Additive Manufacturing Research Center (AMRC). Additive manufacturing gives U.S

Awards

Melissa Logan Receives The Sigma Xi Outstanding Service in Support of NIST Scientists Award

Melissa Logan’s tenure as the Senior Management Advisor in the Engineering Laboratory is marked by her proactive approach to complex

Isaac Leventon Receives The University of Maryland's Early Career Distinguished Alumni Society

Selected for the Early Career Distinguished Alumni Society (ECDA) in the James Clark School of Engineering for his outstanding professional

Ann Marie Virts was Awarded The Exo Technology Center of Excellence Award of Excellence

In grateful appreciation and distinguished recognition for coordinating, planning, and organizing the 2024 ASTM International Exo Games.

Lisa Ng Receives the ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award

The Distinguished Service Award salutes members of any grade who have served the Society faithfully and with distinction and who have given