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Displaying 701 - 725 of 3836

Preliminary Reconnaissance of the May 20, 2013, Newcastle-Moore Tornado in Oklahoma

December 3, 2013
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski, Long Phan, Marc L. Levitan, David P. Jorgensen
This is a report on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reconnaissance to collect information on the performance of one critical facility and two educational facilities in the May 20, 2013, Newcastle-Moore tornado in Oklahoma. The

Bounding Defaults in Egress Models

November 28, 2013
Author(s)
Steve M. Gwynne, Erica D. Kuligowski, Michael Spearpoint, Enrico Ronchi
The developers of egress models are in a difficult position. It is in their interest to develop models that are quick and easy to employ and at the same time to reduce accidental model misuse. While default values enables out-of-the-box use of models

Guidance on Fire Emergency Procedures for Emergency Stair Travel Devices

November 26, 2013
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski
This document provides specific detailed guidance and recommendations on the use of emergency stair travel devices, or stair descent devices, for evacuation of persons with mobility impairments during fire emergencies in buildings. The people who would

The Process of Verification and Validation of Building Fire Evacuation Models

November 21, 2013
Author(s)
Enrico Ronchi, Erica D. Kuligowski, Paul A. Reneke, Richard Peacock, Daniel Nilsson
To date, there is no International standard on the methods and tests to assess the verification and validation (V&V) of building fire evacuation models, i.e., model testers adopt inconsistent procedures or tests designed for other model uses. For instance

Dissecting Interactions Among Indoor Environmental Quality Factors

November 8, 2013
Author(s)
Hal Levin, Steven Emmerich
Many aspects of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and the technologies that control or otherwise affect it are interactive and often closely connected. This has important implications for the design and construction of buildings as well as for operation

Fire Dynamics Simulator, Technical Reference Guide, Sixth Edition

November 4, 2013
Author(s)
Kevin B. McGrattan, Randall J. McDermott, Craig G. Weinschenk, Glenn P. Forney
This document provides the theoretical basis for the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), following the general framework set forth in the “Standard Guide for Evaluating the Predictive Capability of Deterministic Fire Models,” ASTM E 1355. It is a four volume

Stair evacuation of older adults and people with mobility impairments

October 31, 2013
Author(s)
Erica D. Kuligowski, Richard D. Peacock, Emily Wiess, Bryan Hoskins
Engineers analyze occupant movement data for the safety and protection of a population during emergency building evacuations. Quantifiable variables, such as: stairwell geometry, pre-evacuation delay, occupant speed, and population density form engineering

Structural Design for Disaster Resilience

October 28, 2013
Author(s)
Fahim H. Sadek, Joseph Main, John L. Gross, Therese P. McAllister
This paper presents a brief overview of research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on disaster resilience of buildings, infrastructure, and communities, including component programs and projects. NIST's efforts aim at developing

Evaluating Fire Blocking Performance of Barrier Fabrics

October 15, 2013
Author(s)
Shonali Nazare, William M. Pitts, Shaun M. Flynn, John R. Shields, Rick D. Davis
The purpose of fire blocking barrier materials is to reduce the flammability of soft furnishings ( mattresses and upholstered furniture) by preventing or delaying direct flame impingement from open flames and/or heat transfer from smoldering ignition

Exploratory Study of Airflow from SCBA Exposed to Elevated Temperatures

September 18, 2013
Author(s)
Michelle K. Donnelly, Daniel M. Madrzykowski, Anthony D. Putorti Jr.
This exploratory set of experiments investigated the impact of external exposure temperatures on Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) supply air, and the potential for the supply air to be heated when it is subjected to an elevated temperature

Lateral torsional buckling of steel W-beams subjected to localized fires

September 1, 2013
Author(s)
Chao Zhang, John L. Gross, Therese P. McAllister
Current design approaches to assess the lateral torsional buckling capacity of steel beams in fire are based on the assumption of uniform steel temperature. This paper investigates the effect of temperature gradients on the lateral torsional buckling

POST-COLLISION VEHICLE FIRE SUPPRESSION RESEARCH NEEDS

September 1, 2013
Author(s)
Anthony P. Hamins
This article identifies research needs in automotive fire protection. The work focuses on the problem of post-collision vehicle fires. Recent fire suppression research is cited with special attention given to results cited in the literature as well as

Uncertainties in Steel Temperatures during Fire

August 4, 2013
Author(s)
Dilip K. Banerjee
In order to determine the fire resistance of steel members, steel temperatures must be estimated with a high confidence. There can be considerable uncertainty in temperatures of both protected and unprotected steels during fire exposure. This is due to

The Effects of Wildfire Prevention Activities

August 1, 2013
Author(s)
Douglas S. Thomas, David T. Butry, Jeffrey P. Prestemon
Eighty percent of wildfires are human caused, so it is important for decision makers and land managers to consider the role of prevention activities that minimize the costs and losses of human-caused wildfires. There have been significant efforts aimed at

Measurements of effective diffusion coefficients of helium and hydrogen through gypsum

July 3, 2013
Author(s)
Jiann C. Yang, William M. Pitts, Marco G. Fernandez, Kuldeep R. Prasad
An experimental apparatus, which was based on the ¿-scale garage previously used for studying helium release and dispersion in our laboratory, was used to obtain effective diffusion coefficients of helium and hydrogen (released as forming gas for safety
Displaying 701 - 725 of 3836