[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 97 (Tuesday, May 20, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27584-27585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13200]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Public Meeting to Announce an Opportunity to Join a Cooperative 
Research and Development Consortium for Zone Fire Modeling

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology invites 
interested parties to attend a meeting on Wednesday, August 13, 1997 to 
discuss setting up a cooperative research consortium. The goal of the 
consortium is to achieve a modeling protocol which will support 
commercial use of fire models. The working group will suggest direction 
and development options for future work. Parties participating in the 
consortium will have early access to the code and development process.
    The program will be within the scope and confines of The Federal 
Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-502, 15 U.S.C. 3710a), 
which provides federal laboratories including NIST, with the authority 
to enter into cooperative research and development agreements with 
qualified parties. Under this law, NIST may contribute personnel, 
equipment and facilities--but no funds--to the cooperative program. 
Members will be expected to make a contribution to the consortium's 
effort in the form of personnel and/or funds. This is not a grant 
program.

DATES: The meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 13, 1997 from 8:30 
am until 12:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in Lecture Room B at the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Walter W. Jones, 301 975-6887, 
facsimile 301 975-4052.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Over the past decade the Building and Fire 
Research has developed computer based models as a predictive tool for 
estimating the environment which results in a building when a fire is 
present. Development of the first of these models FAST, started about 
1983. In 1985, development of the Consolidated Computer Fire Model was 
begun. It was originally envisioned to be a benchmark fire code, with 
all algorithms of fire phenomena available for experimentation. In 
1989, a decision was made that development of many computer programs 
was not the best

[[Page 27585]]

possible course for BFRL. At the time, FAST included considerably more 
phenomena than any other model anywhere. In addition, it used 
significantly more sophisticated graphics output. For these reasons, 
among others, FAST was selected as the engine for further development. 
A priority project was undertaken in 1989 to incorporate the lessons 
learned in the development of the structure of CCFM. This code was 
named CFAST \1\ for the Consolidated Fire Growth and Smoke Transport 
Model. This is the only explicit zone fire model supported by the 
Building and Fire Research Laboratory. FAST was the engine in HAZARD I, 
versions 1.0 and 1.1, which became available in June of 1989, and 
September of 1991, respectively. CFAST is the basis for Hazard 1.2, 
which became available in 1994. CFAST is intended to operate on many 
platforms, be as error free as possible, be simple to run for simple 
problems, yet allow complexity where needed. The code is extremely 
fast. It works on laptop personal computers, Unix workstations and 
supercomputers. It provides extensive graphics for analysis with pre- 
and post-processing modules. It is extremely fast on single compartment 
cases, and with the data editor, there is tremendous flexibility for 
parameter studies, such as ``what if'' testing. The model is 
particularly well suited for doing parameter studies of changes, both 
subtle and large, within a single compartment.
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    \1\ Peacock, R.D., Jones, W.W., Forney, G.P., Reneke, P., 
Portier, R., CFAST, the Consolidated Model of Fire and Smoke 
Transport, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technical 
Note 1299 (1992).
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    The development of the Hazard Methodology with the associated 
software has provided the underpinnings for a higher level of 
understanding of hazard prediction for buildings. The FASTLite tool, 
also based on the CFAST zone model and available since May, 1996, 
improved the usability of this type of modeling by providing a 
graphical user interface. The current list of users of the fire 
modeling software exceeds 2,500. The next version of CFAST, version 3, 
is expected this summer. There are many improvements that can be made 
beyond this, both in usability as well as functionality.
    As a result of the multiple requests that NIST has received for 
enhancements to this software, NIST is proposing a consortium to 
maximize the benefits of further research. The purpose of the public 
meeting is to discuss formation of a consortium to support the 
continued development in a way that addresses industry needs. The 
meeting will provide a forum to explain the rules which will apply to 
the consortium. The consortium will establish the direction for further 
research and development of the fire safety engineering tools. The 
program will be within the scope and confines of The Federal Technology 
Transfer Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-502, 15 U.S.C. 3710a), which 
provides federal laboratories including NIST, with the authority to 
enter into cooperative research and development agreements with 
qualified parties. Under this law, NIST may contribute personnel, 
equipment and facilities--but no funds--to the cooperative program. 
Members will be expected to make a contribution to the consortium's 
efforts in the form of personnel and/or funds. This is not a grant 
program.
    Interested parties should contact NIST to confirm their interest at 
the address, telephone number or facsimile number shown above.

    Dated: May 13, 1997.
Elaine Bunten-Mines,
Director, Program Office.
[FR Doc. 97-13200 Filed 5-19-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-M