Technical Assessment of the Capital Facility Needs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (2023) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix D: Facilities at NIST'S Gaithersburg Campus
Appendix D: Facilities at NIST'S Gaithersburg Campus
Pages 139-151
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From page 139... ...
These older laboratories generally have moderate temperature control (generally the same as for office spaces) , no humidity control, no vibration control, and limited chilled water capacity.
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From page 140... ...
The existing central HVAC systems cannot be programmed for customized ambient environmental conditions in select laboratories.
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From page 141... ...
The older laboratory facilities have significant architectural and spatial deficiencies, including: • Available clear ceiling height is restricted by the low slab-to-slab dimension in the GPLs, as well as the sizes of the structural beams. • In the GPLs, closely spaced service shafts on the corridor side of the laboratories limit space reorganization.
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From page 142... ...
New laboratory buildings constructed or renovated over the past 20 years have supported many technical successes. The committee viewed several such cases: New Laboratory Enables Fire Research that Improves Building and Safety Codes National Fire Research Laboratory (Building 205)
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From page 143... ...
, cold lighting, and vibration control enable the NIST-built instruments to define the highest precision and lowest uncertainty for X-ray diffraction standard reference materials used to validate and calibrate their instruments used in a variety of industries. As an example, the precision needed to identify isoforms or polymorphs of pharmaceutical compounds relies on the use of NIST standard reference materials to calibrate the instruments; without the precision provided with the use of NIST standard reference materials, you would not be able to sufficiently describe and identify some compounds.
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From page 144... ...
In other cases, as projects progressed to meet the latest technology challenges, the more rigorous environmental controls required for the necessary precision metrology were beyond the original design capability. The committee viewed several laboratory activities that were operating well below potential due to facilities issues.
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From page 145... ...
Samples of electron microscopy must be carefully prepared to less than 100 nm thickness. Along with poor environmental control in the 1966 Physics Laboratory GPL, particulate matter frequently "rains" down from the original HVAC equipment diffusers and can easily contaminate painstakingly prepared EM samples and obliterate features of interest.
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From page 146... ...
Biometric Program at Risk Due to Inadequate Cooling Capacity Biometrics Research Laboratory Data Center (Building 225, Room B45) Located in a 1966 Technology Building GPL, this data center supports two dozen NIST staff performing facial recognition testing, contactless fingerprint research, iris biometrics, and other efforts.
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From page 147... ...
20 Percent Down Time in Calibration Equipment Critical to Semi-Conducting and Aerospace Industry Line Scale Calibration Laboratory (Building 220, Room A21) The line scale laboratory provides the ruler-like standards used for link to the meter in the United States and is among the most accurate instruments in the world providing an uncertainty of parts in 107, or 10 nm (billionth meter)
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From page 148... ...
This scattering apparatus provides critical X-ray metrology that characterizes nanometer-scale features on samples provided by major semiconductor industry companies. The 1966 Polymer Building GPL that houses the laboratory provides poor temperature and humidity control that requires a time-consuming realignment process every day or two, and researchers estimate that 30 percent of their effort is diverted to overcoming facility issues rather than performing customer measurements.
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From page 149... ...
Because of these facility issues NIST researchers are unable to begin work on these new gases, forcing EPA to develop alternative test methods for the emissions monitoring community for use until NIST can provide the proper standards and certification requirements. Impact: Reference materials that support the ability of U.S.
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From page 150... ...
Located in the Standard Reference Materials Building built in 2012, this facility packages Laboratory lighting creates another impediment as some standard reference materials preparations contain 6490 materials for shipment to customers. Because of inadequate temperature and humidity controls, light-sensitive materials and can tolerate very limited exposure to white light.
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From page 151... ...
The laboratory develops unique, experimental capabilities that include foundational measurements, test methods, and characterization of materials and structures under complex conditions. As a 1968 industrial building was repurposed for this emergent use, the program experiences numerous facility problems ranging from roof leaks to inadequate mechanical and electrical systems that reduce productivity.
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