Announcing-The Building Science Series The "Building Science Series" disseminates technical information developed at the Bureau on building materials, components, systems, and whole structures. The series presents research results, test methods, and performance criteria related to the structural and environmental functions and the durability and safety characteristics of building elements and systems. These publications, similar in style and content to the NBS Building Materials and Structure Reports (193859), are directed toward the manufacturing, design, and construction segments of the building industry, standards organizations, officials responsible for building codes, and scientists and engineers concerned with the properties of building materials. The material for this series originates principally in the Building Research Division of the NBS Institute for Applied Technology. Published or in preparation are: BSSO. Building Research at the National Bureau of Standards. This publication. BSS1. Performance of Buildings-Concept and Measurment. Man and His Shelter. $2.75 BSS2. Interrelations Between Cement and Concrete Properties: Part 1, Materials and Techniques, Water Requirements and Trace Elements. 35 cents BSS3. Doors as Barriers to Fire and Smoke. 15 cents BSS4. Weather Resistance of Porcelain Enamels: Effect of Exposure Site and Other Variables After Seven Years. 20 cents BSS5. Interrelations Between Cement and Concrete Properties: Part 2, Sulfate Expansion, Heat of Hydration, and Autoclave Expansion. 35 cents BSS6. Some Properties of the Calcium Aluminoferrite Hydrates. 20 cents BSS7. Organic Coatings. Properties, Selection, and Use. $2.50 BSS8. Interrelations Between Cement and Concrete Properties: Part 3, Compressive Strengths of Portland Cement Test Mortars and Steam-Cured Mortars. 55 cents BSS9. Thermal-Shock Resistance for Built-Up Membranes. 20 cents BSS10. Field Burnout Tests of Apartment Dwelling Units. 25 cents BSS12. Performance of Square-Edged Orfices and Orifices-Target Combinations as Air Mixers. 15 cents BSS14. Experimental Determination of Eccentricity of Floor Loads Applied to a Bearing Wall. 15 cents BSS15. Interrelations Between Cement and Concrete Properties: Part 4, Shrinkage of Hardened Portland Cement Pastes. 75 cents BSS16. Techniques for the Survey and Evaluation of Live Floor Loads and Fire Loads in Modern Office Buildings. 40 cents BSS17. Causes of Variation in Chemical Analyses and Physical Tests of Portland Cement. 40 cents BSS18. Smoke and Gases Produced by Burning Aircraft Interior Materials. 35 cents BSS19. A Study of the Variables Involved in the Saturating of Roofing Felts. 30 cents BSS20. Proceedings of a Seminar on the Durability of Insulating Glass. 75 cents BSS21. Algorithms for Pschyrometric Calculations. 55 cents BSS22. Investigation of Performance Characteristics for Sanitary Plumbing Fixtures. 70 cents BSS23. Hail Resistance of Roofing Products. 25 cents BSS24. Natural Weathering of Mineral Stabilized Asphalt Coatings on Organic Felt. 30 cents BSS25. Structural Performance Test of a Building System. $1.25 BSS26. Radiation Errors in Air Ducts Under Nonisothermal Conditions Using Thermocouples, Thermistors, and a Resistance Thermometer. 25 cents BSS27. Performance of Louvered Devices as Air Mixers. 30 cents BSS28. Exploratory Studies of Early Strength Development in Portland Cement Pastes and Mortars. 25 cents UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Maurice H. Stans, Secretary The continuing program on building science at the National Bureau of Standards is a tribute to the foresight of Herbert Hoover. From its beginning in 1901 the Bureau had carried out studies to meet specific, recognized needs for technical information on properties of building materials. When Hoover became Secretary of Commerce in 1921 he brought together and greatly enlarged these activities with the creation of a Division of Building and Housing. The functions of the new division were to coordinate scientific, technical, and economic research in building; to engage in simplification and standardization of building materials; and to aid in the revision of state and municipal codes. These same broad functions have been exercised up to the present by the different organizational units that have succeeded the original division. Hoover's purpose was to stimulate the building industry as a means of promoting industrial recovery after World War I. In this activity the new Division of Building and Housing made a major contribution, as indicated by the number, the broad scope and the wide distribution of publications of the Building and Housing Series from 1922 to 1932, and by the incorporation of information from these publications into many building codes and standards. In the 1930's the emphasis shifted to technical aspects of building science as indicated by the content of a series of Building Materials and Structures Reports published over a period of two decades. Following the specially oriented activities in World War II there was a further change in emphasis accompanying the organization of the present Building Research Division in 1947, with a mission that authorized a wide range of original investigations. Beginning in 1959, the results of these investigations were published in the Bureau's Journal of Research and industry journals until the Building Science Series of publications was initiated in 1965. This Series provides a specific medium for disseminating technical information principally developed at the Bureau on building materials, equipment, systems, and whole structures. The present publication has been prepared as the basic document of the Building Science Series. Its purpose is to serve as a key to the work of the previous 69 years and as an introduction to the future. Included are a statement of the mission of the Building Research Division, a history of the Bureau's previous activities in the area, a description of the current program, and a summary of future objectives, together with a comprehensive bibliography. Recent reorientation of Division objectives toward the development of performance requirements and performance evaluation techniques for building components and systems, in support of the national trend toward industrialized building construction, is emphasized. This publication will be useful to builders, engineers, architects, students, Government officials, experts in the environmental sciences, and individuals who may wish to draw upon the experience and the large fund of information on building science available at the National Bureau of Standards. LEWIS M. BRANSCOMB, Director |