Assessment of Corrosion Education (NMAB)

Released 12.15.08

Corrosion in the broadest sense is the degradation and loss of function of materials by their exposure to the operational environment. Corrosion has a great impact on the safety and reliability of a wide range of engineered products and its cost to the economy is substantial. While efforts to apply corrosion understanding have saved billions of dollars, it is clear that much more can be done to better understand corrosion and mitigate its effects. To assist in this effort, Congress directed DOD to request an NRC study to assess the level and effectiveness of corrosion engineering education in the United States and to provide recommended actions to enhance corrosion-based skills and knowledge. This report provides an examination of the importance of corrosion engineering education; an assessment of corrosion education; and a series of conclusions about and recommendations for improving corrosion education.

Construction Research at NIOSH: Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BICE)

Released 11.06.08

The diverse and distributed nature of the construction industry presents special challenges for occupational health and safety protection.  Among other things, the work environment and the workers change daily and exposure to hazardous environments are difficult to track.  For the same reasons, it is difficult to conduct research designed to improve worker health and safety.  Nevertheless, construction-related fatalities and injuries have declined significantly in recent years in part due to the research programs of the NIOSH Construction Research Program.  To evaluate the effectiveness of its activities, NIOSH asked the National Academies to review 15 specific NIOSH programs including its Construction Research Program.  This report provides the context and analysis of the program, an evaluation of its relevance and impact, and recommendations for future research and for program improvement.

Review of the 21st Century Truck Partnership (BEES)

Released 06.10.08 

Heavy-duty trucks and buses now consume about 21 percent of the fuel used for surface transportation in the United States.  As gasoline and diesel fuel prices have risen in the past few years, the pressure to find ways to increase fuel use efficiency by these trucks and buses has grown significantly.  In 2000, four federal agencies and 15 industrial partners formed the 21st Century Truck Partnership (21CTP) to manage a cooperative R&D effort towards a safer and more efficient fleet of vehicles.  In 2007, DOE—which now leads the partnership—asked the NRC to conduct an independent assessment of the 21CTP.  This report provides a discussion of the organization and background of the Partnership; an analysis of its management strategy and priority setting; and an assessment of the Partnership’s technical goals for engine systems and fuels, heavy-duty hybrid vehicles; reduction of parasitic energy losses, engine idle reduction, and safety.

Proceedings of a Workshop on Materials State Awareness (NMAB)

Released 06.01.08 

 The integrity of equipment used in military operations is critical for effective and safe use. In the past several years, the Air Force Research Lab has focused on the development of embedded sensing technologies—materials state awareness—as a means for ensuring this integrity.  Implementing such a system requires the solution to a host of complicated scientific and technical problems.  To help address these issues, the AFRL asked the NRC to hold a workshop on materials state awareness.  This report presents a set of extended abstracts of the speaker’s presentations.  They include key issues in materials state awareness; what is materials state awareness; the characteristics and properties that should be sensed and how that should be done; materials state awareness application issues, and the future of materials state awareness.

Review of NASA’s Exploration Technology Development Program: An Interim Report (ASEB)

Released 04.10.2008

To meet the objectives of the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE), NASA must develop a wide array of enabling technologies. For this purpose, NASA established the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP). Currently, ETDP has 22 projects underway. In the report accompanying the House-passed version of the FY2007 appropriations bill, the agency was directed to request from the NRC an independent assessment of the ETDP. This interim report provides an assessment of each of the 22 projects including a quality rating, an analysis of how effectively the research is being carried out, and the degree to which the research is aligned with the VSE. To the extent possible, the identification and discussion of various cross-cutting issues are also presented. Those issues will be explored and discussed in more detail in the final report.

Managing Space Radiation Risk in the New Era of Space Exploration (ASEB)

Released 03.31.08

As part of the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE), NASA is planning for humans to revisit the Moon and someday go to Mars. An important consideration in this effort is protection against the exposure to space radiation. That radiation might result in severe long-term health consequences for astronauts on such missions if they are not adequately shielded. To help with these concerns, NASA asked the NRC to further the understanding of the risks of space radiation, to evaluate radiation shielding requirements, and recommend a strategic plan for developing appropriate mitigation capabilities. This report presents an assessment of current knowledge of the radiation environment; an examination of the effects of radiation on biological systems and mission equipment; an analysis of current plans for radiation protection; and a strategy for mitigating the risks to VSE astronauts.