Thermodynamics Research Center | NIST
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Material Measurement Laboratory /Applied Chemicals and Materials Division

Thermodynamics Research Center

TRC supplies industry and academia with critically evaluated property data, complete with provenance and uncertainty, to inform manufacturing, public health and safety, and research.

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Thermo Data Engine

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Web Thermo Tables

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Clathrate Hydrates

a molecule of ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate

Ionic Liquids

a periodic table colored by metallic classification

NIST Alloys

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Thermo Lit

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Thermo ML

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Thermo Plan

TRC

In 1942, the National Bureau of Standards created the Thermodynamics Research Center (TRC). Since then, our group has curated, evaluated, and distributed thermophysical property data, growing and adapting to respond to changing private and academic needs.

Over the years, our publications and databases have served as source data for scientific research and process design and our mission to supply relevant data has driven us to adapt. Our initial focus on thermophysical properties of organic materials has broadened to cover transport properties. Through collaboration with the Materials Genome Initiative, we expanded again to cover metallic systems.

Within the Applied Chemicals and Materials Division (ACMD), we also collaborate with the Fluid Characterization Group and the Thermophysical Properties of Fluids Group, building upon their efforts of precise measurements and accurate modeling, applying them to research produced by the thermophysical property community at large, and helping distribute state-of-the-art information.

Focus Areas

Publically available access to portions of TRC's critically evaluated thermophysical datasets are available:
     the Web Thermo Tables offer access for low-mass organic compounds
     and the NIST Alloy UI offers access for many metallic systems
 

The largest database developed by TRC is SOURCE, which supports projects including ThermoData Engine and Web Thermo Tables.

TRC also develops databases aimed at more specific systems, including Clathrate Hydrates and Ionic Liquids

Using our coverage of historically reported, TRC can assess likely impacts of proposed measurements through ThermoPlan.

Additionally, TRC offers researchers access to SOURCE bibliographic information through ThermoLit, assisting in literature review processes.

TRC and IUPAC created ThermoML, an human and machine readable XML-based format for storage and exchange of experimental data.

In cooperation with journal editors and authors, TRC maintains the ThermoML Archives, a repository for submitted manuscripts' ThermoML-formatted measurements.

Projects and Programs

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Artificial Intelligence for Chemical Manufacturing

Ongoing
The chemical manufacturing design process relies heavily on the recommended values that engineers and researchers usually obtain from handbooks and databases. Those sources often lack easy ways to judge the reliability of information, either in the sense of where the data come from or what the

Measuring Intermolecular Interactions with Electro-Acoustic Spectroscopy

Ongoing
We have a number of opportunities to collaborate with us. See below for details. What does this project aim to do for the chemical industry? Many industrial processes depend on the intermolecular environment- the solvents and ions that surround a molecule. These interactions impact separations

Contacts