The Defense Systems Information Analysis Center received a technical inquiry for any public distribution material property databases near STP conditions, specifically for thermal and radiative properties of materials.  No mention was made if the materials should be metals, nonmetals, ceramics, etc., but the inquirer specifically mentioned material reflectivity and thermal properties.  There are nine publicly available databases or repositories described in this report.

1.0  Introduction

One example of an existing database is the Ecosystems Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS).  However, ECOSTRESS lacks many man‑made materials and has a relatively scattered schema of mostly diffuse reflectance, mostly natural, and mostly pure materials.  The inquirer is looking for resources that cover man‑made/mixed/coated materials (potentially non-Lambertian), as well as a database with thermal properties, such as heat capacity, conductivity, and emissivity/transmissivity.  Anything along these lines and in the public domain is considered responsive.

As a clarification, the inquirer provided context from material taken from the National Materials Information System (NAMIS) database hosted by the Defense Systems Information Analysis Center (DSIAC).  The NAMIS database includes material properties for high-temperature applications.  The inquirer was looking more in the neighborhood of –20 °C to 250 °C types of conditions (nearer to STP than plasma).  As part of the search, DSIAC identified several online repositories of measured optical data about various materials. Nine publicly available databases are presented that provide information on thermal and radiative material properties near STP conditions.  This report gives a summary of each, while it is up to the user to dive deeper into each database.

1.1  Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF)

The MERL BRDF database contains reflectance functions of 100 different materials [1].  Each reflectance function is stored as a densely measured BRDF.  MERL provides this data only for research or academic use.  Sample code to read the data is included with the database.  The database appears to have been last updated in 2007.

1.2  Columbia-Utrecht Reflectance and Texture Database (CUReT)

Researchers at Columbia University and Utrecht University have collaborated in an extensive investigation of the visual appearance of real-world surfaces, resulting in CUReT [2].  This joint effort, sponsored in part by REALISE of the European Commission, the National Science Foundation, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency/Office of Naval Research under the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiatives Grant No. N00014-95-1-0601 has resulted in three databases:

1. BRDF database with reflectance measurements for over 60 different samples, each observed with over 200 different combinations of viewing and illumination directions.
2. BRDF parameter database with fitting parameters from two recent BRDF models:  the Oren-Nayar model and the Koenderink et al. representation [3].  These BRDF parameters can be directly used for both image analysis and image synthesis.
3. Bidirectional texture function database with image textures from over 60 different samples, each observed with over 200 different combinations of viewing and illumination directions.

Each of these databases is made publicly available for research purposes.

1.3  Engineering Toolbox

The Engineering Toolbox website [4] has data on several different materials.  The material provided is basic, but it is a good starting point.

1.4  USGS database

The U.S. Geological Service (USGS) has ample data on natural materials.  Researchers at the USGS Spectroscopy Laboratory have measured the spectral reflectance of thousands of materials in the lab and compiled them in the USGS Spectral Library [5].

The spectral library was assembled to facilitate laboratory and field spectroscopy and remote sensing for identifying and mapping minerals, vegetation, and man-made materials.  For many of the samples, wavelength coverage spans the ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, mid-infrared, and far-infrared regions (0.2–200 mm).  A wide range of materials is included in the library:  minerals and soils (including rocks and mineral mixtures), coatings on rock surfaces, liquids (including mixtures of liquids, water, other volatiles, and frozen volatiles), organic compounds (including biochemical constituents of plants and chemical compounds), man-made materials (including materials introduced into the environment by human activity), vegetation, and other biologic materials.  Detailed sample descriptions are provided with the spectra, including the results of x-ray diffraction, electron probe micro-analysis, and other analytical methods.

1.5  ThermoLit

The ThermoLit web application provides free and open access to literature information contained in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SOURCE Data Archive and provides an easy-to-use tool for generating a NIST literature report in portable document format [6].  The tool is intended to aid researchers and reviewers in determining relevant literature sources for a given experimental measurement; however, it is not intended to replace the comprehensive literature review required by all journals and no guarantee is made regarding completeness of the information provided.  For an analysis of the comparative impact a particular measurement may have, the ThermoPlan web application is recommended [7].

1.6  NIST-Joint Army-Navy-air Force (JANAF) Thermochemical Tables

The NIST-JANAF Thermochemical Tables [8] provide tables of enthalpies (H) and Gibbs energies of formation (G) for more than 1,000 chemical species in solid, liquid, and gas phases.  They were last updated in 1998.

1.7  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Open-Source Blackbody Visual Basic Applications (VBA) Excel Functions

The NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center developed a set of computer functions that can be used in predicting the behavior of heated surfaces named the Open-Source Blackbody VBA [9].  These routines include functions for calculating important engineering quantities of primary importance to engineers and scientists, such as radiative flux and spectral distributions.  In addition, the routines also provide the capability to use such information to determine surface temperatures from spectral intensities and to calculate the sensitivity of these temperature measurements to unknowns in the input parameters.

1.8  Automated Database Generation

The number of materials and coatings being developed is increasing at a very rapid pace, meaning that any static database will quickly be made obsolete.  There is an effort to build an automated database on materials hosted on the web.  A recent, open-access paper by Talley et al. details the effort [10].  The database being developed is available online [11].

1.9  Thermophysical Properties of Matter:  The Thermophysical Properties Research Center (TPRC) Data Series

The Thermophysical Properties of Matter Database (TPMD) is curated by Cindas LLC and contains data and information on thermophysical properties [12].  This is the searchable, electronic version of Thermophysical Properties of Matter:  the TPRC Data Series shown in Table 1 [13].  TPMD is available in a web-based format.  The database is continually updated and expanded.  It contains over 5,200 materials categorized into 94 material groups, 148 properties, and 53,241 data curves.

Table 1:  Summary of Statistical Data on Thermophysical Properties of Matter:  The TPRC Data Series [13]

The original data series was published during the 1970s–80s and is also available in the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) Research and Engineering (R&E) Gateway as a total of 14 volumes.  This is a comprehensive compilation of data by TPRC at Purdue University.  The Master Index is available through the DTIC R&D Gateway by searching the accession number ADA129117 [13].

Specifically, in terms of thermal radiative properties, the DTIC accession numbers are as follows:

• Volume 1: ADA129294 [14]
• Volume 2: ADA951936 [15]
• Volume 3: ADA951937 [16]
• Volume 7: ADA951941 [17]
• Volume 8: ADA951942 [18]
• Volume 9: ADA951943 [19]

REFERENCES

[1]  Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories.  MERL BRDF Database:  Version 2.0.  http://www.merl.com/brdf/, February 2006.

[2]  Dana, K. J., B. Van Ginneken, S. K. Nayar, and J. J. Koenderink.  CUReT:  Columbia-Utrecht Reflectance and Texture Database.  Columbia University, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/CAVE/software/curet/, accessed on 30 January 2023.

[3]  Koenderink, J. J., A. J. van Doorn, and M. Stavridi.  “Bidirectional Reflection Distribution Function Expressed in Terms of Surface Scattering Modes.”  ECCV `96 4^th European Conference on Computer Vision Proceedings, vol. 2, pp. 28–39, 15 April 1996.

[4]  Engineering Toolbox.  The Engineering Toolbox.  https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/light-material-reflecting-factor-d_1842.html, accessed on 30 January 2023.

[5]  U.S. Geological Service.  USGS Spectral Library.  https://www.usgs.gov/labs/spectroscopy-lab/science/spectral-library, accessed on 30 January 2023.

[6]  The National Institute of Standards and Technology.  ThermoLit:  NIST Literature Report Builder for Thermophysical and Thermochemical Property Measurements.  https://trc.nist.gov/thermolit/main/home.html#home, 2 February 2016.

[7]  The National Institute of Standards and Technology.  ThermoPlan:  Experimental Planning and Coverage Evaluation Aid for Thermophysical Property Measurements.  https://trc.nist.gov/thermoplan/main/home.html, accessed on 30 January 2023.

[8]  The National Institute of Standards and Technology.  “NIST-JANAF Thermochemical Tables.”  https://janaf.nist.gov/, 1998.

[9]  NASA Technology Transfer Program.  “Materials and Processes:  Predict the Behavior of Blackbody Heated Surfaces.”  DRC-015-017, https://software.nasa.gov/software/DRC-015-017, accessed on 30 January 2023.

[10]  Talley, K. R., R. White, N. Wunder, M. Eash, M. Schwarting, D. Evenson, J. D. Perkins, W. Tumas, K. Munch, C. Phillips, and A. Zakutayev.  “Research Data Infrastructure for High‑Throughput Experimental Materials Science.”  Patterns 2, https://www.cell.com/patterns/pdf/S2666-3899(21)00235-X.pdf, 10 December 2021.

[11]  National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  High Throughput Experimental Materials Database (HTEM).  https://htem.nrel.gov, accessed on 30 January 2023.

[12]  CINDAS LLC.  The Thermophysical Properties of Matter Database (TPMD).  https://cindasdata.com/products/tpmd, accessed on 30 January 2023.

[13]  Touloukian, Y. S., and C. Y. Ho.  “Thermophysical Properties of Matter—The TPRC Data Series, Volume 14.  Master Index to Materials and Properties.”  DTIC Accession Number ADA129117, Thermophysical and Electronic Properties Information Analysis Center, Lafayette, IN, 1 January 1979.

[14]  Touloukian, Y. S., R. W. Powell, C. Y. Ho, and P. G. Klemens.  “Thermophysical Properties of Matter—The TPRC Data Series, Volume 1.  Thermal Conductivity—Metallic Elements and Alloys.”  DTIC Accession Number ADA951935, Thermophysical and Electronic Properties Information Analysis Center, Lafayette, IN, 1 January 1970.

[15]  Touloukian, Y. S., R. W. Powell, C. Y. Ho, and P. G. Klemens.  “Thermophysical Properties of Matter—The TPRC Data Series, Volume 2.  Thermal Conductivity—Nonmetallic Solids.”  DTIC Accession Number ADA951936, Thermophysical and Electronic Properties Information Analysis Center, Lafayette, IN, 1 January 1971.

[16]  Touloukian, Y. S., P. E. Liley, and S. C. Saxena.  “Thermophysical Properties of Matter—The TPRC Data Series, Volume 3.  Thermal Conductivity—Nonmetallic Liquids and Gases.”  DTIC Accession Number ADA951937, Thermophysical and Electronic Properties Information Analysis Center, Lafayette, IN,  1 January 1970.

[17]  Touloukian, Y. S., and D. P. DeWitt.  “Thermophysical Properties of Matter—The TPRC Data Series, Volume 7.  Thermal Radiative Properties—Metallic Elements and Alloys.”  DTIC Accession Number ADA951941, Thermophysical and Electronic Properties Information Analysis Center, Lafayette, IN, 1 January 1970.

[18]  Touloukian, Y. S., and D. P. DeWitt.  “Thermophysical Properties of Matter—The TPRC Data Series, Volume 8.  Thermal Radiative Properties—Nonmetallic Solids.”  DTIC Accession Number ADA951942, Thermophysical and Electronic Properties Information Analysis Center, Lafayette, IN, 1 January 1972.

[19]  Touloukian, Y. S., D. P. DeWitt, and R. S. Hernicz.  “Thermophysical Properties of Matter—The TPRC Data Series, Volume 9.  Thermal Radiative Properties—Coatings.”  DTIC Accession Number ADA951943, Thermophysical and Electronic Properties Information Analysis Center, Lafayette, IN, 1 January 1972.