- Author
-
Milton, H. J.
- Title
- Selection of Preferred Metric Values for Design and Construction. Final Report.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Sponsor
- Department of the Navy, Alexandria, VA
- Report
-
NBS TN 990
December 1978
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
-
construction industry; buildings; metric system; series (mathematics); numbering systems; rational numbers; conversion; decision making; design; construction
- Identifiers
- metrication; si units
- Abstract
- This Technical Note contains a comprehensive examination of considerations involved in the selection of preferred metric values during the change to SI in the U.S. construction community. It has been prepared to assist those engaged in the conversion and rationalization of technical data for use in design and production to make informed judgments during the selection of metric values. The adoption of preferred metric values and the concomitant rationalization of the technical data base will be one of the main benefits of the change to metric (SI) units. The principal aim is to encourage the choice of simple, convenient, or preferred metric values and ranges of rational values, rather than exact or marginally rounded soft conversions of existing values which will generally require a second change to more workable numbers at a later stage. The Technical Note has three parts: (1) background information on number systems and properties of numbers, metric impact, and alternative conversion strategies; (2) alternative preferred number concepts for individual values, sets of related values, and series of preferred values; and, (3) a methodology for the determination and selection of preferred metric values in technical information by means of a manual or an automated approach.