Tyco Fire Protection Products showcased its expertise in water mist suppression options at the International Water Mist Association (IWMA) Conference in Istanbul. Dr Tim Nichols, Sales Director Water Mist EMEA, gave a presentation entitled ‘Fire Protection of Compact Archive Storage using Water Mist’, the place he mentioned how the extinguishant is nicely suited to the safety of irreplaceable works and artefacts in extremely valuable buildings.
Tim’s lecture targeted on a fire check protocol that was formulated to verify the performance and use of Tyco’s own water mist solution, AquaMist, in an historic building, house to precious archive storage. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 750 normal requires that, when employing a water mist suppression system, fire testing is undertaken pertinent to the risk. However, of the printed fire take a look at protocols listed in NFPA 750, none particulars the requirements for archives that include curler (compact) racking. Many of the racks within the focused building are of the ‘roller’ sort, which restrict the amount of area for building companies, including these for extinguishing system pipework.
Together with the project stakeholders, Tyco devised the protocol to incorporate check rig and format, take a look at type, hearth load, information acquisition (for instance, sensors and imaging), hardware required (such as pumps, nozzles, pipe, tank, generator), and health and security procedures (for instance, the hearth brigade). The associated efficiency based hearth checks had been then designed to copy the vary of software parameters associated with archive storage.
While ignition sources on the unique website have been identified to be minimal, and the primary fireplace source confirmed as arson, the multi-level constructing poses quite a few challenges that had to be considered when formulating the fire check protocol to guarantee efficient safety. Low ceilings and quite a few obstructions, similar to lighting, ducts and pillars, contribute in the course of the confined surroundings of the archive storage basement level. เกจวัดแรงดันลมคือ are saved in a mixture of open racks and compact racks, which offer lower than a 150mm hole between themselves and the ceiling, and there’s restricted on-site water storage. Pre-test danger analysis additionally highlighted restricted access and exits under and above ground, so it’s important for storage space to be maximised and safe egress provided in case of the occasion of a fireplace. In addition, the highly useful nature of the storage contents meant that the selected fireplace suppression resolution had to make sure minimal injury to those historical objects.
To achieve validation, the tests needed to meet varied objectives. These comprised speedy management of the hearth inside a prescribed space (in this case, outlined as inside a block of racks); control of temperature; attenuation of radiation; and minimisation of collateral harm via water clean-up. They also needed to take into account varied parameters, together with the specified high pressure mist system; a 30 minute run time; and an annual measurable achievement goal (AMAO) defined according to a formulation primarily based on the quantity of nozzles activating throughout testing.
The fireplace checks, carried out for both open and roller racks with minimum storage gaps, have been undertaken in a personalized check rig, designed, built and fitted to replicate the exact specification, racking arrangements and storage supplies of the site. Considered a high load, the fuel materials were identical to that present in archive storage, together with paper, books, micro-film and CD instances.
Success was defined by cross or fail criteria and decided by detailed quantitative measurements on system configuration, hydraulic analysis, discharge strain, discharge sequence, fire spread, temperature, fire damage and water consumption. In both checks, Tyco’s AquaMist system operated successfully and was observed to suppress and control the fire effectively. The challenge team was impressed by the lack of fireside and smoke damage to the materials and structure and the product has since been put in within the constructing in query.
“The IWMA convention is a unbelievable opportunity to spotlight the advantages of water mist as a fireplace suppression resolution, in addition to show its versatility in a variety of functions,” comments Dr Tim Nichols. “Identifying a gap out there and taking the chance to formulate a fireplace take a look at protocol for archive storage enabled us to validate the professional capabilities of our AquaMist system and facilitate safety of a customer’s highly priceless assets.”
For extra information, go to www.tfppemea.com
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