Life Safety and Fire Fighting Systems – The weakest link

Unlike ชนิดของpressuregauge , fire resistant cables need to work even when directly exposed to the fireplace to maintain important Life Safety and Fire Fighting tools working: Fire alarms, Emergency Lighting, Emergency Communication, Fire Sprinkler pumps, Fireman’s Lift sub-main, Smoke extraction followers, Smoke dampers, Stair pressurization fans, Emergency Generator circuits and so on.
In เกจวัดco2 to classify electrical cables as fireplace resistant they are required to undergo testing and certification. Perhaps the first common fireplace checks on cables have been IEC 331: 1970 and later BS6387:1983 which adopted a fuel ribbon burner check to supply a flame by which cables were positioned.
Since the revision of BS6387 in 1994 there have been eleven enhancements, revisions or new take a look at requirements introduced by British Standards for use and software of Fire Resistant cables however none of those seem to deal with the core issue that fire resistant cables where tested to common British and IEC flame test requirements usually are not required to carry out to the same fireplace performance time-temperature profiles as every different structure, system or element in a building. Specifically, where hearth resistant constructions, techniques, partitions, fire doors, fire penetrations fireplace limitations, floors, partitions and so on. are required to be fireplace rated by building rules, they are examined to the Standard Time Temperature protocol of BS476 elements 20 to 23 (also known as ISO834-1, ASNZS1530pt4, EN1363-1 and in America and Canada ASTM E119-75).
These exams are conducted in large furnaces to duplicate actual publish flashover fireplace environments. Interestingly, Fire Resistant cable take a look at standards like BS 6387CWZ, SS299, IEC 60331 BS8343-1 and a couple of, BS8491 solely require cables to be uncovered to a flame in air and to decrease ultimate check temperatures (than required by BS476 pts 20 to 23). Given Fire Resistant cables are prone to be uncovered in the same fireplace, and are wanted to make sure all Life Safety and Fire Fighting systems remain operational, this reality is probably stunning.
Contrastingly in Germany, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada Fire Resistant cable techniques are required to be tested to the identical hearth Time Temperature protocol as all other constructing components and that is the Standard Time Temperature protocol to BS476pts 20-23, IS0 834-1, EN1363-1 or ASTM E119-75 in USA.
The committees creating the standard drew on the steerage given from the International Fire Prevention Congress held in London in July 1903 and the measurements of furnace temperatures made in lots of fire tests carried out within the UK, Germany and the United States. The exams had been described in a collection of “Red Books” issued by the British Fire Prevention Committee after 1903 as nicely as those from the German Royal Technical Research Laboratory. The finalization of the ASTM standard was closely influenced by Professor I.H. Woolson, a Consulting Engineer of the USA National Board of Fire Underwriters and Chairman of the NFPA committee in Fire Resistive Construction who had carried out many exams at Columbia University and Underwriters Laboratories in Chicago. The small time temperature variations between the International ISO 834-1 test as we know it today and the America ASTM E119 / NFPA 251 tests doubtless stemmed from this time.
Image courtesy of MICC Ltd.
The curve as we see it at present (see graph above) has turn out to be the standard scale for measurement of fireside take a look at severity and has proved relevant for most above ground cellulosic buildings. When parts, buildings, components or methods are examined, the furnace temperatures are managed to adapt to the curve with a set allowable variance and consideration for preliminary ambient temperatures. The requirements require components to be tested in full scale and beneath conditions of help and loading as defined so as to represent as precisely as potential its features in service.
This Standard Time Temperature testing protocol (see graph right) is adopted by nearly all countries around the world for fire testing and certification of just about all constructing structures, elements, systems and elements with the interesting exception of fireside resistant cables (exception in USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, Belgium and New Zealand where hearth resistant cable methods are required to be tested and approved to the Standard Time Temperature protocol, just like all other building constructions, elements and components).
It is necessary to grasp that utility standards from BS, IEC, ASNZS, DIN, UL etc. the place fire resistive cables are specified to be used, are only ‘minimum’ requirements. We know today that fires are not all the identical and research by Universities, Institutions and Authorities around the globe have recognized that Underground and some Industrial environments can exhibit very different hearth profiles to those in above floor cellulosic buildings. Specifically in confined underground public areas like Road and Rail Tunnels, Underground Shopping facilities, Car Parks fire temperatures can exhibit a really quick rise time and might attain temperatures nicely above these in above ground buildings and in far much less time. In USA right now electrical wiring methods are required by NFPA 502 (Road Tunnels, Bridges and other Limited Access Highways) to face up to fireplace temperatures up to 1,350 Degrees C for 60 minutes and UK British Standard BS8519:2010 clearly identifies underground public areas such as car parks as “Areas of Special Risk” the place more stringent test protocols for essential electrical cable circuits may need to be thought-about by designers.
Standard Time Temperature curves (Europe and America) plotted in opposition to frequent BS and IEC cable tests.
Of course all underground environments whether road, rail and pedestrian tunnels, or underground public environments like purchasing precincts, car parks etc. may exhibit different fire profiles to those in above floor buildings because In these environments the heat generated by any fireplace can’t escape as easily as it might in above ground buildings thus relying more on heat and smoke extraction equipment.
For Metros Road and Rail Tunnels, Hospitals, Health care facilities, Underground public environments like shopping precincts, Very High Rise, Theaters, Public Halls, Government buildings, Airports and so on. this is notably necessary. Evacuation of those public environments is commonly gradual even throughout emergencies, and it is our responsibility to make sure everyone is given the easiest likelihood of secure egress throughout fireplace emergencies.
It can be understood right now that copper Fire Resistant cables where put in in galvanized metal conduit can fail prematurely throughout fire emergency because of a reaction between the copper conductors and zinc galvanizing inside the metallic conduit. In 2012 United Laboratories (UL®) in America eliminated all certification for Fire Resistive cables the place installed in galvanized steel conduit for that reason:
UL® Quote: “A concern was brought to our consideration associated to the performance of those products within the presence of zinc. We validated this discovering. As a result of this, we changed our Guide Information to point that each one conduit and conduit fittings that are available contact with fireplace resistive cables should have an interior coating free of zinc”.
Time temperature profile of tunnel fires utilizing cars, HGV trailers with totally different cargo and rail carriages. Graph extract: Haukur Ingason and Anders Lonnermark of the Swedish National Testing and Research Institute who offered the paper on the First International Symposium in Prague 2004: Safe and Reliable Tunnels.
It would appear that some Standards authorities around the world might have to evaluation the current check methodology at present adopted for fire resistive cable testing and maybe align the performance of Life Safety and Fire Fighting wiring systems with that of all the other fireplace resistant structures, parts and systems in order that Architects, building designers and engineers know that after they want a fireplace rating that the essential wiring system will be equally rated.
For many energy, management, communication and information circuits there’s one technology obtainable which might meet and surpass all current fireplace tests and purposes. It is an answer which is frequently used in demanding public buildings and has been employed reliably for over 80 years. MICC cable technology can provide a complete and complete reply to all the issues related to the fire safety risks of recent flexible natural polymer cables.
The metallic jacket, magnesium oxide insulation and conductors of MICC cables ensure the cable is successfully hearth proof. Bare MICC cables haven’t any organic content so merely can’t propagate flame or generate any smoke. The zero fuel-load of those MICC cables ensures no warmth is added to the hearth and no oxygen is consumed. Being inorganic these MICC cables can’t generate any halogen or poisonous gasses at all together with Carbon Monoxide. MICC cable designs can meet the entire current and constructing fireplace resistance efficiency standards in all nations and are seeing a major improve in use globally.
Many engineers have previously thought-about MICC cable know-how to be “old school’ however with the model new analysis in fire performance MICC cable system are actually confirmed to have far superior hearth performances than any of the newer extra modern versatile fireplace resistant cables.
For further data, go to www.temperature-house.com
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