Computers: Fire Protection
Buildings housing computer centers should be of made of noncombustible construction materials to reduce the chance of fire. These facilities must be continuously monitored for temperature, humidity, water leakage, smoke, and fire. Most building codes today require that sprinkler systems be installed.
Remember that water and electrical equipment do not mix. It is preferable to install a dry pipe sprinkler rather than a wet pipe system. Dry pipe systems only allow water into the pipes after heat is sensed. This avoids potential wet pipe problems, such as leakage. In addition, fast-acting sensors can be installed to shut down electricity before water sprinklers are activated. Sprinkler heads
A sprinkler system consists of pipes along a ceiling that contain water under pressure, with an additional source of water for a constant flow. Attached to the pipes, automatic sprinklers are placed at select locations. When a fire occurs, a seal in the sprinkler head ruptures at a pre-established temperature, and a steady stream of water flows.
Research compiled by Hall (2011) shows that sprinklers are an effective and reliable fire suppression strategy for buildings. However, he writes that sprinklers are still rare in most places where people are most exposed to fire, including educational buildings, stores and offices, public assembly properties, and especially homes, where most fire deaths occur. Hall notes that sprinklers are 87 percent effective. When a sprinkler system fails, the most frequent reason (65%) is that the system was turned off prior to the fire. Other reasons include manual intervention that defeated the system (16%), maintenance issues (7%), and inappropriate system for the type of fire (5%).
A sprinkler system is a worthwhile investment for reducing fire losses. Lower insurance premiums actually can pay for the system over time. 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, provides best practices for system design, installation, water supplies, and equipment. Also helpful as a “standard of care” and for protection in case of litigation is adhering to NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems. Failing to update inspection documentation with an insurer can affect coverage (Morton, 2011: 30). The AHJ may also be interested in such documentation.
There are several kinds of automatic sprinkler systems. Two popular ones are the wet-pipe and the dry-pipe systems. With the wet-pipe system
), water is in the pipes at all times and is released when heat ruptures the seal in the sprinkler head. This is the most common system and is applicable where freezing is no threat to its operation. Where freezing temperatures and broken pipes are a problem, the dry-pipe system is useful. Air pressure is maintained in the pipes until a sprinkler head ruptures. Then the air escapes, and water enters the pipes and exits through the opened sprinklers; because of this delay, dry-pipe systems are not as effective as wet-pipe systems during the early stages of a fire
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Figure 13-4. Total concept of the wet-pipe automatic sprinkler system.
Older buildings may have pipes that apply fire-suppressant chemicals such as carbon dioxide or Halon. Fire codes now prohibit these chemicals. The former absorbs oxygen, creating a danger to humans, whereas the latter depletes the earth’s ozone layer.
Results and discussions
3.1 Investigation of fire safety predictors
The fire safety strategies for almost 1000 fire incidents are investigated in the BC province of Canada. Fig. 2 shows three of the investigated safety strategies for the first 25 fire incidents. In the initial detection strategies, it is found that 67% of the fire incidents were detected visually. It is followed by a smoke alarm device and smoke detector device with 15.6% and 13.9% of the fire incidents, respectively. Regarding the transmission of alarm to fire department, 57.8% of the fires had telephone tie-line to fire department; the coded signal municipal fire alarm system, including telephone and radio systems, is associated with 38.8%, as the second high, of the recorded fires in MURBs. Concerning the taken actions, it is found that around 45% of the fire incidents wer
Koubachi [47] is a mobile application water sprinkler system that automatically waters plants in a garden in an optimized way. The sensor attached to the plants collects the sunlight intensity levels, water levels, moisture, and temperature information. The device controls the water valves and sprinkler system as and when required. 6LoWPAN, a wireless networking protocol, is supported by the device to connect to the gateway through the Internet. Several sensors can be added in the soil to form a mesh, which enables each device to act as a transceiver. Mobile applications are available for both Android and iOS to see the real-time data from anywhere in the world.Traditional to smart irrigation
In the past, the farmers prefer to use surface irrigation methods, especially flood or boarder, to irrigate most of the grain and fodder crops due to their simplicity and low operational costs. Such surface irrigation methods are less efficient and require regular presence of the irrigator in order to turn off the irrigation once reached at the other end (tail). These less efficient irrigation methods have been replaced with high efficiency irrigation system (HEIS) like drip and sprinkler systems. Both surface and subsurface irrigation systems are in practice in various parts of the world. The center pivot systems are also getting popularity especially for fodder crop in sandy soils.
The advent of sensors and cellular communication has made it possible to revitalize HEIS into more efficient automated system that may reduce irrigator’s labor as well as provide irrigation when and how much is required. Sprinklers and drip irrigation systems with sensing devices, nozzles, and controllers that impro
What Does Sprinkler System Mean?
A sprinkler system is a fire fighting device that is installed in buildings as a preventative measure. The sprinkler heads are placed in the ceilings facing toward either the floor or towards any fire hit spots. The other end of the sprinkler system is connected to a number of pipes and a high pressure water supply. A fire sprinkler system is designed to put out a fire during its infancy stage before it develops.
Sprinkler System
Fire sprinkler systems work by way of a heat sensor bulb that is contained in the head of the system. If a fire starts, the heat from the flames will rise to heat the sprinkler sensor. When the heat exceeds a set point, the sensor bulb will break and the water will spray out onto the fire. A sprinkler system is an automatic system.
designed a sprinkler system in the 15th century. Leonardo automated his patron’s kitchen with a super-oven and a system of conveyor belts. In a comedy of errors, everything went wrong during a huge banquet, and a fire broke out. “The sprinkler system worked all too well, causing a flood that washed away all the food and a good part of the kitchen.”[3][better source needed]
Ambrose Godfrey created the first successful automated sprinkler system in 1723.[4][full citation needed] He used gunpowder to release a tank of extinguishing fluid.[4][full citation needed]
The world’s first modern recognizable sprinkler system was installed in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the United Kingdom in 1812 by its architect, William Congreve, and was covered by patent No. 3606 dated the same year.[citation needed] The apparatus consisted of a cylindrical airtight reservoir of 400 hogsheads (c. 95,000 litres) fed by a 10-inch (250 mm) water main which branched to all parts of the theatre. A series of smaller pipes fed from the distribution pipe were pierced with a series of 1⁄2-inch (13 mm) holes which would pour water in the event of a fire.[citation needed]
Frederick Grinnell improved Henry S. Parmalee’s design and in 1881 patented the automatic sprinkler that bears his name.[5] He continued to improve the device and in 1890 invented the glass disc sprinkler,[6] essentially the same as that in use today
“Until the 1940s, sprinklers were installed almost exclusively for the protection of commercial buildings, whose owners were generally able to recoup their expenses with savings in insurance costs. Over the years, fire sprinklers have become mandatory safety equipment”[8] in some parts of North America, in certain occupancies, including, but not limited to newly constructed “hospitals, schools, hotels and other public buildings”,[8] subject to the local building codes and enforcement. However, outside of the US and Canada, sprinklers have rarely been mandated by building codes for normal hazard occupancies which do not have large numbers of occupants (e.g. factories, process lines, retail outlets, petrol stations, etc.)
Sprinklers are now commonly installed in non-industrial buildings, including schools and residential premises. This is largely as a result of lobbying by the National Fire Sprinkler Network, the European Fire Sprinkler Network, and the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association.
Usage