Monthly Technical Articles
Explore our collection of articles written by engineers, for engineers. Categorized based on the COPE approach to assessing risk within a facility, the archives below contain essential information for the development of engineers in our field.
Electrical Design in Hazardous Areas
If you store, process or generate combustible liquids or dusts, the fire and explosion potential is reason enough to be concerned about the electrical design for the areas involved. The extent of the...
Water Supplies for Fire Protection
When analyzing an existing sprinkler system or designing a new system, one of the key factors is the available volume and pressure of the water supply. If the occupancy is such that the automatic...
Fire Protection under Mezzanines
Mezzanines are commonly used to maximize building space and ergonomics in both production and storage areas. The need for automatic sprinkler protection beneath a mezzanine with a solid deck/floor is...
Another Look at Seismic Protection for Sprinklers
Determining the need for seismic protection for a sprinkler system and designing the protection used to be a straightforward task. The designer would look on an Earthquake Zone Map in NFPA 13 to see...
Wildfires
Wildfires have always been a concern in the United States. There have been recent wildfires in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida. Wildfires can cause ignition to a building by: flying...
Sprinkler System Design Data
There was a time when hydraulic design of automatic sprinkler systems was unusual. The process was cumbersome and time consuming even for the simplest of pipe arrangements. Access to computers...
Minimizing Business Interruption
When most companies think of a disaster recovery program, the first issue that comes to mind is EDP operations. Do we have backup data or hot sites available? Is replacement equipment readily...
Automatic Sprinkler Performance
The Effectiveness of Automatic Sprinklers Automatic sprinklers are the most effective fire protection in buildings overall available. Based on studies and loss experience, when sprinklers are...
ESFR Sprinkler Summary
A hot topic involved in sprinkler design and installation is ESFR (Early Suppression Fast-Response) sprinklers. ESFR sprinklers have many benefits when it comes to warehouses and other storage...
Heat Transfer Systems
Heat transfer systems are used widely throughout various industries. Their most common use is in chemical processes where temperature control is needed for large quantities of materials. The greatest...
Solving the Problem of Pressure Reducing Valve Testing
Pressure reducing valves (PRV) are frequently used in high rise buildings to keep the pressure on sprinkler systems below the allowable maximum, typically 175 psi, when the supply to the systems can...
Hydraulic Fluids - Part 2
While they can be found in various occupancies including plastic injection molding, petroleum based hydraulic fluids are often used in metal working facilities. In most metal working operations,...