A Financial Incentive for Building Owners to Install an Automatic Sprinkler System
There are thousands of buildings in the United States that were built involving building codes that did not require automatic sprinkler protection. Most of them now have grandfather status and are...
A Closer Look at Suppression-Mode Upright Sprinklers
Our August 2003 article briefly described the different types of suppression-mode sprinklers. We'll now explain the reasons leading to the development of suppression -mode upright heads. When...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Fire Protection for Air Preheaters
Although fires in air preheaters (ap's) of US power plants are infrequent, the result can be extensive damage and downtime of several months. Here, we consider steps that can be taken to minimize the...
Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) - Part 2
In our April 2000 article, we detailed what microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is and what it can do to fire protection system (FPS) piping. This is a continuation of our previous...
FM 200 vs. Inergen
Halon was the extinguishing agent of choice used up until the early 1990's. It provided a high level of property protection with very little secondary damage. The Montreal Protocol changed all this....