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| Smoke Pressure Systems (SPS) |
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The use of smoke pressure systems (SPS) prevents rooms from filling with smoke and thus becoming deadly traps. SP systems keep escape and evacuation routes, such as staircases or indoor corridors, free of smoke in case of fire. This is ensured by installing a system that has been planned and subsequently manufactured to meet the specific requirements of the building. The individual components are linked into an integrated system and work together perfectly. As soon as the SPS has been installed and calibrated, it functions fully automatically. If a fire breaks out, it automatically starts up as soon as a fire alarm detects smoke. It can, of course, also be activated manually. SPS components: Once activated, the following functions are triggered simultaneously:
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| What is SPS? |
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Virtually every type of combustion produces fumes that can be more or less toxic. For example, during the fire catastrophe at Düsseldorf airport in 1966, the burning electrical cables in the ducts produced toxic smoke that proved to be fatal for the travellers. Ultimately it is the smoke that threatens the life and health of humans. Inhaling hot fumes just once to full lung capacity can mean certain death. A person immediately becomes disorientated before panicking, losing consciousness and ultimately becoming utterly helpless. SPS components: Once activated, the following functions are triggered simultaneously: This overpressure prevents the smoke or fumes from an area that is on fire from accessing the escape and evacuation routes. The fresh air fan installed in the basement or on the ground floor sucks fresh air in through an air duct from the outside and blows it through the escape and evacuation route. This suction duct is fireproof, made from L90. STG-BEIKIRCH uses SP systems, for example, in: For more information, please go to www.STG-BEIKIRCH.de Editorial contact / Author: STG-BEIKIRCH GmbH & Co. KG |
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| IP protection classes |
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Technical specifications for electronic equipment often mention protection classes, IP classes, IP codes or similar classifications. But what does IP actually mean? According to DIN EN 60 529, IP is the abbreviation for International Protection, although the term Ingress Protection is used in English-speaking regions. DIN EN 60 529 stipulates the types of protection offered by the housing (IP code) and defines protection classes and standards that indicate the environmental loads in terms of contact, foreign matter and moisture penetration to which a system can be exposed without suffering any damage. The type of protection is always designated by the prefix IP followed by a two-digit number. This number indicates the scope of protection against contact and/or foreign matter (first digit) and moisture (second digit) offered by the appliance. The first digit indicates the appliance's level of protection against penetration by solid matter and against contact. Example: An appliance classified as IP 54 is protected against dust (although dust can still penetrate under permanent exposure) and sprayed water (but not against pressure jets of water). One important factor not included in IP classification is the sensitivity of the equipment to heat or cold. Symbols have also been assigned to the IP classes. IP classification tests provide only a momentary analysis. They do not cover long-term damages, such as corrosion, condensate, chemical substances, etc. IFT Rosenheim is currently examining the issue of IP tests and long-term analyses using practical tests under real conditions. Practical example: Drives for opening and closing facade and roof windows. Southern European manufacturers of drives for this field of application frequently and regrettably indicate high IP classes, especially for chain drives. Chain drives are open structures. Because of its design, water and foreign matter penetrate the outlet of the chain. Result Both the intended application and installation need to be taken into consideration, not just the IP classification tests. |
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| What is the point of natural smoke extraction? |
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| Since the earliest days of civilisation, fire and smoke have not only been two of "man's" most important tools; they have also been two of our biggest enemies. The growing number of fire catastrophes, which not only cause enormous damage to property but also cost innumerable human lives, are the reason why fire fighting is growing in importance. Smoke and heat extraction systems play a central role in fire protection concepts, since it is not possible to fully prevent fires in buildings. The danger of a fire lies not in the fire itself or the heat, but in particular in the smoke and toxic fumes it causes. Ultimately it is the smoke that threatens the life and health of humans. The primary task of fire prevention is to keep escape and evacuation routes free of smoke. People trapped in burning buildings must be given the chance to get themselves to safety. Rescue teams must be able to rescue humans, animals and property and minimise the consequential damages caused by fire. Although structural fire protection has now reached a stage of development that ensures that people are hardly ever injured or killed directly by fire in the solid buildings that are now commonplace, they do still die from the extremely toxic fumes. In virtually 90% of all cases of "fire victims", death is caused by smoke and fumes that attack the building, block escape and extinguishing routes and can carry the fire over into other parts of the building. Fire victims are smoke victims! Inhaling hot fumes just once to full lung capacity can mean certain death. A person immediately becomes disorientated before panicking, losing consciousness and ultimately becoming utterly helpless. Death from fumes is caused by the fatal toxic components of smoke. At the same time, the so-called "corrosive components" cauterise both the lungs and respiratory tract when inhaled. The combination of these two effects usually causes the poisoning and considerable internal injuries suffered by fire victims. This is why it is so important to ensure that smoke - which forms in enormous quantities in just a short space of time, even if the fire itself is only minor - is expelled quickly and carefully. Particularly flammable building materials used for heat insulation or soundproofing generate extremely large quantities of fumes when they catch fire. For example, 10 kg of burning foam rubber produce 25,000 m³ of fumes in just one hour, i.e., a staircase measuring 15 m in height would be completely filled with smoke 100 times over if just a little bit of foam rubber were to catch fire. The best solution to combating the threat posed by products caused by fire, such as fumes, oxides and thermal energy, is to expel the smoke outdoors. This important task is performed by smoke and heat extraction systems, which efficiently transport the smoke out of the building. Rooms and buildings that are not equipped with SHE are completely enveloped in fumes within just a few minutes. Active and passive rescue are rendered impossible by this layer of fumes! The fumes expose the building to thermal stress that can cause the structure to collapse. As such, smoke and heat extraction equipment has become an indispensable component of fire protection concepts. How does smoke extraction actually work? Natural smoke extraction makes use of thermal lift - using fresh air vents close to ground level and discharge air vents that are preferably located up near or in the ceiling - to bind the smoke into a stable layer of fumes contained by a borderline above the area in which people are located. The black toxic layer of fumes is contained above this borderline, the layer of fumes containing less smoke is below it. When using this method of smoke extraction, care must be taken to prevent swirling air at the borderline between the layers of fumes since this could cause the toxic layer of fumes to descend into the area containing less smoke. The smoke can be extracted using natural extraction or mechanical extraction systems. The products caused by fire, such as smoke, heat and hot fumes, ascend to form a layer of smoke and fumes beneath the ceiling. As the fire progresses, this layer of fumes becomes increasingly dense and envelops the entire room within just a short space of time. The natural smoke extraction system uses the principle of thermal lift to expel this layer out of the building even as the fire is just starting. The requisite fresh air vents ensure the necessary compensation of the mass flow and reinforce the thermal lift effect (chimney effect). The corresponding smoke extraction equipment must, however, be sufficiently protected against external wind influences. The air flow in the room - especially in the case of fires in large rooms - plays a major role in the dissipation and expulsion of fumes. This air flow is, in turn, influenced by the pressure distribution of external wind. This interaction usually means that so-called zone models for describing smoke dissipation are generally not suitable. By contrast, smoke dissipation across side walls with incorporation of wind influence can be easily tested on smaller scale models in wind tunnels. These studies show that the opening of discharge and fresh air vents in the side walls must be determined by the wind direction. Since these openings always have to be located on the lee side, natural smoke extraction and fresh air vents must be installed in at least two opposite walls of the building. DIN 18232 Part 2 offers a detailed description of the requirements and dimensions for natural smoke and heat extraction systems. The advantage of natural smoke extraction lies in its ability to increase extraction performance as temperatures rise, thus enabling it to expel the additionally ensuing volume of fumes. Mechanical smoke extraction systems expel a consistent volume of fumes using ventilators. This process is well suited for low fire temperatures. At higher temperatures, however, the consistent flow volume of the ventilators may not be able to cope sufficiently with the increasing flows caused by rising temperatures. Skylight domes, arcade rooflights, glass pyramids, tilting or folding flaps ... Various approaches to installing SHE openings are possible, depending on the type of building and its architecture. SHE openings on flat roofs can be designed as skylight domes, arcade rooflights or glass pyramids. Tilting or folding flaps are suitable for sloping or shed roofs. SHE openings are most frequently installed into outer walls using the widest range of flap shapes. The size, type and positioning of the opening element are crucial to achieve the optimal effect of natural smoke extraction. Care must be taken to ensure that the fumes can, if at all possible, flow out of the building unhindered by the window flaps themselves or other structural obstacles, such as wall spurs, stairs, ventilation ducts, etc. Components of a smoke extraction system An SHE safety drive is needed to open and close the SHE openings. This can be a servo powered 24V drive, such as a spindle drive, chain drive or rack-and-pinion drive. The choice of drive depends on the building. The discharge air and fresh air flaps can be quickly opened using an electrically or pneumatically driven gas spring system. This system is not, however, suitable for daily ventilation. A pneumatic cylinder opens the flap using compressed air or CO2 gas. The SHE control centre controls the SHE drives. It registers fire alarms, monitors malfunctions and controls the ventilation functions. Integrated batteries provide emergency power to maintain operational readiness for 72 hours in the event of a power outage. The pneumatic operating station is fitted with CO2 capsules. The system is triggered by breaking the glass and activating the button. Manual fire alarms report a manual activation of the SHE system. Signal lamps display the states "Operational readiness", "SHE activation" and "Malfunction". Automatic fire alarms detect fires independently. The choice between manual or automatic fire alarm is determined, amongst other factors, by the fire protection concept and local conditions. An anemometer that records wind speed and direction ensures that only the flaps on the lee side are opened to extract smoke. The measured values are analysed by the SHE control centre. Since the 24 V SHE safety drives are also suitable for ventilation purposes, the drives can be activated using buttons for manual ventilation, thermostats and humidistats for automatic ventilation and connections for computer-controlled ventilation using a central building control system. Installation of SHE and ventilation system components The dimensions of the discharge and fresh air vents must be sufficient to ensure that the required geometric and/or aerodynamic surface is achieved when the vents are open. Obstacles, such as masking frames and lintels, and the thickness of the window profiles must be taken into consideration. The drives and mounting elements must be designed to cope with the forces needed to mechanically open the vents. The necessary opening widths of the windows must be ensured. Under no circumstances may collisions with the window profiles occur. The feed lines must comply with local fire protection regulations and must be sufficiently dimensioned for the required motor current and/or volume. The electrical SHE control centre should be installed in a designated and ventilated utility room. We recommend the installation of automatic fire alarms to ensure immediate activation in the event of a fire in these rooms. Manual fire alarms must be clearly visible and should be mounted in central locations, such as entrance or reception areas. Marking the location with a "Smoke extraction" sign is recommended. The location of automatic fire alarms must ensure that the activating criteria, e.g. smoke or heat, can actually reach the alarm. The conditions prevailing in the corresponding part of the building during normal operation must be known in order to avoid accidental activation. These conditions include not only dust and steam, but also higher temperatures beneath glass surfaces. Clearances to walls and the monitoring range of the alarms must be taken into consideration when planning and installing the alarms. The system must be mounted in a location on a roof that is free of air swirls but nevertheless open to the wind, in order to ensure the faultless functioning of the anemometer. Innovation, flexibility and mobility SHE systems are absolutely crucial for saving human lives and property. The threat posed by smoke and fumes can only be averted by installing an SHE system. There is good reason why every single building code in the Federal Republic of Germany stipulates the installation of an SHE system. Although structural fire protection has made significant progress as building design has advanced, individual designs quickly reveal the limitations of this type of fire protection. Technical system solutions offer substantially more innovation, flexibility and mobility. And last but not least, the fact that every servo powered SHE system automatically offers the added benefit of daily ventilation should not be ignored. |
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| Decentralised intelligent network |
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| This address should, of course, only exist once since otherwise the letter cannot be delivered to the right recipient. If you want a letter to reach several people, you send a circular. The LON system is based on this principle of sending and receiving. The LON system (Local Operating Network) is a bus system based on LonWorks bus technology. The bus technology enables decentrally controlled networks to be set up. These networks can be used universally and are implemented in building automation, industry, traffic, telecommunications and many other areas, such as safety technology. Intelligent sensors, actuators and operating equipment can be linked flexibly to, and communicate with, each other using one or several transmission media - such as dual twisted wires, the 230 V power grid or radio. Data, information and tasks can be requested and exchanged directly among the parties, as is also the case in a PC network. What makes them so special: Amendments, extensions and maintenance works can be performed at any time and during operation. Various tools, components and products can, moreover, help to not only speed up small and large automation tasks but also make them particularly cost efficient. LON products are interoperable, which means that components from different manufacturers can be linked together and new functions enabled by their combination. SHE-LON-BUS, for example, can be connected to an existing burglar alarm system. Conventional SHE vs. SHE-LON-BUS network technology The primary aim of smoke and heat extraction (SHE) systems as a fire prevention measure is to save lives by keeping escape and evacuation routes free of smoke. Using fresh air and discharge air vents, they utilise thermal lift (chimney effect) to expel the highly toxic smoke. The conventional SHE is controlled from a central point. Since all components are technically compatible and the system is designed on a modular basis, it can be extended at any time. Connection to fire alarm systems or building control systems is, of course, possible. The structure of the system must, however, be matched to the project and its location predetermined for wiring purposes. SHE-LON-BUS technology is controlled decentrally by software; its extension scope is virtually limitless. The choice of location is flexible; it can be installed on any node. As substantially less wiring work is required, cable and laying costs, above all, are reduced. The SHE-LON-BUS system can, of course, also be used for building automation purposes, but only using corresponding LON nodes. Prerequisite: In order to use the LON system as a smoke and heat extraction system, the SHE-LON may not be directly linked to other building control technologies using an existing BUS. The SHE-LON is a safety feature whose functionality may not be impaired by any unintentional influences. SHE-LON-BUS technology is particularly suited for large buildings with long conduction paths and numerous drives. Components of SHE-LON-BUS network technology Standard A distinction is made between SHE and ventilation groups in the case of a logical connection. A token is channelled from one node to the next in order to enable monitoring of the individual SHE groups. This token is constantly moving along the ring between the individual nodes. It is read by each node and forwarded on to the next. If a node wishes to transmit data, it changes to the token to "engaged" and adds its address and the data. Each time the token passes each node, the latter regenerates the data in order to preserve signal strength. The receiver node copies the data and sends the token back. When the token reaches the transmitter, it removes the data and generates an "OK" report. Tokens can therefore be used, for example, to detect and report a malfunctioning node or any faults within the SHE group. Transceiver LonWorks bus technology enables the use of the widest range of different transmission media with correspondingly adapted transceiver chips. Transceivers are transmission and receiver devices that link the neuron chips - containing the address. These transceivers were designed for free topology in order to give users the maximum possible scope when designing their network structure. In addition to the usual BUS structure, this means that ring-shaped or star-shaped networks or mixed topologies can also be designed. Router The network structure determines the number of nodes; a maximum of 64 components per segment are possible. A segment is a self-contained network. Routers are used to link different networks or more than 64 components. As such, each router has at least two network connections. Care must be taken to ensure that only one router is located between two communicating nodes. The number of nodes can be expanded to 32,385 by using additional routers. Terminator Each network segment must be fitted with line termination to ensure the proper transmission of data. Terminators usually consist of a specific resistance value that indicates the resistance at which the line must be closed to enable matching. Without matching, reflections (of the input signal) can occur, which would result in overlay and read errors of the commands. Further information can be found at www.RWA-LON-BUS.de |
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| ESSMANN Park |
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| ESSMANN GROUP has been exhibiting its full range of competence at ESSMANN Park, which is run by the company JOMOS. JOMOS Brandschutz AG, which is headquartered in Balsthal in Switzerland, plans and installs smoke and heat extraction (SHE) systems. For more than 10 years now, STG-BEIKIRCH and JOMOS have been cooperating as partners in the fields of SHE drives and control systems in Switzerland. This close cooperation resulted in increased contact with ESSMANN GmbH, and the range has now been extended to include daylight illumination, aeration, ventilation and smoke extraction systems. JOMOS has expanded its existing centre of competence to include a 400 m² presentation of these products - ESSMANN Park. The Park offers architects, planners, engineers, property developers and official representatives the opportunity to inspect and experience live the equipment models, safety systems, technologies and installations. Moreover, the exhibition is ideally suited for training and advanced education schemes for experts, students and processors. |
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