Reason Mag Q1 2014 Seite 10

Hinweis: Dies ist eine maschinenlesbare No-Flash Ansicht.
Klicken Sie hier um zur Online-Version zu gelangen.

Inhalt

10 Reason ISSUE 1 2014 theLATEST On Tech In case you missed it here s a look at the science research and engineering solutions behind our recent technical challenges THE CHALLENGE Many industrial facilities generate corrosive exhaust fumes that often include high concentrations of sulfuric hydrochloric nitric and hydrofluoric acids smoke and high velocity solid particles To date no sprinkler system has been successfully designed to survive for an extended time in these highly corrosive acidic environments to protect against a fire originating in the ductwork Damage to a ductwork system due to fire will usually result in significant shutdown of a key process or an entire plant for an extended period From 1996 to 2010 FM Global clients reported a total of 412 fire incidents involving industrial exhaust systems with an average gross loss of approximately US 1 4 million per fire incident A CORROSION RESISTANT SPRINKLER NOZZLE THE SOLUTION After intense laboratory and field testing and rigorous pilot programs FM Global developed innovative coatings and seal technology which they freely licensed to manufacturers One chose to develop a product that since passed the rigorous testing of FM Approvals a member of the FM Global group and a leader in third party certification of property loss prevention products and services FM Global has revised its standards to incorporate the new requirements for these products THE CHALLENGE Fire is the leading cause of commercial and industrial property loss worldwide FM Global is focused on protecting clients from the tragic effects of a fire which means having a dedicated team of scientists and researchers conducting large scale fire experiments and tests at its Research Campus The laboratory s scale allows researchers to replicate a warehouse size fire that can cause structural failure of a building without sprinkler protection in a matter of minutes These fire simulation studies require hours of preparation extensive forensics and sufficient funding for each test FIGHTING FIRE WITH FIREFOAM THE SOLUTION A research team led by FM Global s Sergey Dorofeev fire hazard and protection research area director developed FireFOAM a computational fluid dynamics CFD computer model for fire growth and suppression meant to complement live fire testing The modeling can also be used to address the hazards and scenarios that are normally difficult to test The CFD model will not replace fire testing but it will provide additional information faster and more efficiently According to Lou Gritzo vice president manager research The numerical and physical simulation of fire growth is a breakthrough Ultimately I think the FireFOAM computer model will lead to better standards for risk managers and for the entire industry