Water Leakage of Elevator Doors With Application to Building Fire Suppression.
Water Leakage of Elevator Doors With Application to
Building Fire Suppression.
(920 K)
Klote, J. H.; Braun, E.
NISTIR 5925; 18 p. December 1996.
Sponsor:
National Elevator Industry Inc., Fort Lee, NJ
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
Order number: PB97-132013
Keywords:
doors; elevators (lifts); fire suppression; fire
fighting; water; leakage; sprinklers; fire hoses;
elevator shafts
Abstract:
In recent years, considerable interest has been
expressed in improving elevator use during fires (ASME
1991 and 1995, Klote et al. 1992). Water exposure due
to sprinklers and fire hoses is a major concern of the
fire service with the use of elevators during fires,
because of the effect that water can have on electrical
and electronic elevator components. The National
Elevator Industry Incorporated (NEII) and NIST are
engaged in a cooperative research project to study water
flow issues of elevator use during fires. Because of
the wide range of designs of elevator components,
studying the impact of water on specific elevator
components would have limited applicability. Thus the
project focuses on water flow rates into elevator
hoistways (elevator shafts) and the flow paths in the
hoistways with the intent of providing information that
might be useful to industry in dealing with this issue.
This paper describes a series of laboratory tests to:
(1) determine typical flow rates of water through
elevator doors, (2) observe water leakage patterns, (3)
evaluate the performance of modified door gibs and
brackets intended to reduce or redirect water leakage,
and (4) evaluate a test enclosure concept for possible
field testing.
