Sidewall Sprinkler System Design Alternatives for the Rooms in the Library of Congress.
Sidewall Sprinkler System Design Alternatives for the
Rooms in the Library of Congress.
(92 K)
Evans, D. D.; Stroup, D. W.
Fire Research and Engineering, Second (2nd)
International Conference. (ICFRE2). Proceedings.
ABSTRACTS ONLY. National Institute of Standards and
Technology and Society of Fire Protection Engineers.
August 10-15, 1997, Gaithersburg, MD, Slaughter, K. C.,
Editor(s), 18-18 pp, 1997.
Keywords:
fire research; fire protection engineering; predictive
models; sidewall sprinkler systems; installing
Abstract:
ABSTRACT ONLY
As part of a renovation project in the Library of
Congress, automatic sprinklers systems were being
installed in selected areas. In some cases, requirements
for the installation of these systems following NFPA
prescriptive standards conflicted with the desire to
maintain the aesthetics of the decorative room
interiors. To minimize the impact of the sprinkler
system installation while maintaining performance, some
unconventional system designs were analyzed using
engineering methods. The relative sprinkler system
performance between design alternatives was based solely
on predictions of response time. For the proposed
alternative sidewall sprinkler systems, sprinkler RTI
and position below the 5.8 m high ceiling in a 14.3 m x
8.5 m reading room were varied in the calculations to
achieve equivalent response time to systems satisfying
the requirements of the NFPA installation standard.
Results of the analysis using DETACT showed that a
system installed using fast response, RTI=28 m 1/2s1/2
sidewall sprinklers installed 0.81 m below the ceiling
would respond just as fast as a system using RTI=110 m
1/2s1/2 sidewall sprinklers installed 0.20 m below the
ceiling. Installations were made in the library
following the alternate approach. Results of the
previous engineering analysis are reviewed based on
performance predictions from state-of-the-art fire
models employing large eddy simulation techniques.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899