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New Guide Book and Software Released
NFPA 2001 Requirements Addressed
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The 2008 edition of NFPA® 2001, Standard on Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems, requires that the following items be included on working plans for clean agent fire extinguishing systems:
"5.1.2.2 (10) For an enclosure protected by a clean agent fire extinguishing system an estimate of the maximum positive and maximum negative pressure, relative to ambient pressure, expected to be developed upon the discharge of agent."
"5.1.2.2 (28) The pressure relief vent area, or equivalent leakage area, for the protected enclosure to prevent development, during system discharge, of a pressure difference across the enclosure boundaries that exceeds a specific enclosure pressure limit."
Thanks to the cooperative efforts of several fire protection equipment manufacturers and interested parties, experimental data has been obtained for the purpose of developing a guide to meet these requirements.
The guide book, developed by the Fire Suppression Systems Association Technical Committee, discusses the NFPA® 2001 requirements as well as the experimental data. The guide book also provides equations, tables and charts which may be used to estimate peak pressures and relief vent areas for discharges of FK-5-1-12, HFC-23, HFC-125, HFC-227ea, IG-55, IG-100 and IG-541 for the range covered by the experimental data.i
In addition to the printed guide, the FSSA offers a companion computer program based on the estimating equations from the guide book.ii The FSSA PRV Estimator computer program automates the process of estimating peak pressure and related leakage area for discharges of clean agents into enclosures. Estimates are obtained more quickly with greatly reduced chance of arithmetic errors by using the computer program.
The "Guide to Estimating Enclosure Pressure and Pressure Relief Vent Area for Applications Using Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems" and the companion computer program, the FSSA PRV Estimator, are now available from the Fire Suppression Systems Association (FSSA). The price of the guide book alone is $295 for FSSA members ($695 for non-members). The guide book with a single station license for the PRV Estimator program which includes a special HASP® security key with related software is $495 for FSSA members ($1395 for non-members). For quantity pricing, please contact Stacey Johnson at FSSA Headquarters, 410-933-3453 or via email.
Sample Help Screen from the FSSA PRV Estimator Program
Main Screen of FSSA Pressure Relief Vent Estimator Program
i For inert gases, the maximum peak positive pressure covered by the test data is 20 PSF. For liquefied compressed gas agents, the maximum peak pressures varied by agent as follows: FK-5-1-12 peak positive 5 PSF, peak negative 25 PSF; HFC-23 peak positive 30 PSF, peak negative did not apply; HFC-125 both peak positive and peak negative 10 PSF; HFC-227ea peak positive 8 PSF, peak negative 20 PSF. Results are not to be extrapolated beyond the respective pressure data limits. Additional limitations apply.
ii The information in the guide and the related software does not supersede the manufacturer's guidance—rather the information is presented to supplement the guidance provided by the respective system manufacturers. Guidance from the system manufacturer should always be followed and used for purposes of system design, installation, operation and maintenance.
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