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Integrity Enclosure Testing
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Introduction to Fire Protection Enclosure Air Leakage Testing
Blower doors are large calibrated fans that were developed in the 1970s to test the air leakage of houses for energy conservation work, but the recognition of the stratospheric ozone problem in the 1980s led to a new application of this airtightness testing technology. Halon 1301, a gaseous fire protection agent, was found to have one of the highest ozone depletion potentials, and a significant source of halon discharge into the environment was found to come from the testing of halon total flooding fire protection systems. In a typical application, such as a computer room, the acceptance test for the system involved a "discharge test" where the fire protection system was triggered, a full load of halon was discharged into the room, and the residence time for the halon in the room was measured. When the ozone depleting potential of these acceptance tests was discovered, there was a need for a new type of acceptance test that did not involve the discharge of halon 1301 into the atmosphere.
Gielle's experience in air leakage test equipment development enabled it to invent a test that solved this problem. The "enclosure integrity test" involves measuring the total area of the holes in the protected room with a blower door, assuming a worst-case distribution of leaks across the enclosure surface, and computing the worst-case leakage of the fire protection gas mixture through those holes. Gielle were issued US patent Means and Methods for Predicting Hold Time in Enclosures Equipped with a Total Flooding Fire Protection Fire Extinguishing System for this work. This test was incorporated into the NFPA 12A Standard for halon 1301, and it has since been modified for halon alternative gases in the NFPA 2001 Standard.
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TEST INSTRUMENTS:
Digital E3-A-DM4 Features:
- Dual Sensors: pressure and flow, solid-state -- accuracy to 0.1 Pa or 0.001
"wc.
- Digital Display: LCD, 2x16 characters, high-contrast, easy-to-read.
- Function Keys: change units, change averaging time, hold data, low-flow
- Leakage Area: displays enclosure hole size in inches2 or centimeters2
- Units Selection: Pascals, "wc, m3/s, cfm, cm2, in2
- Averaging Selection: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 seconds block averaging.
- Auto-Zero: every 4 seconds for both flow and pressure -- eliminates drift
problems.
- Microprocessor: programmable firmware -- upgradable if Standard changes
- Serial port: RS-232 output for connection to PC (9600 baud, 8N0)
- Fan: compact, 6100 cfm flow @ 0.04 "wc -- most powerful calibrated test fan
- Door Frame: aluminum, fully collapsible door frame--rugged, easy to carry
- Power Options: 110 VAC/60 Hz or 220 VAC/50 Hz models available.
- Custom Software: NFPA or EU calculations, Windows and DOS versions.
- Calibration: each E3-A-DM4 comes with an NFPA compatible certificate.
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