Expert answer:Smoke control and management systems
Solved by verified expert:Discussion 100+ wordsDiscuss the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing smoke control and management systems during fire and life safety operations. Explain your answer. Also, where would you expect to see these types of systems?
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Chapter 12
Smoke Control and
Management Systems
Objectives
• Define the terms smoke control and
smoke management.
• State the design goals for smoke control
and smoke management systems.
• Name the three general methods used to
control smoke movement.
Objectives
• Describe the four pressure differential
methods used to control smoke.
• Describe five design requirements or
operational characteristics of smoke
control systems.
Objectives
• List the different life safety and fire
protection systems that interface with
smoke control systems and describe how
they interact.
• Discuss the importance of the acceptance
testing and annual retesting of smoke
control and management systems.
Introduction
• Smoke and toxic gases migrate outside
the fire area and through a structure
during a fire.
– Can cause as much damage as burns
– Exposed areas: stairways, corridors, elevator
hoistways, atriums, openings in walls, etc.
Introduction
• Smoke control: mechanical systems that
pressurize areas of buildings with fans to
limit smoke movement
• Smoke management: passive and active
systems used alone or together to alter
smoke movement
• Smoke management creates a tenable
environment for occupants and fire
fighters; systems were developed in the
1970s.
Introduction
• Passive design
approach
– Uses walls, bulkheads,
doors, partitions, draft
curtains, high ceilings,
and sealed floor
openings to create
barriers
– Fire-rated construction
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning
Introduction
• Active design approach
– Focus of this chapter
– Uses mechanical systems to exhaust,
pressurize, and oppose smoke with forced air
• Choice of design (passive, active,
combination) depends on many factors.
Introduction
• Physical design and architectural features of
structures facilitate smoke movement.
– Obvious: stairways, elevators, airshafts, ductwork
– Less obvious: unsealed construction and space,
etc.
• Smoke spread also depends on many
factors.
– Buoyancy forces, stack effect, climate, ventilation
and HVAC, fuel load, etc.
Code-Required Smoke Control
and Smoke Management
• Code-mandated installation is limited to
certain kinds of structures and occupancy
classifications.
– Design of some buildings facilitates easy
evacuation, inhibits smoke movement, and
includes fire protection systems.
– Smoke control systems are required for highrises, atriums, covered malls, underground
buildings, stages, platforms, correctional
facilities, etc.
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Goal is to maintain tenability by mitigating
smoke spread or containing it.
• Systems can be stand-alone or integrated.
• 100% outside air for positive
pressurization and smoke relief systems;
100% exhaust to the outdoors to
contain/relieve smoke
• Methods: containment, removal, opposed
airflow
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Containment by pressure differentials
– Pressure differentials between affected and
unaffected areas help with smoke control.
• Low pressure differentials reduce/contain smoke.
• Pressurization is one of the most common
methods of smoke control.
• Model building codes, standards, and publications
outline design requirements (NFPA 92, 92A, 92B
and publications from ASHRAE).
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Stairway
pressurization
systems
– Prevent/reduce smoke
intrusion into egress
stairways
– Mechanical fans pump
outdoor air in and
create a pressure
barrier.
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Stairway pressurization systems (cont’d)
– Work well when combined with smoke
removal/relief on affected floors
– Many design considerations affect
performance.
– Common in high-rise buildings
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Floating zone/floorby-floor pressurization
– “Sandwich effect” or
“containment method”
– Uses HVAC to create
negative pressure on
fire floors; applies
positive pressure
above and below
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Floating zone/floor-by-floor pressurization
(cont’d)
– Used in high-rises in addition to stairway
systems
– Smoke-laden air is removed; outside air flows
in.
– Air moves from high to low pressure.
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Elevator hoistway pressurization systems
– Similar to stairway systems
– Mechanical fans pump outside air into
hoistway and create a pressure barrier to
smoke.
– Some designers think they should be part of
complete smoke management system for
adequate pressurization.
– Others are concerned about elevator doors
being open.
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Refuge area
pressurization
– Refuge areas are
usually located on
each floor of a highrise, near stairways, or
near elevator lobbies.
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Refuge areas
– Constructed with fire-rated materials and selfclosing fire-rated doors
– Holding areas for people who need
assistance
– Typically combined with elevator hoistway or
stairway pressurization
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Smoke removal
– Best suited for large volume spaces where
smoke and toxic gas flow freely
– Systems can help create a tenable
environment in egress corridors, elevator
lobbies, and refuge areas.
– Lack of restriction causes other problems in
addition to large amounts of smoke and gas
(e.g., delayed activation of sprinklers and
detectors).
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Smoke removal
(cont’d)
– Unpolluted air from a
lower level is fed up at
a slower rate than the
exhaust system rate.
– Enables one or more
mechanical fans near
the upper level to
exhaust the smoke
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning
Smoke Containment, Removal,
and Opposed Airflow
• Containment by airflow direction
– Can control smoke across openings when
pressure differential strategies are impractical
– Common for fires in railway, subway, or
vehicle tunnels
– Least common strategy for containment
because of the complex control and
necessary large air volumes
• Risk of feeding the fire
Design Requirements and
Operational Characteristics
• Design is challenging due to the
uniqueness of environments.
– Important to know the requirements of
adopted model codes and standards
– Model codes include a variety of operational
requirements.
Fire Protection Systems and
Smoke Control
• Without automatic or manual detection
and suppression, smoke control systems
may be overwhelmed by fire.
• Proper operation of detection and
automatic sprinkler systems, plus fire
fighter response, is key to controlling
smoke and gas.
Fire Protection Systems and
Smoke Control
• Interface with fire protection systems and
other life safety systems
– Smoke control and management systems
interface with fire protection, HVAC, elevator,
and backup power systems.
– During design, smoke control zones, sprinkler
zones, and detection zones are coordinated.
– Activation of automatic initiating device
usually prompts operation of smoke control
systems.
Fire Protection Systems and
Smoke Control
• Interface with fire protection systems and
other life safety systems (cont’d)
– If HVAC systems fail to shut down, this can be
the strongest contributor to smoke movement
(usually coordinate well with other systems).
– Smoke detectors in elevator lobbies interface
with elevator systems to establish recall
priorities.
– Smoke control systems require both normal
and emergency power sources.
Fire Protection Systems and
Smoke Control
• Interface with fire protection systems and
other life safety systems (cont’d)
– Functional components of smoke control
systems require monitoring.
– Must have operational controls for each
smoke zone
Fire Protection Systems and
Smoke Control
• Interface with fire
protection systems
and other life safety
systems (cont’d)
– Smoke control panel
must have status
indication and control
function to show
location of all major
systems.
(c) Pete Mensinger
Testing and Performance
Verification
• Acceptance testing
– Design professionals develop detailed test
plans.
– Testing occurs after all other life safety and
fire protection systems are tested and
approved.
– Testing is similar to other fire protection
systems’ tests.
Testing and Performance
Verification
• Acceptance testing (cont’d)
– Functional and integrated performance
testing:
• System response time
• Air pressure differential
• Door opening forces
– Artificial smoke/fog can give visual
confirmation of performance but is not an
actual representation.
– All final tests must be witnessed and
documented.
Testing and Performance
Verification
• Acceptance testing (cont’d)
– Smoke control systems must undergo annual
functional and performance retesting to avoid
disrepair.
• Required by many state and local jurisdictions
• Addresses individual components and integrated
performance
• Similar procedures to acceptance testing
• Some tests performed by owner’s personnel, some
by individuals who did initial testing
Summary
• Smoke control and management systems can
provide a tenable environment or contain
smoke in the area of origin so occupants can
exit a building and fire fighters can move or
stage during a fire incident.
• The three general methods of smoke control
are containment, exhaust, or opposed airflow;
the choice greatly depends on physical design
and architectural features of the building.
Summary
• Containment is the most commonly used
method of smoke control and depends on
establishing pressure differentials between
the protected area and the fire area.
• Typical pressure differential methods
include stairway pressurization, floating
zone or floor-by-floor pressurization,
elevator hoistway pressurization, and
refuge area pressurization.
Summary
• Smoke removal is common for large volume
spaces, but opposed airflow is another option
to prevent smoke and gas from flowing
through large unprotected openings.
• In order to ensure appropriate system-wide
operation, it is extremely important that smoke
control systems are interconnected with fire
protection systems, HVAC systems, elevator
systems, and backup power systems.
Summary
• The design of smoke control and smoke
management systems offers the design
professional many challenges, but a welldesigned, installed, and maintained
system will provide building occupants and
fire fighters the tenable environment
necessary to evacuate, relocate, or stage
during a fire emergency.
Summary
• Acceptance testing and annual retesting
verifies the system performs as designed
and is based on a detailed test plan that
provides the description of the smoke
control system, the design criteria, how
these criteria will be demonstrated and
proven, what will constitute successful
performance, the step-by-step procedures,
and the test instrumentation and
equipment used.
Smoke Control and Management Systems
OBJECTIVES
At the conclusion of this chapter, you will be able to:
• Define the terms smoke control and smoke management.
• State the design goals for smoke control and smoke management systems.
• Name the three general methods used to control smoke movement.
• Describe the four pressure differential methods used to control smoke.
• Describe five design requirements or operational characteristics of smoke control systems.
• List the different life safety and fire protection systems that interface with smoke control systems and
describe how they interact.
• Discuss the importance of the acceptance testing and annual retesting of smoke control and
management systems.
Flames: © Drx/Dreamstime.com; Steel texture: © Sharpshot/Dreamstime.com; Chapter opener photo:
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning
Case Study
© AP Images
On November 21, 1980, between 7:05 AM and 7:10 AM, a fire broke out in a first-floor restaurant at a
26-story hotel complex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fire quickly spread into the adjoining casino area,
generating substantial smoke and toxic gases that were able to flow upward through many unprotected
and substandard vertical openings. One of the major pathways for the smoke and toxic gases to travel
was up the elevator hoistways. The hoistways allowed smoke and toxic gases to pour onto certain guest
floors. In addition, the air-handling units supplying conditioned air to the corridors on the guest floors
never shut down and recirculated the smoke from the elevator hoistways onto the guest floors due to
faulty dampers. Other major pathways for the smoke and toxic gases were the exit passageways,
interior stairs, smoke-proof towers, and associated vestibules where substandard construction
permitted the smoke to flow into these areas and impede egress. There was no fire sprinkler system in
the area of the building where the fire started. Other than an announcement over the casino public
address system, the fire alarm system did not activate. Of significance was the fact the fire started and
was contained on the first floor and part of the second floor; however, 61 of the 85 fire-related deaths
occurred between the sixteenth and twenty-sixth floors and were due to smoke and toxic gas inhalation,
not exposure to heat or burns.
This incident demonstrated how easily smoke can move throughout a building and cause death and
injury. This high-profile fire event made architects, engineers, and building and fire officials rethink high-
rise building construction, fire protection system installation, and the use of smoke control and
management systems in high-rise buildings and other structures.
1. How likely is it that a similar event could occur with the same outcome today?
2. What issue or issues do you think played the biggest role in the large number of fire deaths: a lack of
building-wide testing and maintenance of fire and life safety systems; a lack of fire protection systems;
poor construction and design; or a combination of these issues?
3. How might the outcome have been different if any of the identified issues were not a contributing
factor?
Source:
Investigations Report on the MGM Grand Hotel Fire, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 21, 1980 (Quincy,
MA: National Fire Protection Association, Revised 1982).
Flames: © Jag_cz/ShutterStock, Inc.; Steel texture: © Sharpshot/Dreamstime.com; Paper: © silverjohn/Shutterstock, Inc.
Introduction
Whether a fire is contained within its area of origin or spreads beyond, the smoke and toxic gases that
develop can migrate outside the fire area and throughout the structure. Stairways, corridors, elevator
hoistways, ductwork, airshafts, utility shafts, atriums, and openings or breeches in a wall or ceiling
provide avenues for smoke and toxic gases to travel. The spread of smoke and toxic gases can cause as
much, if not more, damage to the structure than the fire itself and statistically more fire deaths and
injuries result from smoke and toxic gas inhalation than burns.
Smoke control and smoke management systems are relatively new to the fire protection arena; the
development of standards and the requirements to install these systems were first established in some
of the model building codes in the early 1970s. Smoke control is a term used to describe mechanical
systems that pressurize areas of buildings with fans to limit smoke movement when there is a fire.
Smoke management is a term used to describe passive and active systems used alone or in combination
to alter smoke movement. When designing smoke control and smoke management systems, the life
safety objectives are to provide a tenable environment in the areas adjacent to the fire area for building
occupants and fire fighters, and to contain the smoke within the area of origin. For building occupants, a
tenable environment allows safe evacuation from the structure or relocation within the structure. For
fire fighters, a tenable environment allows relocation within a structure or management of the smoke
intensity to facilitate fire department operations.
There are two general design approaches employed to accomplish this objective. The passive design
approach utilizes walls, bulkheads, doors, partitions, draft curtains, high ceilings, and sealed floor
openings to create barriers Figure 12-1. This design incorporates an adequate and effective level of firerated construction, as the purpose is to contain and minimize the amount of smoke leakage from the
fire area. Installation of smoke and heat vents coupled with draft curtains is an example of passive
design to manage and control smoke. Smoke vents and draft curtains are typical in large one-story
factories and high-piled storage facilities. The vents are located at the roof level and operate by either
automatic or manual means. Once the vents operate, the smoke and hot gases flow upward and out of
the building through the vent opening. Draft curtains sectionalize the building to contain the smoke in
an effort to speed up the activation of the vents.
The active design approach uses mechanical systems to exhaust, pressurize, and, in particular situations,
oppose the smoke with forced air. Most mechanical systems that are a part of a smoke control or
management system operate when they receive a signal from a fire protection system initiation device
that has detected or reacted to a fire condition in the protected structure.
Figure 12-1 The passive design approach uses construction barriers, such as this draft curtain, to contain
and minimize the amount of smoke leakage from a fire area.
© A. Maurice Jones, Jr./Jones & Bartlett Learning
The choice of a particular system—passive, active, or a combination of both—depends on certain
factors, such as the particular structure or occupancy’s design intent, the appropriateness for the
conditions, an evaluation of smoke movement influenced by the physical design (geometry), and the
architectural features of the building. The physical design and architectural features facilitate smoke
movement throughout a building by many obvious and not so obvious pathways of travel. The obvious
pathways are stairways, elevator hoistways, airshafts, and ductwork. The not-so-obvious pathways are
the unsealed construction openings at the interface of floors and perimeter walls; unsealed annular
spaces around pipes, ducts, and conduits through floor slabs; incomplete shaft wall seals; and the smoke
barrier walls at the juncture of overhead floor structures. Once smoke and toxic gases are generated,
smoke spread is also influenced by buoyancy forces; stack effect (caused by air temperature and density
differences); exterior wind and the resultant forces; climate; function and control of the heating,
ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) systems; expansion forces as air is heated; and fuel load. A
discussion of the controlling laws of physics and buoyancy forces are beyond the level of information
offered in this chapter; however, it is important to be aware that these laws influence the design and
operation of these systems.
Although the passive design approach and the use of smoke and heat venting are important parts of
smoke control and management, the focus of this chapter is the different types of active smoke control
systems that contain, exhaust, and oppose the undesirable movement of smoke and toxic gases. In
addition, the chapter will cover code-required smoke control, design requirements, operational
characteristics, and interaction with fire protection systems.
Code-Required Smoke Control and Smoke Management
Code-mandated installation of smoke control and smoke management systems has always been limited
to certain categories of struc …
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