- Author
-
Hayes, W. D., Jr.
|
Zile, R. Y.
- Title
- Full-Scale Study of the Effect of Pendent and Sidewall Location on the Activation Time of an Automatic Sprinkler.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Sponsor
- Federal Emergency Managment Agency, Washington, DC
Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC
- Report
-
NBSIR 82-2521,
July 1982,
74 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
-
sprinkler systems
|
compartment fires
|
fire safety
|
life safety
|
room fires
|
sidewall sprinkler systems
- Abstract
- A series of 17 full-scale tests was conducted to obtain measurements of the thermal response behavior of simulated and actual sprinklers positioned in the pendent and two seaprate sidewall locations. Exposure fires were simulated by a propane burner, and replicated the approximate temperature rises of several different burning furniture items typically found in residential and board-and-care type occupancies. The results indicate that for this test arrangement the response time of a sprinkler in influenced by the location of the sprinkler, the growth rate of the fire, and the response characteristics of the sprinkler itself. In addition, for the fire growth rates studies, differences between the activation times of a pendent positioned sprinkler and those of two sidewall locations appeared significant. In some cases, it apppears that equivalent response time at the sidewall location to that of a prendent location cannot be achieved for the configurations tested. The implications of these results require further investigation.