- Author
- Hill, J. P.
- Title
- Investigation of Automatic Sprinklers to Protect Digital Telecommunication Switching Equipment. Technical Report.
- Coporate
- Factory Mutual Research Corp., Norwood, MA
- Sponsor
- Bell-Northern Research, Ltd., Ontario, Canada
- Report
- FMRC J.I. 0P1R2.RR, June 1988, 67 p.
- Contract
- BNR-10-62243-1
- Keywords
- sprinklers | fire tests | sprinkler response | heat flux | telecommunications
- Identifiers
- Digital Telecommunication Switching (DTS) equipment; Central Office (CO); freeburn fire tests; physical evidence
- Abstract
- Two sprinklered and two freeburn fire tests were conducted to demonstrate the ability of fast response sprinklers to protect Digital Telecommunication Switching (DTS) equipment located in a telephone central office. These tests were conducted within a simulated Central Office (CO) which measured 12.19 m x 12.19 m x 6.10 m (L x W x H). The floor of the facility was raised 1.22 m to provide an effective ceiling height of 4.88 m. The sprinklered fire test results indicated that an average design density of approximately 10.2 mm/min (0.25 gpm/ft²) discharged from a single, fast response, automatic sprinkler with an RTI of 27 (m.s)1/2) (50 (ft.s)1/2), given a 13 mm (1/2 in.) orifice diameter and 74 deg C (165 deg F) temperature rating on a 2.44 m x 3.66 m (8 ft x 12 ft) spacing, successfully controlled, but did not extinguish the fire. Since the sprinkler responded late during the fire, significant quantities of potentially harmful products of combustion and decomposition were generated within the simulated C.O. The freeburn fire tests provided heat flux data and physical evidence which showed that without automatic sprinkler protection, the fire could eventually "jump" to the DTS equipment located across the wiring aisle.