AFE Enclosure

Fan Testing Service

Australian Standards AS4214 - "Gaseous Fire Extinguishing Systems" and AS1851 - "Maintenance of Fire Protection Systems & Equipment" both require room integrity testing to be completed for "total flood" gaseous suppression system installations. Under these standards, room integrity is required to be tested initially as part of system commissioning, and then re-tested annually.

Extinguishment Agent Retention - It's Critical

The prime purpose of the room integrity test is to demonstrate how long a gaseous fi re extinguishing agent remains in the room following discharge of a "total flood" gaseous suppression system. The longer the gas remains after the discharge, the better the level of protection offered (AS4214 nominates a minimum retention time of 10 minutes). AFE can provide trained technicians and the necessary equipment to test the integrity of the rooms in which your suppression system is housed.

A report shall be provided.

Room volume
Initial gas concentration
Minimum protected equipment height
Predicted agent retention time
Identification of leakage paths from the room (e.g. walls, doors, windows, dampers, ductwork etc) which require improved sealing.

What the Standards Say!
Commissioning - AS4214 -Section 10

10.2.4 Enclosure integrity
All total flooding systems shall have the protected enclosure checked to locate and then effectively seal any significant air leaks that could result in a failure of the enclosure to hold the specified extinguishing agent concentration level for the specified holding period (see Clause 3.8). NOTE: The data derived from this test should be retained as a benchmark for future tests.

Maintenance - AS1851 - Standards

2.38 Enclosure integrity

For total flooding systems where a fan unit can be fitted in the doorway:

(a) COMPLETE a fan integrity test in accordance with AS4214 and confirm that the results satisfy the equirements of the original design.

Yearly

Five Yearly

Pressure Relief Venting

Integrity testing can also be used to predict the peak pressure likely to be experienced in the room during agent discharge. This is important to determine if the room is of sufficient strength to withstand the discharge pressure or if additional pressure relief venting is required. The correct operation of existing pressure relief vents can also be checked and the required size of additional pressure relief vents determined.

PASS/FAIL Enclosure Integrity Report

Clean Agent 2001 retention time prediction

Building, Location	Complete Room
Company, Contact	Fire Safety Officer
Room Name	$ millions of risk Test number 1
Certificate created	Date

Typical Report Layout

Test date/time:
Tester:
Signature:	...
Maximum Protected Height, Ho:	2.00m
Minimum Protected Height, H:	1.20m
Elevation above sea level:	4m
Correction method:	NFPA 2001(2000)
Initial concentration, C:	7.70%
Mixing during retention:	No
Net protected volume, Vg:	66m³
Certified to Level:	No enclosure certification
Static during discharge, PSH:	0/0 Pa
Operating temperature:	21°C
Formula:	A-3-5.3.3
Correction factor:	0.99
Agent:	FM200 (HFC227ea)
Agent quantity:	5m³
Actual total leakage, At:	0.727m²
Actual lower leakage, Al:	0.0364m²
Minimum concentration, Cmin:	7.70%
Minimum retention time:	10 min

Note: Below ceiling leakage defaulting to worst case - 50% of total leakage

This enclosure was tested in compliance with ISO 14520.1 Annex E.

Assuming no continual mixing during the retention period, enclosure leakage could allow sufficient agent to be lost to cause an air/agent interface to descend from a Maximum Protected Height of 2.00m to the Minimum Protected Height specified of 1.20m.

The retention time would then be 8.9 minutes which is less than the minimum retention time of 10 minutes. The enclosure therefore FAILS this acceptance procedure.

Notes

Leakage of extinguishing gas may greatly reduce
the effectiveness of your gaseous fire suppression
system.