Products Details

Overview

Applications:

Water is the most widely used and most readily available fire-extinguishing agent. It is a very effective agent for controlling and extinguishing combustion. As an extinguishing agent, it is safe, nontoxic, relatively noncorrosive, and stable. Water principally extinguishes solid fuel fires by cooling the fuel surface. It also extinguish fire by smothering action through the dilution of air supply around the fuel sources. Water is applied to fires by both portable equipment and fixed systems such as sprinkler systems, standpipe systems and private fire service mains systems.

Automatic sprinklers are thermosensitive devices designed to react at predetermined temperatures by automatically releasing a stream of water and distributing it in specified patterns and quantities over designated areas. The water is fed to the sprinklers through a system of piping, ordinarily overhead, with the sprinklers placed at intervals along the pipes. These sprinklers are subcategorized into different types based on different aspects:
  1. Operating Element:
  • Bulb Sprinklers
This style of operating element uses a frangible bulb. The small bulb, usually of glass, contains a liquid that does not completely fill the bulb, leaving a small air bubble trapped in it. As heat expands the liquid, the bubble is compressed and finally absorbed by the liquid. Once the bubble disappears, the pressure rises substantially, and the bulb shatters, releasing the valve cap
  • Fusible Sprinklers
A common fusible-style automatic sprinkler operates when a metal alloy of predetermined melting point fuses
  1. Temperature Rating:
  • Ordinary (57-77 ͦ C)
  • Intermediate (79-107 ͦ C)
  • High (121-149 ͦ C)
  • Extra High (163-191 ͦ C)
  • Very Extra High (204-246 C)
  • Ultra High (260-302 ͦ C)
  1. Response:
  • Standard Respons
  • Quick Response
A type of spray sprinkler that has a thermal element with an RTI of 50 (meter-seconds)1/2 or less and is listed as a quick-response sprinkler for its intended use.
  1. Orientation:
  • Upright Sprinklers
A sprinkler designed to be installed in such a way that the water spray is directed upwards against the deflector.
  • Pendent Sprinklers
A sprinkler designed to be installed in such a way that the water stream is directed downward against the deflector.
  • Sidewall Sprinklers
A sprinkler having special deflectors that are designed to discharge most of the water away from the nearby wall in a pattern resembling one-quarter of a sphere, with a small portion of the discharge directed at the wall behind the sprinkler.
  1. Decorative Features:
  • Recessed Sprinklers
A sprinkler in which all or part of the body, other than the shank thread, is mounted within a recessed housing.
  • Flush Type Sprinklers
A sprinkler in which all or part of the body, including the shank thread, is mounted above the lower plane of the ceiling.
  • Concealed Sprinklers
A recessed sprinkler with cover plate.
  1. Special Type / Condition:
  • Dry Sprinklers
A sprinkler secured in an extension nipple that has a seal at the inlet end to prevent water from entering the nipple until the sprinkler operates.
  • Open Sprinklers
A sprinkler that does not have actuators or heat-responsive elements.
  • Residential Sprinklers
A type of fast-response sprinkler having a thermal element with an RTI of 50 (meters seconds) 1/2 or less that has been specifically investigated for its ability to enhance survivability in the room of fire origin, and that is listed for use in the protection of dwelling units.
  • Large Drop Sprinklers
Large drop sprinklers are special sprinklers with a nominal
K-factor of 11.2 (Km = 160). (Nominal K-factors for standard ½ in. [12.7 mm] sprinklers are 5.6 [Km = 80].) The deflector of a large drop sprinkler is specially designed and, combined with the greater discharge, produces large drops of such size and velocity as to enable the spray to penetrate strong updraft generated by high-challenge fires.
  • Small and Large Orifices Sprinklers
The terms small orifice and large orifice are used to describe sprinklers with orifice sizes other than ½ in. (K = 5.6).
  • Extended Coverage Sprinklers
They have larger areas of coverage than the areas of coverage allowed for standard coverage sprinklers 
  • Storage Sprinklers:
  • Control Mode Density Area Sprinklers (CMDA)
A type of spray sprinkler intended to provide fire control in
storage applications using the design density/area criteria
described in NFPA 13. 
  • Control Mode Specific Application Sprinklers (CMSA)
A type of spray sprinkler that is capable of producing characteristic large water droplets and that is listed for its capability to provide fire control of specific high-challenge fire hazards 
  • Early Suppression Fast Response Sprinklers (ESFR)
A type of fast-response sprinkler that has a thermal element with an RTI of 50 (meters-seconds)1/2 or less and is listed for its capability to provide fire suppression of specific high-challenge fire hazards.  
  • Intermediate Level Sprinklers
A sprinkler equipped with integral shields to protect its operating elements from the discharge of sprinklers installed at higher elevations.
 
It worth saying that all sprinklers except open sprinklers are not designed to extinguish fires. They either control fire or suppress fires. A fire control is defined as limiting the size of a fire by distribution of water so as to decrease the heat release rate and pre-wet adjacent combustibles, while controlling ceiling gas temperatures to avoid structural damage. On the contrary, fire suppression is defined as sharply reducing the heat release rate of a fire and preventing its regrowth by means of direct and sufficient application of water through the fire plume to the burning fuel surface. A sprinkler system is that consists of an integrated network of piping designed in accordance with fire protection engineering standards that includes a water supply source, a water control valve, a waterflow alarm, and a drain. The system is commonly activated by heat from a fire and discharges water over the fire area. NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems provides standardized rules for the design, installation, and acceptance testing of sprinkler systems. Different types of sprinklers systems are available. The main types are:
  1. Wet Type Sprinkler System
A sprinkler system employing automatic sprinklers attached to a piping system containing water and connected to a water supply so that water discharges immediately from sprinklers opened by heat from a fire.
  1. Dry Type Sprinkler System
A sprinkler system employing automatic sprinklers that are attached to a piping system containing air or nitrogen under pressure, the release of which (as from the opening of a sprinkler) permits the water pressure to open a valve known as a dry pipe valve, and the water then flows into the piping system and out the opened sprinklers.
  1. Pre-Action Sprinkler System
A sprinkler system employing automatic sprinklers that are attached to a piping system that contains air that might or might not be under pressure, with a supplemental detection system installed in the same areas as the sprinklers.
  1. Deluge Sprinkler System
A sprinkler system employing open sprinklers or nozzles that are attached to a piping system that is connected to a water supply through a valve that is opened by the operation of a detection system installed in the same areas as the sprinklers or the nozzles. when this valve opens, water flows into the piping system and discharges from all sprinklers or nozzles attached thereto.
 
Other systems are addressed by various NFPA standards that utilize enhancements or modifications to sprinklers discharge characteristics to achieve different fire protection goals. These systems include spray systems and water mist systems.
 

Standpipe systems are fixed piping systems with associated equipment that transports water from a reliable water supply to designated areas of buildings where hoses can be deployed for fire fighting. These systems are commonly used in tall and large-area buildings. They can significantly improve the efficiency of manual fire-fighting operations by eliminating the need for long and heavy hoses from fire apparatus to a fire. They can also serve as a backup for, and complement to, sprinklers. NFPA 14, Standard for the Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems regulates the design, installation and testing of standpipes systems. Other NFPA standards are responsible for specifying where standpipe systems are required. Standpipe systems are used in full-scale fire fighting, first-aid fire fighting, or both.  These uses correspond to three standpipe systems classes which are:
  1. Class I systems
A Class I system provides 2½ in. (65 mm) hose connections at designated locations in a building for use by the fire department.
  1. Class II systems
A Class II system provides 1 in. (25 mm) or 1½ in. (40 mm) hose connections at designated locations in a building for first aid fire fighting. These systems are generally intended for use by trained fire brigades before the fire department arrives.
  1. Class II systems
Class III systems combine the features of Class I and Class II systems. They are provided for both full scale and first-aid fire fighting.
 
It worth saying that sprinkler systems with hose connections are
not necessarily considered to be standpipe systems. Standpipe system are also sub-divided into types that determine the basic characteristics of system. These types are:
  1. Automatic-wet systems
These systems have piping that is filled with water at all times and have an automatically available water supply capable of supplying the water demand necessary for fire-fighting. 
  1. Automatic-dry systems
These systems have piping that is normally filled with pressurized air. They are arranged, through the use of devices such as a dry-pipe valve, to automatically admit water into system piping when a hose valve is opened, and they are connected to an automatically available water supply that is capable of supplying the water demand necessary for fire-fighting
  1. Semiautomatic-dry systems
These systems have piping that is normally filled with air that may or may not be pressurized. They are arranged through the use of devices, such as a deluge valve, to admit water into system piping when a remote actuation device located at a hose station, such as a pull station, is operated. They also have a preconnected water supply that is capable of supplying the water demand necessary for fire-fighting.
  1. Manual-dry systems
These systems have piping that is normally filled with air, and these systems do not have a preconnected water supply. A fire department connection must be used to manually supply water for fire-fighting.
  1. Manual-wet systems
These systems have piping that is normally filled with water for the purpose of keeping the system full of water, thus avoiding “fill time” when the system is used. The water supply for these systems is typically provided by a small connection to domestic water piping, and it is not capable of supplying fire-fighting water demands. A fire department connection must be used to manually supply water for fire-fighting.
 

 A private fire service main, is that pipe and its appurtenances on private property that is between a source of water and the base of the system riser for water-based fire protection systems; between a source of water and inlets to foam-making systems; between a source of water and the base elbow of private hydrants or monitor nozzles; and used as fire pump suction and discharge piping, beginning at the inlet side of the check valve on a gravity or pressure tank. Private Fire Service Mains Systems commonly used in large facilities where multiple buildings are supplied with water from a common water supply. These systems include private fire hydrants. A private fire hydrant is a valved connection on a water supply system having one or more outlets that is used to supply hose and fire department pumpers with water on private property. These hydrants are provided for the purpose of:
  1. The direct connection and use of hose lines for fire-fighting.
  2. A supply to mobile pumps that boost the pressure to the required magnitude to supply fire-fighting hose lines.
       Defining this purpose is a key factor in specifying the hydrant outlet pressure and flow performance criteria. Two types of fire hydrants are available:
  1. Dry Barrel Hydrant (Frostproof Hydrant)
      A type of hydrant with the main control valve below the frost line between the foot piece and the barrel.
  1. Wet Barrel Hydrant
    A type of hydrant that is intended for use where there is no danger of freezing weather and where each outlet is provided with a valve and an outlet.
 
    All previously discussed systems and components are provided by Bavaria to satisfy the customers' needs. Please check our products technical datasheets for more information or           contact us.