Date: 16.08.
2024
Fire Protection: Unit 2 (V Sem)
Sprinkler System-Water Supply
Standards
NFPA 20 -Standard for the installation of stationary pumps for fire protection
IS:12469 -2019 -Specification of Pumps for Stationary Fire Fighting
Installations
IS: 15301 -2003-Installation & maintenance of Fire Fighting Pumps code &
practice
NBC-2016-National Building code (Part-IV)
Requirement of Automatic Sprinkler Installation as per NBC
a) Automatic sprinklers shall be installed wherever required in terms of
Table 7 of NBC (Part IV) throughout the building in accordance with good
practice
b) If selective sprinklering is adopted, there is a real danger of a fire starting in
one of the unsprinklered area gathering momentum spreading to other areas
and reaching the sprinklered areas as a fully developed fire. In such an event,
the sprinklers can be rendered useless or ineffective.
c) Automatic sprinklers shall be installed in false ceiling voids exceeding 800 mm
in height.
d) Installation of sprinklers may be excluded in any area to be used for substation
and DGset.
e) In areas having height 17 m or above such as in atria,sprinkler installations may
be rendered ineffective and hence may be avoided.
f) Pressure in sprinkler system shall not exceed 12 bar or else high pressure
sprinkler to be installed for above 12 bar operations.
g) The maximum floor area on any one floor to be protected by sprinklers supplied
by any one sprinkler system riser from an installation control valve shall
be based on system protection area limitations considering maximum
floor area on any one floor to be 4500 m2 for all occupancies except industrial
and hazardous occupancies,where Authorities shall be consulted for advice based
on type and nature of risk.
h) Sprinkler installation control valves, shall be installed inside the fire pump
room.
j) For industrial buildings,such installation control valves may be installed outside the
building and Authorities shall be consulted in situations where it is not possible to
locate them inside the buildings. It is advisable to provide electrically operated
siren for each valve outside the buildings in addition to water gongs in such case.
k) The sprinkler flow switches provided shall be monitored by fire alarm panel.
m) It is essential to make provisions for avoiding water from sprinkler/hydrant
operation entering lifts and electrical rooms.
n) Ramps at all levels shall be protected with sprinklers.
Fire Pumps sizing
Factors that go into calculating it include:
• Distance — The building's footprint will determine how far water must
travel laterally to reach the farthest sprinklers.
• Elevation — The designer must take into account how many floors the
building has. Due to the effects of gravity, more pressure will be required
to push water to sprinklers on higher floors.
• Occupancy Classification — It is important to know if there are hazards
within the building that might require more water to suppress a fire and
where they are. This is why the hazard analysis must be conducted before
sizing the fire pump.
Different Types of Fire Pumps
Positive Displacement Pumps
Positive displacement pumps create flow pressure by repeatedly capturing
a fixed volume of water into the pump's internal chamber using suction to
compress it before releasing it out of the discharge valve. These pumps are
not as common because their flow volume is more limited than that which
centrifugal pumps can provide and are typically only used with water mist
or foam-water systems.
Centrifugal Pumps
Centrifugal fire pumps are the most common type of pump used in
commercial buildings today. This type of pump creates pressure through
centrifugal force with an internal impeller. When the pump is activated,
water flows into the center of the impeller, which rotates at high speed to
drive the water to the discharge valve creating pressure by pushing high
volumes of water through the valve. There are several different types of
centrifugal pumps eg. Horizontal Split-Case, Vertical Turbine Pumps,
Vertical Inline Pumps , End Suction Pumps, Multistage Multiport Pumps
Though NFPA 20 provides guidelines for various types of pumps
(centrifugal, vertical shaft turbine, positive displacement and multistage
multiport), centrifugal fire pumps are — including horizontal split case
and vertical in-line — the most common among commercial buildings and
thus highlighted in this example. Vertical in–line pumps are generally more
compact, with a smaller footprint. While horizontal split case pumps must
be mounted on a concrete housekeeping pad, vertical in-line pumps
can instead be mounted on pipe stand supports. For these reasons,
vertical in–line pumps are often a preferred choice for replacements or
retrofits.
The impeller rotation in a vertical in-line pump is less susceptible to
mechanical damage from water turbulence, allowing for more flexibility in
the piping arrangement on the suction side of the pump. Horizontal
split case pumps are only permitted to have elbows and tees installed
perpendicular to the pump when the fitting is located at least 10 pipe size
diameters from the suction flange (NFPA 20-2013, Sections 4.14.6.3.1 to
4.14.6.3.3). These requirements
are not applicable to vertical in-line styles.
The impeller on a horizontal split-case pump is located in a separate
casing in front of the motor, allowing for easy access if maintenance
is required. On a vertical in–line pump, the impeller is beneath the motor,
requiring the entire motor be raised and/or removed to access the
impeller. For this reason, it is recommended that a hoist beam or another
means of lifting is provided for vertical inline pumps greater than
30 horsepower.
Fire Terrace Tank
A concrete/masonry/plastic/steel tank constructed or erected on terrace
of building for fire fighting purpose.
Water Pump House
• The floor of the pump house should be sloped to the farthest end to drain
away any water leaking from glands, valves, etc.
• The pump house should have normal lighting, and also emergency lighting
facility, either from a second source or from the generator.
• If the pump house is located inside the building, either on ground floor or
in the basement, it should be separated from the rest portion with a wall
having 2 h fire rating and fire check door at its entrance having 1 h fire
rating.
• For pump house in basement, forced mechanical ventilation should be
provided. Pump house in ground floor should be located on periphery of
building with access directly from outside/open area.
• The pump house located in the basement should also have easy
accessibility from outside preferably through ramp.
• The pump house should be located preferably outside the building with a
minimum clearance of 6 m from adjoining buildings.
• The pump house should have adequate natural ventilation with windows,
fitted with expanded metal for protection.
• If the pump house has a diesel pump, the exhaust pipe of the diesel engine should
be extended to outside the pump house and exhaust discharged at an appropriate
height in the open air.
• Capacity of Pump
• The fire pumps have been divided into the following capacities:
• 450 I/min (Terrace Pump)
• 900 I/min (Terrace Pump)
• 2 280 I/min
• 4 500 I/min and for special risks 6 700 I/min.
The pump house may be below the level of the water tank or constructed
above the water tank depending upon the engineering conveniences. For fire
fighting purpose, a pump house having the pumps below the water tank is
always desirable, as this eliminates the necessity to have negative suction
incorporating priming tank, foot-valve and other extra valves, etc. All pumps
are required to be start on 'Auto', when there is a drop of pressure in the
mains. These are required to be pre-set on predetermined pressure suitable
to particular risk.
If the pump is electric driven, the capacity of the pump vis-a-vis its
revolutions per minute must match with the electric motor being chosen
for the same job. Electric motors required to feed the pump up to 2 280
I/min are usually running at 2 900 rev/min and the pumps required to
match the motors must also run at the same revolutions per minute. These
pumps are known as Single Stage Pumps and the suction is at the end of
the pump so that these are called End Suction Pumps. Small capacity
pumps/jockey pumps are also avalaible/required to be used in multi-stage
design. The speeds of these pumps are suitable for 2 pole motor or 4 pole
motor.
The fire fighting pumps are almost invariably centrifugal type excepting
in some typical cases where vertical turbine or submersible pumps are
installed. Aftcr the capacity of the pump and motor has been carefully
chosen, to match each other perfectly, installation of the pumps in the pump
house should be done with utmost care. As has been said above, the pump
house shall have adequate spaces to keep enough circulation area within the
pump house for the pump operator in times of emergency or maintenance.
The pump and the motors are always cases connected together by connecting
couplers and they are mounted on a common baseplate which is supplied by
the pump manufacturers along with the pump. The baseplate shall be of
sufficient length and width to house the pump and the motor comfortably.
All pumps are required to be start on 'Auto', when there is a drop of pressure in
the mains.
Static Water Tank
Underground or surface water tank, constructed to store water for fire
fighting purpose.
Priming Tank
A small tank erected inside/over the pump house and above the fire
fighting pumps to keep the pump casing and suction of the fire pump
permanently flooded. This is required in case of negative suction
Foot Valve-cum-Strainer
A valve fixed in the suction strainer of the fire pump which opens
only inwards to allow in flow of water into the pump suction and fire pump
when the pump is actuated automatically/manually, This is required in
case of Negative suction.
In a positive (flooded) suction, a strainer placed in the suction line
between the fire tank and fire pump to arrest any dirt/obstruction being
fed into the pump suction.
Fire Pump
An electric pump installed at static water tank to charge the wet riser
systems/sprinkler system, etc. The pump should start automatically when the
sprinkler system activates and stop manually when the system is no longer
needed.
Jockey Pump
A pump of small capacity which is set to come into operation
automatically with drop in static pressure in the system and to
automatically stop when the pre set pressure is reached again.
The capacity of the jockey pump shall neither be less than 3 % nor
more than 10 % of the installed pumping capacity but minimum of 180
I/min
Pump Panel -Panel comprising starting, stopping and indicating devices
of fire pumps.
Pressure Switch
A switch connected on delivery line of fire pump, or in the body of hydro-
pneumatic tank at pre-set pressure level so designed to automatically start
the fire pump or jockey pump, as the case may be, when the pressure in
the system falls below the pre-set level.
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Dr A R Sontake
Professor, NFSC, Nagpur.
