CPD PROGRAMME Professional The CIBSE Journal CPD Programme
Members of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and other professional bodies are required to maintain their professional competence throughout their careers.
Continuing professional development (CPD) means the systematic maintenance, improvement and broadening of your knowledge and skills, and is therefore a long-term commitment to enhancing your competence. CPD is a requirement of both CIBSE and the Register of the Engineering Council (UK).
CIBSE Journal is pleased to offer this module in its CPD programme. The programme is free and can be used by any reader. This module will help you to meet CIBSE’s requirement for CPD. It will equally assist members of other institutions, who should record CPD activities in accordance with their institution’s guidance.
Simply study the module and complete the questionnaire on the fi nal page, following the instructions for its submission. Modules will be available online at
www.cibsejournal.com/cpd while the information they contain remains current.
You can also complete the questionnaire online, and receive your results by return email.
Professional development
Assuring the performance of fi re dampers in buildings
This module covers the evolution in, and application of, legislation and standards for fi re dampers to ensure effective lifelong operation
As fi re dampers are hidden from building occupants, and potentially also from the building owner and operational team, their essential role in maintaining protection against the spread of smoke and fi re may only become obvious if a property suffers one of the 50 fi res that occur daily in non- domestic UK buildings.1 Fire dampers are installed to prevent the
spread of fi re where air ducts penetrate fi re- resistant barriers. Typically, smoke dampers are designed to prevent the fl ow of smoke and products of combustion (and are able to withstand high differential pressures); these are operated by thermally-tripped actuators from smoke detectors in the ductwork or via a centralised fi re detection system. Fire and smoke (or fi re and leakage rated) dampers combine both functions. For the majority of escape routes and sleeping areas, the fi re dampers must also be operated by a smoke detector or suitable fi re detection system.2
The evolution of harmonised standards The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) aims to harmonise conditions across Europe for the marketing of construction products – identifi ed by the use of the ‘CE’ mark. This mark3
is to promote free trade
and remove technical barriers by unifying the recognition of products with ‘European conformity’. This ensures that a product
www.cibsejournal.com
Main types of fi re dampers There are three principal types of fi re dampers: Curtain fi re dampers are normally a series of interlocking blades, which fold to the top and are held open by means of a thermal release mechanism (that may be electrically actioned) that activates at around 72°C. Intumescent fi re dampers incorporate components that expand when heated by a fi re, activating typically in the range 120°C to 270°C. Some incorporate an electro- mechanical device to provide cold smoke containment through an external control. Single and multi-blade fi re dampers have one or more linked framed pivoting blades,
meets essential harmonised requirements of the applicable EC directives, but it is not, in itself, aimed at improving standards, nor does it imply that the product is made in Europe. Prior to 1997, the only available UK standard for assessing the performance of fi re dampers was BS 476 20-22:1987 – Fire tests on building materials and structures. As its name suggests, this standard was principally designed for static construction components, and so did not include the breadth of testing that could fully assess the tolerances, fi t and dynamics that are intrinsically associated
Figure 1: Multi-blade fi re damper installed in a circular duct (Source: Ruskin Air Management)
released by a thermal release mechanism (that may be electrically actioned) at around 72°C.
with the performance of a mechanical fi re damper. The subsequent development of the ‘testing’ standard BS EN 1366 – Fire resistance tests for service installations, provided a set of standardised tests that were relevant to the practicalities of application of fi re and fi re/smoke dampers. From 1 July 2013, it will be a requirement
for all new fi re and smoke control dampers used in UK buildings to be CE-marked to indicate compliance with the relevant ‘product’ standard (see Table 1). These product standards provide recognised criteria covering their integration into the building structure, referring to the ‘testing’ standard
September 2012 CIBSE Journal 59
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80