he boom in data centres has been driven by cloud computing and the heralded introduction of AI, and with
modern society’s reliance on this high-value infrastructure, its protection is vital. Fire risks in data centres
are heightened due to the volume of electrical connections and their load, supporting dense server arrays, extensive cabling, and backup power. Electrical faults, overheating components or battery failures are just some of the potential causes of ignition. Even a confined incident could damage components and force downtime, but if a serious fire takes hold the potential for data loss, reputational damage and human safety could lead to far more serious consequences. In the event of a fire, it’s vital to protect
the electrical junctions that supply essential facilities such as emergency lighting and backup power, plus additional systems where maintaining a power supply is critical. While concrete provides high resistance as a
fire barrier, it’s inherently inflexible, so to give data centre managers the flexibility to scale operations with additional racks, hardware, and essential power connections, surface- mounted enclosures give the freedom to add junctions as required.
To protect the electrical supply, surface-mounted enclosures need to provide a barrier to extremes of heat and flame. In the event of a fire, the control systems governing safe shutdown of IT hardware might need to run for up to an hour, while fire suppression systems and emergency lightingmight need to run for up to 90 minutes. When selecting a fire-protection enclosure
for a data centre, units should be certified between E30, E60, and E90, guaranteeing functional integrity of the enclosures for at least 30, 60, or 90 minutes from the onset of fire. The E90 certification might be needed to protect the supply to functions such as water booster systems to supply extinguishers, smoke and heat extraction systems, as well as evacuation-able fire brigade elevators. To achieve this level of fire protection, thermoplastic polycarbonate is the choice for its high heat tolerance, and as polycarbonate is non-conductive during a fire, it also removes the risk of short circuit. Within the enclosure, terminal block clamps will typically be made from high temperature-resistant ceramic, securing connections in place while also removing the short-circuit risk. Enclosures can also include integrated fuses that enable non-reactive cable branching, meaning that in the event of a fault, the functional integrity in the main section is unaffected.
During a fire, sprinkler systems and hoses present a water ingress risk and, during an emergency situation, the prospect of impact is high. As a result, the enclosures should
be rated to IP66, preventing ingress from strong water jets, with an IK08 rating to give high resistance to physical impact. In addition to high levels of protection, rapid
enclosure installation can reduce time and cost; while a flexible installation capability with sufficient adjustment options lowers the demand for prior planning of cable architecture and means a faster job on-site. An example can be found in Spelsberg’sWKE
fire protection enclosures, which can be mounted on a fire-resistant wall or ceiling, and installed with two pre-fitted lugs that can be rotated around 90˚ for positioning adjustment. Inside the enclosure, the terminal block can also be adjusted through a choice of 0˚, 45˚, or 90˚
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positions, secured by a central screw and sliding bracket. The enclosures are pre-assembled so only wiring is required, meanwhile the enclosure cover can be kept safe during wiring with the optional cover-retaining strap. To optimise cable routing between enclosures
and the wider electrical circuits, knock-out membranes enable fast and simple cable installation, with an integrated flange system maintaining the IP rating. Of further benefit, Spelsberg’s in-house CNC service can also customise enclosures, providing cutting, milling, and drilling according to bespoke designs.
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