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Fire Damper
Fire dampers are passive fire protection products used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) ducts to prevent the spread of fire inside the ductwork through fire-resistance rated walls and floors. Fire/smoke dampers are similar to fire dampers in fire resistance rating, and also prevent the spread of smoke inside the ducts. When a rise in temperature occurs, the fire damper closes, usually activated by a thermal element which melts at temperatures higher than ambient but low enough to indicate the presence of a fire, allowing springs to close the damper blades. Fire dampers can also close following receipt of an electrical signal from a fire alarm system utilising detectors remote from the damper, indicating the sensing of heat or smoke in the building occupied spaces or in the HVAC duct system. Regulations and fire test regimes vary from one country to another, which can result in different designs and applications. Fire dampers for ducts Mechanical dampers Imag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drywall Reality
Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thick sheets of facer and backer paper, used in the construction of interior walls and ceilings. The plaster is mixed with fiber (typically paper, glass wool, or a combination of these materials); plasticizer, foaming agent; and additives that can reduce mildew, flammability, and water absorption. In the middle of the 20th century, drywall construction became prevalent in North America as a time- and labor-saving alternative to lath and plaster. History The first plasterboard plant in the UK was opened in 1888 in Rochester, Kent. Sackett Board was invented in 1894 by Augustine Sackett and Fred Kane, graduates of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It was made by layering plaster within four plies of wool felt paper. Sheets were thick with open ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uniform Mechanical Code
The Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC) is a model code developed by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) to govern the installation, inspection and maintenance of HVAC (heating, ventilating and air-conditioning) and refrigeration systems. It is designated as an American National Standard. The UMC is developed using the American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) consensus development procedures. This process brings together volunteers representing a variety of viewpoints and interests to achieve consensus on mechanical issues. The UMC is designed to provide consumers with safe mechanical systems while, at the same time, allowing latitude for innovation and new technologies. The public at large is encouraged to provide input for the development process. The code is updated every three years. A code development timeline and other relevant information are available at IAPMO's website. History In 1926, a group of Los Angeles plumbing inspectors rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheet Metal
Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes. Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil or leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 in) are considered plate, such as plate steel, a class of structural steel. Sheet metal is available in flat pieces or coiled strips. The coils are formed by running a continuous sheet of metal through a roll slitter. In most of the world, sheet metal thickness is consistently specified in millimeters. In the U.S., the thickness of sheet metal is commonly specified by a traditional, non-linear measure known as its gauge. The larger the gauge number, the thinner the metal. Commonly used steel sheet metal ranges from 30 gauge to about 7 gauge. Gauge differs between ferrous ( iron-based) metals and nonferrous metals such as aluminum or copper. Cop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Listing And Approval Use And Compliance
Listing and approval use and compliance is the practice of installing and operating safety-related products and materials in accordance with to minimum performance conformance testing requirements. The conformance could be for a certification listing or for an approval that has been issued by an organization that is accredited both for testing and product certification. Such organizations include Underwriters Laboratories, FM Global, or the Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik (DIBt). Required listings or tests is often cited by a regulation such as a building code or a fire code and is enforced through adopted codes or regulations. In the absence of a standard test method, local building officials can review and approve results from qualified testing agencies on an ad-hoc basis if the evidence shows compliance for a material, product or construction method that provides equivalent strength, quality, fire resistance, durability and safety as compared to the building code objectives. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fire Test
A fire test is a means of determining whether fire protection products meet minimum performance criteria as set out in a building code or other applicable legislation. Successful tests in laboratories holding national accreditation for testing and certification result in the issuance of a certification listing. Components and systems subject to certification fire testing include fire rated walls and floors, closures within them such as windows, fire doors, fire dampers, structural steel, and fire stops. Fire tests are conducted both on active fire protection and on passive fire protection items. There are full-scale, small-scale and bench-scale tests. Fire testing considers all applicable provisions of the product certification. Examples of fire testing for products and systems * ASTM E84 Standard Test Method for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials, also known as the Steiner tunnel test * ASTM E1354 Standard Test Method for Heat and Visible Smoke Release Ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Active Fire Protection
Active fire protection (AFP) is an integral part of fire protection. AFP is characterized by items and/or systems, which require a certain amount of motion and response in order to work, contrary to passive fire protection. Categories of active fire protection Manual fire suppression Manual fire suppression includes the use of a fire blanket, fire extinguisher, or a standpipe system. Fire blanket A fire blanket is a sheet of fire retardant material that is designed to be placed over a fire to smother it out. Small fire blankets are meant for inception stage fires. They are normally made of fiberglass or Kevlar. Larger ones can be found in laboratories and factories, and are designed to be wrapped around a person whose clothes have caught fire. Fire extinguisher Fire extinguishers are devices that contain and discharge a substance that extinguishes or puts out a fire. These handheld devices come in a huge range of sizes, but the most common are portable fire extinguishers, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passive Fire Protection
Passive fire protection (PFP) is components or systems of a building or structure that slows or impedes the spread of the effects of fire or smoke without system activation, and usually without movement. Examples of passive systems include floor-ceilings and roofs, fire doors, windows, and wall assemblies, fire-resistant coatings, and other fire and smoke control assemblies. Passive fire protection systems can include active components such as fire dampers. Main characteristics Passive fire protection systems are intended to: * Contain a fire to the compartment of fire origin * Slow a fire from spreading from the compartment of fire origin * Slow the heating of structural members * Prevent the spread of fire through intentional openings (e.g., doors, HVAC ducts) in fire rated assemblies by the use of a fire rated closure (e.g., fire door, fire damper) * Prevent the spread of fire through penetrations (e.g., holes in fire walls through which building systems such as plumbing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HVAC
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HVAC system design is a subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. "Refrigeration" is sometimes added to the field's abbreviation as HVAC&R or HVACR, or "ventilation" is dropped, as in HACR (as in the designation of HACR-rated circuit breakers). HVAC is an important part of residential structures such as single family homes, apartment buildings, hotels, and senior living facilities; medium to large industrial and office buildings such as skyscrapers and hospitals; vehicles such as cars, trains, airplanes, ships and submarines; and in marine environments, where safe and Sick building syndrome, healthy building conditions are regulated with respect to temperature and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blast Damper
A blast damper is used to protect occupants and equipment of a structure against overpressures resultant of an explosion. The blast dampers normally protect air inlets and exhaust penetrations in an otherwise hardened structure. Blast dampers are related or identical to blast valves, the latter name is generally used to describe blast mitigation devices as they relate to nuclear explosions. Operation Blast dampers usually employ some type of blade held open with tension from a spring. The damper blades close automatically when pressure overcomes the resistance offered by the spring. Various models differ in the amount of blast protection (e.g. 1 bar/14.5 psi or lower amounts of protection) and whether they stay closed after the blast or remain functional. Design Typical blast dampers are sized to match HVAC ductwork and provide proper airflow with low pressure drop. Common applications include protecting equipment and personnel of control rooms and accommodation modules in petroc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joint Commission
The Joint Commission is a United States-based nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c) organization that accredits more than 22,000 US health care organizations and programs. The international branch accredits medical services from around the world. A majority of US state governments recognize Joint Commission accreditation as a condition of licensure for the receipt of Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements. The Joint Commission is based in the Chicago suburb of Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois. History The Joint Commission was formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and previous to that the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH). The Joint Commission was renamed The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals in 1951, but it was not until 1965, when the federal government decided that a hospital meeting Joint Commission accreditation met the Medicare Conditions of Participation, that accreditation had any official impact. However, Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
