ETFE roofights not an

alternative to smoke control

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2012 Colt International Licensing Ltd
For a number of years now, ETFE cushions have been promoted
and successfully utilised on numerous projects as a cost
effective alternative to glass in both roofights and faades. The
benefts over glass may be persuasive; ranging from lightweight
construction requiring much reduced structural support to
being able to absorb large defections without fracturing.
It has also been argued that because ETFE can melt, the
cushions are able to self vent in the event of fre, shrinking back
from fames to allow the fre to vent to atmosphere, eliminating
the need for smoke control.
This is a very general statement and should be viewed with
extreme caution as there are some very real concerns regarding
using low-melt panels for smoke control:
- The frst concern is that, by claiming that a roofight
will self-vent the fre, there will be no design input into the
arrangement of smoke control measures in the building. The
responsibility of smoke control design could therefore be
left to a works contractor who may not have the expertise
to identify the other requirements of a smoke control
system.
- The second concern is whether, with a melting point in
excess of 200C, the ETFE panels have the ability to
ventilate the smoke in the timeframe and the quantities that
are relevant to the application.
Objectives and Benefts of Smoke Control
Most smoke control systems are installed as an aid to life
safety, permitting some aspects of the Approved Document to
be relaxed, for example, an extension of travel distances or a
relaxation of compartmentation in a tall atrium.
The purpose of the smoke control system in these
circumstances is to release smoke from the building during
the early stages of the fre, permitting low level escape routes
to remain clear of smoke and allowing the occupants of the
building to evacuate in relative safety. As most deaths and injury
in fre incidents occur from smoke inhalation, this is the most
important objective of a life safety smoke control system.
A further beneft and often a design objective of a smoke
control system is to maintain a clear layer beneath the smoke to
allow fre fghters suffcient visibility to allow them to locate the
fre and deal with it safely and effectively.
On occasions, particularly in industrial buildings, a smoke control
may be designed to protect expensive plant or processes in
order to reduce the impact a fre may have on production,
minimising the commercial damage imposed by the incident.
All these objectives can be readily met by a smoke control
system that is correctly designed and installed. To ensure the
best possible performance, it is recommended that the smoke
control system operates as early as possible and it is usual that
the system is activated by the buildings fre alarm.
Components of a Smoke Control System
Every smoke control system, particularly in more complex
buildings such as shopping malls and atria (where ETFE
Roofights are more common) should be designed with the
building confguration in mind. The basic components of a
smoke control system are not limited to the provision of high
level roof ventilation or extract fans to provide smoke exhaust,
but also include:
Inlet air at low level, to relieve negative pressures in the
building that may prevent smoke being exhausted at the
desired rate.
Reservoir screens, to create a safe reservoir at high level
where smoke can be allowed to accumulate and be
exhausted. A properly designed reservoir prevents
uncontrolled spread of smoke throughout the building.
If the reservoir is too large, the smoke may cool, lose
buoyancy and affect the safe egress of the buildings
occupants.
Channelling screens, which are designed to channel smoke
directly into the reservoir, preventing uncontrolled smoke
movement around the building. These are particularly
important in shopping malls where smoke can spread
laterally beneath balconies before spilling to up towards
the reservoir at high level. Channelling screens serve to
create a more compact smoke plume, reducing the amount
of smoke ventilation required at high level.
The incorporation of all of these components needs to be
considered in full when designing a smoke control system.
In addition, the amount of smoke exhaust to be provided is
related to, amongst other things:
The size of the fre.
The height from the fre to the high-level reservoir.
The fre load.
The presence of sprinklers.
The fow-pattern of the smoke i.e. whether the smoke is
fowing under the edge of a balcony or directly up to high
level.
The spacing of channelling screens.
If the design process is eliminated by the argument that a
roofight will melt, allowing the building to be ventilated, the
knowledge and experience of the smoke control expert in
identifying other requirements of the smoke control system is
removed from the design process.
ETFE Roofights Not An Alternative to Smoke Control
2012 Colt International Licensing Ltd
ETFE Roofights Not An Alternative to Smoke Control
Operating Temperatures
Data sheets from a variety of suppliers and manufacturers
suggest that ETFE will soften/melt at temperatures in excess
of 200C.
General guidance on the design of smoke control systems, such
as BR368 Design Methodologies for Smoke and Heat Exhaust
Ventilation recommends that smoke control systems should
be designed so that the temperature of the smoke layer under
which people would be escaping does not exceed 200C.
The reason for this is that the radiation from a layer in excess
of this temperature may cause severe pain and discomfort to a
person not equipped with suitable safety equipment.
Furthermore, for a fre in multi-storey premises, such as a
shopping malls and atria, where the smoke may have to rise up
through one or more storey, the smoke reservoir temperature
could be as low as 20C above ambient.
Even if the smoke temperature were higher, many buildings have
sprinklers installed at roof level which are usually set at no more
than 141C. Should these activate, the smoke would be cooled,
preventing any possibility of the roofight melting and allowing
ventilation to take place.
Consequently the building, along with the escape routes, could
well be smoke-logged before any self-venting could occur. It is
important to realise that cool smoke is just as deadly as hot
smoke and early venting is paramount if escape routes are to
be effectively protected. In these circumstances, a catastrophe
could occur before the ETFE has heated suffciently to even
start melting.
Conversely, a smoke control system incorporating ventilators
or extract fans would be linked to the fre alarm or detection
system. As a result, the smoke control system would be
activated as soon as smoke is detected and before the escape
routes in the building have been compromised.
As a conclusion, it should be remembered that when
considering ETFE as an alternative to glass in a roofight,
the ability of the material to melt is not a substitute for the
installation of a properly designed automatic smoke control
system. Nor is it a substitute for employing a fre engineer or
smoke control specialist to competently design a complete
system that will take into account all aspects of the building
and its usage.
About Colt
Colt is an international company trading for over 80 years which specialises in the design, supply, installation and maintenance of
systems that provide healthy and safe living and working conditions.
Colt makes careful use of natural resources and develops energy effcient solutions. It focuses on innovative, energy saving
techniques.
2012 Colt International Licensing Ltd