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Tower Smoke Management -
System Planning, Design &
Testing
Kirk Rosenbaum, CCP, PQPSenior Commissioning ManagerKEO International Consultants
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INTRODUCTIONKirk Rosenbaum, CCP, PQP
Senior Commissioning Manager
30 + Years Experience in Design,
Construction Industry
12 + Years Experience Exclusively
in the Area of Commissioning
10 + Years Experience in Fire Life
Safety Review and Inspection
Managed the Commissioning of
Over 2,500,000 m2 of new buildingsand 250,000 m2 of existing
buildings
Former Director and Treasurer of
the Building Commissioning
Association
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Need for Tower Smoke Management
Sample GCC Tower Fire Events 2012
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Code & Standard Design Requirements
NFPA 922012;Standard for Smoke Control Systems
5.2.1 Pressure differential across smoke barriers shall be 12.5 Pa for fullysprinklered buildings.
5.2.2 Pressure differential across doors shall not cause the force required to open
the doors to exceed 133 N.
5.3 Stairways are to be pressurized to a minimum of 12.5 Pa and a maximum levelthat causes door opening forces to be less than 133 N.
5.4 Elevators shall be considered a separate smoke zone when smoke control isrequired.
5.3.5.1 Vestibules shall not be required, but shall be permitted as part of a building
smoke management system.
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Code & Standard Design Requirements
Qatar Civil DefenseFire Safety Standards
FSS 2.2.13 Smoke Stop or Fire Fighting Lobby required when:(i) Stairway has no natural light or ventilation, or(ii) Stairway traverses more than 4 stories (incl. basements), or(iii) Has a habitable height more than 28 meters above Ground.
All Fire Fighting Lifts shall be provided with a Fire Fighting Lobby.
Mechanical Ventilation/Pressurization to be provided at 10 Air Changes per Hour(ACH).
Mechanical equipment is to be provided with 100% stand-by power.
Smoke Stop Lobbies shall be no less than 3 square meters in area.Fire Fighting Lobbies shall be no less than 6 square meters in area with nodimension less than 2 meters.
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Code & Standard Design Requirements
Qatar Civil DefenseFire Safety Standards
FSS 2.2.13 Basements exceeding one story in depth require a Smoke Stop Lobbyadjacent to the Fire Fighting Lift and its adjacent stairway only. Other basementstairways do not require Smoke Stop Lobbies.
FSS 6.6.3
Fire Lift required when building habitable height exceeds 23 metersabove ground level or 9 meters below ground level.
FSS 1.5 A high-rise building exceeding 30 storeys shall be provided with refugefloors at an interval not exceeding 20 storeys.
A high-rise building exceeding 30 storeys shall be provided with refuge floors at aninterval not exceeding 20 storeys.
A minimum of 50% of the gross floor area of the Refuge Floor must be a protectedHolding Area.
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Code & Standard Design Requirements
Qatar Civil DefenseFire Safety Standards
FSS 1.5 The Holding Area is to be ventilated:(ii) Naturally ventilation requires the total area of the ventilation openings to not
be less than 25% of the gross floor area of the Holding Area.(iii) Mechanical ventilation is also acceptable as long as the equipment is powered
via 2-hour fire rated cables and 100% stand-by power is available.
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Low-RiseBuilding
< 23 metersabove ground
< 9 metersbelow ground
No smokemgmt system
required
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Low-Rise Bldg
w/ Deep
Basement < 23 meters
above ground
> 9 metersbelow ground
Fire LiftRequired
Bsmt StairPressurizationRequired
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Mid-RiseBuilding
> 23 metersabove ground
> 9 metersbelow ground
Fire LiftRequired
Bsmt & Tower
Stairs RequirePressurization
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High-Rise Bldgw/ Refuge Floor
> 30 storeysabove ground > 9 meters
below ground
Fire LiftRequired
Evacuation Liftmay be required
Bsmt Stairs,Tower Stairs,and RefugeRequire
Pressurization
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High-Rise Bldgw/ Fire FloorIsolation
Same physicalfeatures asHigh-Rise
In addition tostandard High-Rise smokemgmt, two
floors aboveand below thefire floor arepressurized.
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Typical Floor Plan (No Fire Floor Isolation)
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Pressurized Floor (Fire Floor Isolation)
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Typical Floor Plan (Fire Floor Isolation)
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Code & Standard System Sizing MethodRecommendation and Test Requirements
Document NFPA 92 - 2012 Qatar Civil Defense - FSS
System SizingMethodRecommendation
SFPE TR 82-4 Designing StairPressurization Systems(Similar to British StandardMethod)
ASHRAE Chapter 52 Fire andSmoke Management
None Provided
System TestRequirement
Maintain pressure differentialacross closed doors when(1) 3* Stairway Doors are
open, or(2) Lifts parked with doors
open.
None Provided
* The number of open stairway doors is determined by the local fire authority and is
not NFPA prescribed.
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Calculation ASHRAE 52
QSP= 0.839 * Asb* (Delta-Psb)1/2 + 0.452 * AOD* (Delta-Psb)
1/2
QSP =Fan Flow Rate for Pressurization of Stairway toRequired Static Pressure (m3/s)
HS = Total Heightof Stairway
Asb =Total Flow Area between Stairway and Building (m2) -walls and closed doors
AOD =Flow Area through
Open Doors (m2)Delta -Psb =
Primary Pressure Difference betweenStairway & Building (Pa)
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Calculations Industry Leakage Data
ASHRAE HANDBOOK 2007Chapter 52
Field tests haverepeatedlyshown thatLOOSE wall
constructionshould beutilized for
system sizing inthe region.
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Calculations Industry Leakage Data
SelectDoors
asAppropriate
fortheProject
(Blue
BoxCanBeIgnored)
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Calculations Industry Leakage Data
Important Note: If a stairway has a door with double-leafs,BOTHleaves of the door must be open for testing and it
only counts as One Door Open.
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Calculations Industry Leakage Data
Data from a Tamura and Shaw Study, 1976
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Typical SystemLayout
Air InjectionPoints
Single pointinjection OK forlifts to approx.40 storeys
Single pointinjection OK forstairways of
approx. 15 to 20storeys, but willnot satisfy BsmtStairways
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RecommendedSystem Layout
Air InjectionPoints
Inject air to LiftShafts at top,bottom, andapproximatelyevery 40 storeys
Inject air tostairways at topand approximatelyevery 15-20 storeys
Inject air to allbasementstairways
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Lessons Learned (Page 1 of 5)
Pressurization systems to be sized based onASHRAE 52 methodology with loose leakage rates
and appropriate safety factors.
Stack effect is negligible based on field test results and
may generally be discounted in system sizing
calculation.
Wind effects are negligible based on field testing and
may generally be discounted in system sizingcalculation unless stairways or lift shafts are located
against an exterior wall.
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Lessons Learned (Page 2 of 5)
Pressurization system intakes and reliefs should not bedirectly exposed to wind pressure and need to have
tightly sealing dampers. Either condition may allow
humid outside air to enter a stairway or shaft and
could result in mould issues.
Masonry shafts are not appropriate as air plenums for
pressurization systems; excessive leakage and
excessive friction loss.
For towers taller than 40 storeys single point air
injection at the top of the building is generally
insufficient for pressurizing lift shafts.
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Lessons Learned (Page 3 of 5)
Pressurization system fans should be equipped withVFDs for the setting of fan maximum speed.
Pressurization systems should be equipped with
adjustable pressure relief dampers to prevent system
over-pressurization of stairways. Pressure sensor
control may have excessive response time.
Basement stairs should be equipped with stand-alone
pressurization systems and not combined with towerpressurization systems.
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Lessons Learned (Page 4 of 5)
Pressurization system fans should be equipped with
VFDs for the setting of fan maximum speed.
Pressurization systems should be equipped with
adjustable pressure relief dampers to prevent system
over-pressurization of stairways. Pressure sensorcontrol may have excessive response time.
Basement stairs should be equipped with stand-alone
pressurization systems and not combined with tower
pressurization systems.
For towers taller than 15 - 20 storeys single point air
injection at the top of the building is generally
insufficient for pressurizing stairways.
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Lessons Learned (Page 5 of 5)
Construction schedules should prioritize early
completion of pressurization systems and the executionof pressurization system testing. (Failure to validate
the systems early could result in extensive delays
to the approval for occupancy for the project.)
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Questions & Answers
Kirk Rosenbaum, CCP, PQPSenior Commissioning ManagerKEO International Consultants
Contact Information:PO Box 27594Abu Dhabi, UAE
+974 050 [email protected]