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 | | TYCO SUPPRESSION SOLUTIONS PROVIDE CHOICE & PERFORMANCE | | | Tyco Safety Products | | 01/11/2007 | | | As part of its commitment to meeting all of the market’s demands for high-performance total flooding fire suppression systems for critical asset protection, the Tyco Safety Products Fire Suppression Group offering includes SAPPHIRE®, the very latest in environmentally-acceptable technology, the i3® inert gas solution, and the new low-cost HYGOOD® CO2 [Carbon Dioxide] high pressure system. All three solutions are noted for their zero or negligible impact on the environment and their unerring reliability. All are approved to the highest international standards.
SAPPHIRE uses 3M™ Novec™ 1230 Fire Protection Fluid. It is stored in containers as a low vapour pressure fluid that, when discharged, transmutes into a colourless and odourless gas. Typical total flooding applications use a low concentration that is well below the agent's saturation or condensation level. After discharge, the agent is dispersed through natural ventilation, leaving no residue to damage sensitive electronic equipment; it is also non- conductive and non-corrosive.
SAPPHIRE has a negligible impact on the environment with an insignificant global warming potential, lower than any of the halocarbon agents acceptable for use in occupied spaces. It has zero ozone depleting potential and a remarkably low atmospheric lifetime of just five days, compared with 107 years for Halon 1301. SAPPHIRE has a global warming potential of just “one”, which means that several thousand kilograms of the Novec 1230 fluid would have to be released to have the same impact on climate change as just one kilogramme of a typical alternative HFC or hydrofluorocarbon.
i3 is another Tyco solution that has impeccable environmental credentials; as an inert gas system it neither adds nor takes anything away from the environment. This is because it is a pure 50:50 mixture of Argon and Nitrogen, which already circulate freely and naturally in the atmosphere.
i3 forms no breakdown products and therefore minimises the risk of consequential damage to the carefully balanced ecological system. It has precisely the environmental credentials that the market is seeking: zero ozone depletion potential; a zero atmospheric lifetime; and zero global warming potential. So, to organisations specifying that a non-chemical suppressant is of overriding importance, the i3 inert gas system is an attractive option.
i3 is non-conductive and non-corrosive, and works by lowering the oxygen content of the protected area to a point that will not support combustion, but is still sufficient to sustainhuman life. It is non-toxic, and will not harm sensitive electronic equipment or documents, and is safe to use in enclosed areas where people may be working.
By comparison, CO2 is certainly not a system to be used for total flooding applications in normally occupied rooms or enclosures, as the discharge of CO2 in fire extinguishing concentrations would be lethal to room occupants. However, it is still an extremely effective fire suppression agent and, in all probability, has safely extinguished more fires in unoccupied enclosures than any other gaseous suppression agent.
The new HYGOOD CO2 offering uses individual premium-build steel storage containers that can be manifold-linked together to enable rapid, simultaneous discharge. The gas is stored under pressure and is piped to the protected enclosure, where it is released via a network of piping and strategically located discharge nozzles. Two or more hazard areas can be protected with a single group of containers by means of directional or selector valves.
On release, the colourless, odourless, electrically non-conductive, and non-corrosive gas permeates the entire protected area and extinguishes the fire mainly by reducing the oxygen level to less than that necessary to allow combustion to take place. The gas also provides localised cooling. When discharged, it leaves nothing behind to damage sensitive electronic equipment or documents, and with no agent clean-up required, business critical installations can be back in operation in the shortest possible time. | |
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