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Dampers - Requirements Print. What are the requirements for the installation of fire and smoke dampers? Back to FAQs. Any examples are for illustrative purposes only.
Generally, fire dampers are required where air ducts penetrate walls that are rated for 2-hours or more. They are needed in all air transfer openings non-ducted in rated walls, regardless of the rating. And they are required at some, but not all penetrations of rated floor assemblies and shaft enclosures. Smoke dampers are required at penetrations of smoke barriers, unless the HVAC system is fully ducted and there is a sprinkler system installed throughout the facility, in which case they are not required.
Smoke dampers are also required in air transfer openings non-ducted in smoke partitions. Where a penetration requires both a fire damper and a smoke damper, combination units that are both smoke responsive and heat responsive may be used. These are more varied in use, as they could be normally closed then opened to provide makeup air for atria, opened to pressurize a space to prevent smoke movement, or opened to exhaust smoke.
There is frequent confusion about the types of dampers and their applications. This article explains the differences among the damper types and provides a brief overview of the control system requirements affecting their applications.
There are five essential dampers types: ceiling radiation, fire, corridor dampers, smoke, and combination fire and smoke. This article will cover the three types that are required per Chapter 7 of the IBC and two additional damper types that are required in applications both in Chapter 7 and Chapter 9. Life safety dampers are required by the codes to be certified to the appropriate standard in the UL family 2.
UL does not investigate these dampers to UL , the fire alarm standard. Roughly half of life safety dampers are installed in air moving plenums. Section As actuators have internal components that are flammable, they must meet the requirements of UL if installed in a plenum.
Ceiling dampers prevent radiant heat transfer between the occupied spaces and entrances into supply and return ducts, ceiling-floor voids, or ceiling-roof voids. While smoke and flames may be restricted, the dampers are not tested for that purpose. The blades then close to seal the opening.
Figure 1 shows several types of radiation dampers. Fire dampers prevent the passage of flames. They may restrict radiant heat transfer and smoke passage by obstruction, but they are not tested for those purposes. There are four common types:. Vertical static curtain fire dampers. Gravity pulls the blades closed if the link melts so that it no longer holds them open. See Figure 2.
Horizontal curtain fire dampers. These are spring-loaded to pull the curtain blades closed. Vertical or horizontal dynamic fire dampers. Dynamic dampers must close against air pressure as the fan may still be on. Therefore, whether vertical or horizontal, a spring pulls them closed if the fusible link melts.
Single- or multi-blade fire dampers. These are heavier duty than curtain dampers and can be applied horizontally or vertically. Most have a shaft spring that is held from closing the blades by a fusible link. See Figure 3. See Figure 4. If it heats up above its specified temperature, contacts open to remove power to the actuator, which then springs the damper closed. Corridor dampers are used where air ducts penetrate horizontal openings in fire-resistance-rated corridors.
They are combination fire and smoke dampers. The difference is that they are sleeved to fit in ceilings and tested at a lower air velocity than combination dampers. Corridor damper requirements are given in Chapter 7 of the IBC, as they serve to contain smoke. Figure 1: An example of a fire damper and Figure 2 right : An example of a smoke damper Source: Swegon.
Referring to the CIBSE Guide E Fire safety engineering, for compartmentation to be effective, the enclosing boundaries — such as walls, ceilings and floors — must be able to resist the spread of fire. In terms of dampers, this requires that ducts penetrating fire-resisting boundary elements are provided with fire dampers or that the ducts are also fire resisting , and that the stability of the structure supporting the fire-resisting boundary and damper must be maintained for the required period.
So, where ducted ventilation services could compromise the integrity of that compartmentation, fire dampers and smoke dampers can provide a controllable solution. Fire dampers are designed to allow air to flow through in normal operation but then shut suddenly with a thermal release mechanism at the outbreak of a fire, and are designed to failsafe close. The release mechanism is a thermally actuated device designed to respond to a rise in temperature of the surrounding area and release the fire damper blades at a predetermined temperature.
It can interface with mechanical, electrical, electronic or pneumatically operated mechanisms, which are positioned integrally or remotely from the device. Fire dampers for use in building ventilation ducts should be CE marked to BS EN Ventilation for buildings — Fire dampers this standard is currently being revised ; as tested to BS EN Fire resistance tests for service installations — Fire dampers this standard excludes dampers in suspended ceilings and non-mechanical dampers ; and classified to BS EN Fire classification of construction products and building elements.
Part 3 this standard is currently being revised. Fire dampers will resist the progress of the fire in the closed position and have a certified maximum leakage characteristic. The standard BS EN defines the requirements for testing dampers, with a requirement to close within two minutes of the test start.
The largest size of damper on the market must be fire tested. Pass and fail criteria are included in the standard in terms of:. Smoke dampers The most significant risk for occupants in fires is smoke inhalation.
Smoke control dampers at branches, or on the surface of the duct, along the path need to be closed and remain closed. In fact, if the duct crosses a compartment boundary it becomes part of the fire compartment in which the fire started. Their simplest application is where they are activated by smoke detectors and close upon the detection of smoke or fire to prevent circulation through the duct.
They are also increasingly used as part of an active smoke control system to selectively provide a route to remove smoke from a building. They can be actuated, opened and closed in less than 60 seconds, by external control signals and through a smoke control system. There is no particular failsafe position for smoke dampers.
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