An Experimental Study on the Separation Distance to Prevent Impairment of Sprinkler Head Spray

Abstract

Sprinkler facilities are a reliable fire-extinguishing method, but a spray barrier around the sprinkler head has a significant impact on fire suppression and control. Rule 13 from the National Fire Protection Association aims to set fire safety standards but might reduce sprinkler reliability because of confusion about the rule application. The sprinkler height should be up to three times the width of an obstacle, which is confused with an obstacle’s maximum size. Therefore, this study conducted a spray distribution experiment by adjusting the separation distance between the bottom-up head and the spray barrier to between 1 and 8 times the outer diameter. As a result, the performance standards relating to the amount of water collected satisfied the reference curve at a separation distance of 7 times the outer diameter when the radiation pressure was 0.1 MPa.