Fire Dampers

Extract from BS EN ISO 15138:2007 Petroleum & natural gas industriesOffshore production installations-Heating, ventilation & air-conditioning.

A.9 Fire dampers A.9.1 Function Fire dampers shall be of a standard that maintains the integrity of designated fire-rated barriers when penetrated by HVAC ducts. Fire damper installations shall have a fire rating at least equal to the barrier they penetrate.

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A.9.2 Functional requirements A.9.2.1 General Any penetrations through fire-rated barriers are undesirable, but those through H-rated barriers incur high cost penalties and should, therefore, be proposed only if unavoidable. The only exception is where ducts pass through an area without serving that area (no breaks in the duct) and are fully rated to at least match the highest-rated barrier bounding that area. The essential service function of fire dampers requires that they are of a design that ensures reliability of operation during an emergency. As they can be left unused for long periods, construction shall be robust, using materials that are inherently non-corroding in the conditions present on an installation. Multiple use of fire dampers as pressure controllers, volume control dampers, etc. shall not conflict with the certification requirements. All fire dampers shall fail to the closed position, except under special conditions such as emergency generator room enclosures. A.9.2.2 Components and indicators Each fire damper shall be fitted with components and indicators, preferably housed in a protective casing, as follows, to provide operation and status indication: a) The fire damper shall be fitted with proximity or limit switches to indicate status closed and/or open positions. These switches shall not change over until the blades are within 5 % of the desired position. b) A local blade-position indicator shall be provided to indicate damper open and closed positions. c) A pneumatic, single-action spring-return actuator or a spring-return electric motor shall drive the damper open on supply of air or electric power and close the fire damper on loss of the same. Alternatively, spring-close, manual-open dampers may be considered. Spring selection shall ensure that the blades close firmly and against the maximum duct airflow and pressure.
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Actuator selection shall allow the spring to remain in compression for most of its life, also for the possibility to adjust the spring for increased bearing friction in arduous locations. The actuator shall be sized 40 % above the damper-closing torque. d) In addition, a local manually opening device may be required by some authorities or design codes. A thermal device assembly designed to activate the damper actuator and close the damper in the event of an unacceptable temperature rise in the duct may be provided as an option. If provided, the assembly shall be so designed that the trigger can easily be replaced without disassembly of pipework or components. A.9.2.3 Performance Fire dampers should be designed to minimize turbulence and static pressure losses. The damper-control mechanism should operate uniformly and smoothly from the open to the closed positions, ensuring freedom from erratic movement. Fire dampers shall be capable of opening and closing in any attitude or orientation over the full compressed air pressure range and the HVAC system air-pressure range, up to maximum differential pressure, using 100 % fan pressure. Fire dampers shall be designed to ensure closure under slow compressed-air bleed-off and with turbulent duct airflow. Fire dampers shall be designed to close within 2 s of receiving the actuating signal, or as determined by platform safety philosophy. Air-pressure quickexhaust valves are considered to improve the speed of closure, particularly of grouped dampers. Fire dampers shall have a certification acceptable to the certification authority and be tested to a recognized standard. Project datasheets shall indicate required ratings.

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The blade operation linkages and control devices shall be located out of the airstream in an integral enclosure that can easily be removed to allow maintenance. The design shall prevent over-travel and resultant blade distortion in both open and closed positions. The failure temperature of the thermal device, if fitted, shall be as specified on the datasheet.