DATA CENTRES THE PROBLEM?
Hard Disk Damage
Since 2007, reports started to emerge saying that hard disk drives (HDD's) had been damaged following the release of Inert gas fire suppression systems.
Much speculation followed and early investigations focused around the possibilities of air-pressure changes, a chemical reaction, or temperature fluctuations during the release of the extinguishing agent.
What is the real problem?.............Acoustic noise.
When an inert gas is released from the pressurized cylinders it flows through the pipes at an extremely high velocity.
On exit through the discharge nozzles within the data centre, it generates high-level acoustic noise.
The noise reaches the HDD's where it causes vibration, which in turn causes the read/write element to go off the data track, resulting in the partial loss of data or in some cases a catastrophic failure of Hard Disk Drives.
THE SOLUTION
SYSTEM DESIGN
The British Standard (ISO 14520-1:2015) for the design of gaseous fire suppression systems was updated & released in 2016. One of the major changes from the previous issue was that the minimum discharge time for inert gas systems was extended from 60-seconds to 120-seconds.
An extended discharge time reduces the "flow-rate" of the inert gas discharge.
This reduced flow rate significantly reduces the decibel level of the the inert gas discharge.
We also see a dramatic reduction in the amount of over-pressure venting that is required to protect the building fabric (walls, ceilings etc.) from damage due to a sharp, sudden rise in pressure.
Another benefit is that the "reduced flow-rate" means that the hydraulic design of inert gas systems becomes far simpler. In many cases, this allows us to provide you with a solution without modifying the existing pipework installation at all!
THE ACOUSTIC NOZZLE & CALCULATOR
Fire Technical Services are working closely with Tyco Fire Protection Products, to provide you with an award winning solution to calculate the decibel output of your existing system and to further minimize the noise, through the installation of the Acoustic Nozzle.
Tyco's Acoustic Nozzle and Calculator has recently been announced as the winner of the "Data Centre Facilities Innovation of the Year" award at the 2017 DCS Awards
TYCO SAPPHIRE 42BAR
Traditionally, most Halocarbon fire suppression systems were designed around cylinders with a storage pressure of 25 Bar. Restrictions with the hydraulic calculation of these systems limited their use to relatively "small" areas, where the cylinders needed to be located within the protected area.
The development of 42Bar technology breaks down these barriers and we can now offer a solution to protect your data centre with a flexible solution using the market leading 3M™ Novec™ 1230 FireProtection Fluid.