Sprinkler Design for Car Parks: Reducing the Impact of Electric Vehicle Fires

阿尔达Baydemir

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2023年9月29日

Ensuring the safety of people and property is crucial to any building, 停车场也不例外. This includes reducing the risk of harm from electric vehicle fires. 在停车场和其他建筑区域设计良好的洒水系统可以控制火势蔓延,并为疏散提供足够的时间, 可能挽救生命. In addition, sprinklers help limit property damage.

停车场通常位于被占用区域或高价值资产的内部或附近,每天可以容纳大量车辆和乘客. 用于喷头设计, 挑战在于选择正确的代码以与系统的保护目标保持一致. This article explores the importance of sprinkler design in car parks, different applicable UK and US standard approaches, 以及最近的法规变化.

Fire Risks Associated with Electric Vehicles in Car Parks

The plastic content of cars has increased over time, ,最近, there has been a significant shift towards electric cars. Electric vehicles (EVs) have 锂离子电池 that house ignitable liquids, 哪些会带来挑战, high-consequence fires under the right circumstances.

If 锂离子电池 are in a fault situation due to physical damage, 过热或过充, then the phenomenon known as thermal runaway might occur, which can lead to toxic gas release and fire if the material is ignited. 停车场内的充电设施会带来潜在的火源和过度充电的风险, increasing the probability of having a fire event in a car park.

Sprinklers: The Preferred Active Fire Protection in Car Parks

充分的保护措施是必要的,以减轻与电动汽车相关的潜在火灾风险, 洒水装置在其中发挥了关键作用. 人们对洒水装置的期望是控制火势,而不是完全扑灭它或阻止热失控. 通过帮助限制火势蔓延, sprinklers provide more time for evacuation, reduce property damage and provide greater protection for firefighters.

2023年7月11日,英国政府零排放车辆办公室发布了一项临时指南 Covered Car Parks: Fire Safety Guidance for Electric Vehicles. 文件承认,洒水装置能有效控制有盖停车场内的火势发展,在设计新的开放式/封闭式停车场时,应将其纳入成本效益分析. 它推荐en 12845:2015 +A1:2019和BS 9251:2021作为生命安全的适当代码, and also Loss Prevention Council (LPC) rules to satisfy property insurance requirements.

英国消防协会(FPA)的RISC管理局发布了其指导文件的第2版 RC59: Recommendations for Fire Safety When Charging Electric Vehicles, which outlines recommendations to mitigate the fire risk. 它强调了自动喷水灭火系统的有效性:“自动喷水灭火系统为封闭的停车场提供了最佳的主动防火形式.RC59建议遵循包含BS EN 12845的LPC规则,但也参考等价的和公认的规则,如NFPA 13和88A.

Sprinkler Design Requirements for Life Safety

Sprinklers can be provided for life safety, property protection, or both. 确定喷头需求背后的目标是开发喷头设计的第一步.

最终, 喷水灭火系统的生命安全要求是由满足英国标准和其他建筑法规指导的需要驱动的. 另外, sprinklers may be required to support fire engineers’ performance-based solutions, such as a reduction in required fire resistance to structure. The following British Standards address life safety in car parks.

BS 9251:2021: This code applies primarily to residential and domestic premises for life safety protection. 该规范仅为停车场消防隔间提供指导,如果超过该限制,则参考BS EN 12845.

en 12845:2015:本规范适用于商业和工业场所以及符合BS 9251:2021的住宅场所. Although the code’s National Foreword states that it is not only for life safety, 财产保险公司普遍认为,单独采用守则而忽视LPC规则,意味着其目的是保护生命安全,而不是为了保护财产.

Hazard classification determines the water density, water supply duration and area of operation in sprinkler system design. 危险分类的增加意味着这些参数中至少有一个或多个更加繁重, 需要更大的水箱, 强大的消防泵, and probably larger sprinkler heads and pipes.

BS EN 12845’s current classification of car parks is Ordinary Hazard 2 (OH2), but an updated code is due to be released soon. 公开征求公众意见的文件表明,使用当前版本的分类,停车场将相当于最低普通危险3 (OH3). This would mean an approximately 50% larger water tank volume. 根据新的可变标准,设计规范将比OH3要求更高, specifically with regard to the ceiling height. 新版本声称,根据它设计的系统将提供生命和财产保护,并减少业务中断.

Sprinkler Design Requirements for Property Protection

Sprinkler requirements for property protection generally come from the property insurer. 另外, 最终用户可能决定投资于洒水装置,以增强火灾后的业务连续性.

If property safety is the primary goal of the sprinkler design, then the following codes and standards should be adhered to. 请注意,所有三个保险驱动的洒水法规/规则最近都升级了停车场的危险分类, with the UK’s LPC rules being the most conservative.

结合BS EN 12825的LPC规则: Loss Prevention Council (LPC) rules come in the form of technical bulletins (TB). The September 2022 version of the relevant TBs, 特别是TB229和TB202, increased the car park hazard classification to High Hazard Process 3 (HHP3), overriding en 12845:2015’s current classification of OH2. HHP3 requires approximately six times more water tank volume than OH2.

NFPA 88A和NFPA 13: nfpa 88a, 停车构筑物标准, 2023年版, was approved as the American National Standard on 9 April 2022. 该规范的早期版本在某些情况下(如.g.(2019年版). The 2023 edition requires sprinklers to conform to NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, 不管情况如何.

NFPA 88A also regulates other risk mitigation measures, and some of these have become more onerous in its 2023 edition. 此外, 2022年版NFPA 13将汽车停车危险分类从普通危险1 (OH1)增加到普通危险2 (OH2)。. This means an approximately 33% larger water tank volume.

FM全球数据表3-26数据表的中期修订将停车场和停车场的危险类别从危险等级2 (HC-2)更新为危险等级3 (HC-3). This means at least an approximately 50% larger water tank for an FM-compliant system, though it might be more depending on ceiling height. FM’s HC-3 water tank is approximately 44% less in volume than the LPC rules tank size.

适当的代码选择是关键

随着电动汽车数量的稳步上升,锂离子电池起火的风险也在上升. Sprinklers are recognized as an effective measure to mitigate this fire risk in car parks, with each car park project requiring a tailored approach to its sprinkler design. Given that all the codes mentioned above are applicable in the UK and 爱尔兰, discussion is needed with project stakeholders, 当局和保险公司应确保在详细设计开始之前选择合适的代码.

延森休斯的专家团队可以指导您完成喷头的选择和设计开发过程. 您是否需要帮助升级现有系统或安装全新系统, 彩宝网平台的团队将与您密切合作,了解您的需求,并为您量身定制最适合您需求的解决方案.

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作者简介

阿尔达Baydemir
Arda is Jensen Hughes’ Head of Fire Systems Design for the UK and 爱尔兰. 他与客户和设计团队紧密合作,以具有成本效益和创新的方式实现每个项目的消防安全目标.