Firestop Collar With Pre-Defined Cutting Zones
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing firestop collars require multiple steps and resources to accommodate different pipe or cable diameters, as they need to be cut to size, which is inefficient and resource-intensive.
Innovation Solution
A firestop collar design featuring a support band with pre-defined cutting zones and a thinner intumescent strip, allowing for flexible adaptation and easy cutting in a single step, using a sheet metal support band with perforated and angled cutting zones to facilitate efficient cutting without damaging the collar.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If firestop collars are provided for different diameters to accommodate various pipes and cables, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity and logistical resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The firestop collar is designed as a universal component that can accommodate multiple pipe and cable diameters through pre-defined cutting zones. A single collar design serves multiple functions by allowing selective cutting to create different effective diameters, eliminating the need for multiple specialized collars for different sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar incorporates pre-defined cutting zones that segment the continuous structure into adjustable configurations. These cutting zones allow the collar to be divided at specific locations to adapt to different penetration sizes, transforming a single fixed-size component into a multi-size adaptable solution.
2Adaptability or versatility
If firestop collars are cut to size after manufacturing, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing time and processing steps increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting zones are pre-defined and pre-marked during manufacturing, preparing the collar in advance for future cutting operations. This preliminary action guides the user to cut only at specified locations, reducing decision time and ensuring proper sizing without requiring complex measurement or calculation steps during installation.
3Ease of operation
If the intumescent strip is made thinner in cutting areas, then ease of cutting is improved, but structural integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The intumescent strip exhibits varying thickness along its length, with thinner sections positioned at the cutting zones and thicker sections at the connection areas. This local variation in geometry provides reduced resistance for cutting tools at the cutting zones while maintaining sufficient material thickness at connection points to ensure structural integrity and strong bonding to the support band.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables flexible sizing and easy processing of firestop collars, reducing logistical and financial burdens by allowing for compact dimensions and efficient cutting, while maintaining structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
they comprise intumescent material that expands upon exposure to heat, closing the penetration as tightly as possible so as to prevent propagation of the fire
Data Source
AI summary
A firestop collar including a support band made of sheet metal and an intumescent strip that runs along the support band and is connected to it. The support band is provided with several pre-defined cutting zones which are at a distance from each other in the lengthwise direction and which run crosswise to the lengthwise direction. The intumescent strip has cutting areas that are oriented in the same manner and in which the intumescent strip is thinner than it is in the adjacent areas in the lengthwise direction. The cutting areas coincide with the cutting zones of the support band.