Pressure Relief Device for Laboratory Fire Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inert gas fire extinguishing systems face challenges in maintaining negative pressure in enclosed spaces, such as laboratories, during rapid introduction of inert gas, which can lead to the escape of harmful particles and substances, and require oversized pressure relief flaps that are costly and difficult to install or modify.
Innovation Solution
A system with a pressure relief device featuring a vacuum generating device controlled by a controller to maintain room pressure within a predetermined maximum value, allowing for intelligent pressure compensation that decouples pressure relief from room size, ensuring negative pressure is maintained during inert gas flooding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If inert gas is rapidly introduced into the enclosed space to extinguish fire, then fire extinguishing effectiveness is improved, but overpressure builds up causing harmful substances to escape and requiring oversized pressure relief flaps
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors room pressure and dynamically adjusts the exhaust air volume flow in real-time. When pressure approaches the maximum threshold during inert gas introduction, the controller increases exhaust air removal to maintain pressure within safe limits, preventing harmful substance escape while enabling rapid fire extinguishing
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of the exhaust air system dynamically. The volume flow of exhaust air is adjusted as a function of measured room pressure, transforming from a static to a dynamic parameter that adapts to the fire extinguishing process, allowing rapid inert gas introduction without dangerous pressure buildup
2Reliability
If conventional pressure relief flaps are installed to prevent overpressure, then safety is improved, but device complexity and installation cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces mechanical pressure relief flaps with an electronically controlled pressure management system. Instead of passive mechanical relief, the system uses active electronic control of the exhaust air system to maintain pressure within safe limits, reducing mechanical complexity while improving reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The exhaust air system serves dual functions: normal ventilation and active pressure control during fire extinguishing. By making the exhaust system multi-functional, the patent eliminates the need for separate pressure relief flaps, reducing device complexity while maintaining safety
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
This solution effectively compensates for overpressure during inert gas introduction, preventing the escape of harmful substances and allowing for efficient fire extinguishing while reducing the need for costly structural modifications.
Implementation Method 1
a) the current pressure prevailing in the room atmosphere is measured and the measured pressure value is compared with a predetermined maximum pressure value, and depending on the result of the comparison, gas is removed from the room atmosphere in such a way that the instantaneous measured pressure value does not exceed the specified maximum pressure value
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method and a device for fire-prevention and for extinguishing a fire in an enclosed area (10), in particular a laboratory area, in which a permanent negative pressure has been established, wherein the atmosphere of said area is supplied with fresh air in a controlled manner as incoming air and waste air is evacuated from the atmosphere of said area in a controlled manner and wherein in the event of fire or to prevent a fire, an extinguishing agent, which is gaseous under normal conditions, is fed into the atmosphere of the area as incoming air. The aim of the invention is to ensure pressure relief even when the area (10) is rapidly flooded with the gaseous extinguishing agent, without altering the established negative pressure. To achieve this, the volumetric flow of the incoming air that is fed in total to the atmosphere of the area as fresh air and/or as extinguishing agent is less than or equal to the volumetric flow of the waste air evacuated from the atmosphere of the area.