our focus on sustainability anderson.pdf · • new linux cluster for fire and natural hazard...

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Supporting Sustainability

Dennis Anderson, P.E.

FM Global: Protecting the Value Your Business Creates

Our Focus on Sustainability

Loss PreventionIntegral to Sustainability

Car

bon

Emis

sion

s

Time

Disposal, Rebuild

Fire

Standard Construction

Green Construction

DemolitionOperationConstruction

www.fmglobal.com/researchreports

Risk Factors = 2-14% of CO2“Green” can increase by 3X

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Alternative Energy Sources: Wind

Alternative Energy Sources: Solar

Breaking New Ground for 175 Years

Innovating Then

Innovating Now

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Unique ToolsScientific Computing• New Linux Cluster for Fire and Natural Hazard Analysis• 2.7*1012 Calculations/Second

Scanning Electronic MicroscopeMagnifies up to 300,000 X

Unique ToolsForensic Analysis and Material Science Labs

No DefectsPart Overloaded

Failed Sprinkler Part

Boiler TubeMicro X-Ray Fluorescence

Remove Copper DepositsTo Prevent Failure

Materials Lab

Electrical Lab

Unique Tools: Research Campus

Hydraulics Lab

Large Burn Lab Improvements• Two Movable Ceilings• Humidity Control

Multimedia Center

Fire Technology Lab

Natural Hazards Lab• 7,000 sq m• EQ Lab

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Fire Technology Lab: Photo Album Tour

Fire Technology Lab

Fire Technology Small Burn Labs


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Fire Technology Large Burn Lab


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Why such a $100M+ investment?

Fire Technology Lab

$12,000,000$12,000,000$12,000,000

Hydraulic Oils burn

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Combustible aircraft hangars burn

$31,507,000$31,507,000$31,507,000

Wet sand burns?

$32,470,000$32,470,000$32,470,000

$42,763,000$42,763,000$42,763,000

Plastics burn

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Oil-cooled milling machines burn

$56,205,000$56,205,000$56,205,000

Plastic conveyors burn

$200,000,000$200,000,000$200,000,000

The Common Theme: No Sprinklers

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Fire Protection System Innovation

Research/Testing and Technology Come Together

Ceiling Density and Performance

K 5.6(K80)K 5.6(K80)

K 25.2(K360)K 25.2(K360)

#1- Key Sprinkler AttributesK Factor

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#2 - Key Sprinkler AttributesOrientation

PendentPendentUprightUpright

#3 - Key Sprinkler AttributesResponse Time Index

QRQRSRSR

• BetterProtection

• More Cost Effective

• More Sustainable

1970 vs. 2010

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One Constant

• Less fire• Less smoke• Less water• Less carbon emissions• Less to landfill• Less to repair, replace, or rebuild

Sustainability: Got sprinklers?

Wall Panel CombustibilityFM Global: Protecting the Value Your Business Creates

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What is the Hazard?

Wet sand burns?

$32,470,000$32,470,000$32,470,000

Somebody Else’s Burn Lab

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FM Approvals 25’ (7.5 m) Corner Test

Open Source Fire Model

www.fmglobal.com/modeling

Natural HazardsFM Global: Protecting the Value Your Business Creates

Natural Hazards Lab• 7,000 sq m• EQ Lab

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Natural Hazards LabEarthquake Shake Table

Key Capability of New Earthquake Laboratory

Earthquake: Why should we care?

T Ve i s et w

ing

Control Room

Test Preparation/Instrumentation

Shake TableShake Table

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5-ton Capacity

Initial Testing of the System

3 g 3 g

1.5 g

Mother Nature’s LabHurricane Ike (2008)

Mother Nature’s LabHurricane Ike (2008)

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Natural Hazards LabRoof Uplift Table

Mother Nature’s LabHurricane Frances & Jeanne (2004)

Mother Nature’s LabHurricane Frances & Jeanne (2004)

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Research Campus Remote Site

Research Campus Remote Site

Ammonia Refrigeration HazardsFM Global: Protecting the Value Your Business Creates

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Basic refrigeration cycle

Refrigeration – indirect systems

Compressor Package (Centrifugal)

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Compressor Package (Reciprocating)

Condenser

Receiver/Accumulator

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Expansion Valves

Evaporator (direct refrigeration)

What is ammonia?

• Refrigerant is anhydrous ammonia (NH3)– Colorless– Strong Odor

• Noticeable to humans at 15-20 ppm– Liquid heavier than water– Boils at -28oF

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What is ammonia?

Very noticeable, annoying100 Annoying, gas mask suggested200

Very annoying, gas mask needed, annoying to skin

500Toxic, cartridge mask, short time1,000

Highly toxic, full face oxygen mask, skin highly irritated

3,000 ppm (0.3%)

Effect Concentration

IIAR Operations Manual - 1987

Ammonia – key physical properties– Heat of combustion = 8000 BTU/lb – Vapors lighter than air.– LEL = 16% (160,000 ppm)– UEL = 25% (250,000 ppm)– Autoignition temp. = 1204oF– MIE much higher than hydrocarbons– Burns much slower than hydrocarbons– TLV-TWA = 25 ppm (ceiling 35 ppm)

Environmental issues

• Montreal Protocol, Clean Air Act (1987, 90)– Phase out CFC (R11 & 12) by 2000– Substitution by HCFC (R123 & 134a) & NH3

• Kyoto Protocol (1999)– Target greenhouse gases (CO2, methane)– Phase out production HCFC by 2020/2040

• Some switching to ammonia

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Codes for refrigeration systems

• ANSI/ASHRAE 15-2007, Safety Standard for Refrigeration Systems

• ANSI/ASHRAE 34-2007, Designation and Safety Classification of Refrigerants

• ANSI/ASME B31.5, Refrigeration Piping

ANSI – American National Standards InstituteASHRAE – American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning EngineersASME – American Society of Mechanical Engineers


• ANSI/IIAR 2 - 2008, Equipment, Design and Installation of Closed Circuit Ammonia Mechanical Refrigeration Systems

• NFPA 1, Fire Code – 2009, Chapter 53, Mechanical Refrigeration

• NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code® - 2009, Chapter 50, Mechanical Systems

IIAR – International Institute of Ammonia RefrigerationNFPA – National Fire Protection Association


• OSHA Process Safety Management Regulation (29 CFR Part 1910.119)

• EPA Risk Management Program (40 CFR Part 68)– Apply if over 10,000 lbs of ammonia

OSHA – Occupational Safety & Health AdministrationEPA – Environmental Protection Agency

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Other information sources

• NFPA Fire Protection Handbook®, 20th

Edition, Section 8, Chapter 12, Refrigeration Systems

• FM Global Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets 7-13 & 12-61 Mechanical Refrigeration

Other useful documents

• Ammonia Sensor Overview, Industrial Refrigeration Consortium, Madison, WI; December 2002

• EPA Alert – Hazards of Ammonia Releases at Ammonia Refrigeration Facilities (Update), August 2001

Loss history in past 15 years by type

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

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Gross loss ($M) Number

FireB&MCollapseImpact ExplosionEscaped LiquidsMiscellaneousContaminationVehicle

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Loss history in past 15 years by cause

05

10152025303540

Gross loss ($M) Number

Component FailedElectricLeakageUnknownOptg parameterMiscellaneousHuman Element

Ammonia Loss History – Bottom Line• Cause - mechanical failure of a part due to

impact, poor installation or maintenance• Ignition - electrical equipment• Explosions - occur but usually don’t result

in huge losses• Fire following explosion - generally not

significant addition to loss• Contamination – direct refrigeration issue

What will reduce the hazard?

• Location of equipment• Construction of machine room• Arrangement of equipment• Management programs• Protection features

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• Location– Never in basement– In a detached building– In a separate machine room building

• attached to an outside wall• in the building but on an outside corner• in the building on an outside wall


• Location


• Construction– Non-combustible– 1-hour fire rating for walls to adjacent areas– Vapor-tight walls to adjacent areas– Seal pipe openings to adjacent areas– Damage limiting (venting) construction

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• Occupancy– No boilers/fired equipment in machine room– No combustible storage in machine room (lube

oil, ordinary combustibles, etc)– Minimize holdup – receivers & accumulators

outdoors, preferably not on roof– Ventilation for leakage & temperature control

powered independent of other systems


• Occupancy - Piping & Equipment– Key valves accessible outside machine room– Piping per ANSI B31.5– No threaded joints on pipes larger than 1 in– Threaded joints seal-welded or brazed– Label all refrigerant piping


• Occupancy - Piping & Equipment– Eliminate liquid gage glasses or protect

from damage (armored, ball excess flow checks)

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• Occupancy - Piping & Equipment– Protect pipe from mechanical damage


• Occupancy - Piping & Equipment– Seal pipe openings to adjacent areas

Protection for compressors DS 7-95• Provide relief valves on

– discharge of compressor before shutoff valves– between stages – on all pressure vessels– route discharge outside– test valves annually

• Interlocks– high pressure alarm– high temperature alarm and trip

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• Ignition source control– Minimize electrics in machine room– Class I Division 2 rated electrical – Where rated retrofit not economical

• Continuous ventilation at 1 cfm/sq. ft• Emergency ventilation at 10 cfm/sq. ft• Ammonia detector (FM approved) set to alarm at

4% and shut down electrical at 8% ammonia


• Protection– Sprinklers for combustible construction or

occupancy– Extinguishers– Areas with storage subject to contamination

• Visits by responsible personnel at least once per 8 hours OR

• Ammonia detector (<1000 ppm) alarming to attended location


• Operation & maintenance– High level of preventive maintenance– Follow manufacturer’s guidance for frequency– Don’t step on piping during maintenance– In refrigerated areas, train lift truck operators

to avoid refrigeration system piping and components

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• Emergency response– A written emergency response plan– A well-trained emergency response team– Proper emergency response equipment

• vapor detectors• SCBA• protective clothing• fans

– Identify outside personnel to be notified

Preventive Maintenance: Why?

Combustible Dust HazardsFM Global: Protecting the Value Your Business Creates

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Overview

• What is an explosion?• What is a combustible dust?• When does a dust explosion hazard exist?• How do dust explosions behave?• How are dust explosions mitigated?

What is an explosion?

• Rapid release of energy that produces damage

• Chemical explosion– Reaction based

• combustion reaction• decomposition

• Physical explosion– Rapid failure of vessel under pressure

What is a combustion explosion?

• This is a fire, a really, really fast fire• A fast fire requires fuel premixed with air• To develop pressure, you need confinement

– Fire increases gas temperature– Hot gas expands– If volume is fixed, pressure will rise

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How bad will it be?


• Deflagrations– Flame front moves slower than speed of

sound– Uniform pressure in enclosure

• Maximum pressure 8 to 9 times ambient– Time to react and mitigate damage

• Detonations– Flame front moves at/above speed of sound– No time to react


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What is a combustible dust?

• Organic material• Unoxidized metal• Other oxidizable

materials (e.g. zinc stearate)

What is a combustible dust?

• 500 microns (1/50th inch) or smaller– different materials have different size

threshold– usually range of particle sizes– fines segregation = increased hazard

• Might not burn in pile or solid form• Simple version – Did it start as a rock?

Why do dusts explode instead of burn?

• High surface to volume ratio– Instant vaporization when heated

• Air around every particle• Explosion severity is driven by

– Explosivity characteristics – Particle size– Moisture content– Ease of ignition

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When does a dust explosion hazard exist?

• When dust is combustible• In dust collection equipment• In buildings

– Dust suspended in air– Dust accumulated on building structure (1/16”)– Dust handling equipment

• WHEN DUST IS IN A BUILDING!!!

When is dust “suspendible”?

• Above floor level• At floor level with other explosion hazard

capable of creating disturbance– equipment explosion hazard in same area– room or equipment explosion hazard in

adjacent area

How do dust explosions behave?

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How do dust explosions behave?

• Assume explosion propagates readily between connected volumes– unburned dust is pushed ahead of expanding

cloud of burning dust– fuel rich explosion: explosion can continue as

the fireball finds new air– pressure wave moves well ahead of flame front– pressure piling effect in interconnected vessels

How are dust explosions mitigated?

• Control the dust

• Control the ignition sources

• Control the damage

How do you control the dust?• Find & eliminate fugitive dust sources• Properly design dust collection equipment• Properly maintain dust collection equipment• Pre-cleaning coarse material (remove fines)• Minimize accumulation & migration• Phlegmatization• Oil mist dust suppression• Housekeeping

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How do you minimize accumulation?H H HH H

H

How do you minimize accumulation?

H H HH H

HModify the construction

How do you control the ignition sources?10,00010,000

10001000

100100

1010

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.1.1

.01.01

Overheated Overheated bearingsbearings

Open FlamesOpen FlamesHot SurfacesHot Surfaces

Hard to

Ignite

Hard to

Ignite

FrictionFrictionSparksSparks

ElectrostaticElectrostaticDischargeDischarge

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How do you control the ignition sources?

• Annual infrared scan of electrical equipment• Hot Work prohibition; permits when safe• Prohibit smoking and open flames• Hazardous location electrical equipment• Magnetic separators• Motion/alignment interlocks• Grounding/bonding

How do you control the damage?

• DLC – Damage Limiting Construction– Pressure relieving (i.e., venting)– Pressure resisting

• Open structures• Containment• Isolation

Explosion Quench Pipe

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Explosion Blocking: Chemical Agent

Control Unit

Pressure Sensor

ChemicalSuppressantCanister

Rotary Airlocks

Rapid-action Valve

• Closes in milliseconds using high pressure gas

• Distance between explosion detection device and valve long enough to allow valve to close before flame front arrival

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Control Unit

PneumaticDriven Gate Valve

Pressure Sensor

Explosion Blocking: Rapid-action Valve

Flame Front Diverter (Explosion Diverter)

High Speed Abort Gate

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Knowledge, Not Guesswork

Questions?

Dennis Anderson, P.E.

FM Global: Protecting the Value Your Business Creates

our focus on sustainability anderson.pdf · • new linux cluster for fire and natural hazard...

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