Applications

High Pressure Water Mist (HPWM) offers a high degree of safety for people, property and the environment. It is particularly effective in managing fire protection in machine rooms where it can be targeted to protect specific items typical installations include the protection of gas turbines, diesel generator sets, engine test cells and manufacturing facilities.

High Pressure Water Mist is more efficient at generating a cooling effect than other fire suppression systems, which prevents fire from spreading to adjacent areas. Speedy fire suppression also minimises any downtime and allows the unit to be restored to operational status with minimal delay, thereby promoting business continuity.

The use of FM Approved stainless steel nozzles further reinforces reliability and in the event of a discharge the system is quickly and easily recharged as it only requires water.

Water mist protection of local applications is considered a special protection system as defined in FM Approval FM5560. A local application high pressure water mist system can be installed to discharge directly on, or around, an object or hazard, typically an ignitable liquid (also known as flammable or combustible liquid) hazard. Where a pool fire could occur, curbing or diking should be provided to prevent spread of fire beyond the hazard protected.

A High Pressure Water Mist system provides a quick and targeted response for high-risk areas within a manufacturing facility (for example a hammer press in a forging facility). This allows the protection of the high-risk area only, thereby offering a considerable cost saving in not having to install a facility-wide system. Additional savings are also generated by a smaller footprint as the water tank size is reduced.

Hydrocore local application systems are FM Approved and use stainless steel open nozzles (they have no fusible element) spaced above or around the object to be protected. Open nozzle systems ensure quick cooling and suppression and can also be used in conjunction with a total flooding system.

Hydrocore High Pressure Water Mist systems (HPWM) can be used to provide fire protection and suppression for office spaces, banks, restaurant seating areas, apartments, hospitals, hotel rooms, schools, universities and other areas where the public are present.

The use of FM Approved stainless steel nozzles (Hydrocore nozzles are fire tested for FM Hazard Category 1 (HC-1)) with a heat sensitive frangible bulb that ruptures at a set temperature offers a targeted response in the zone of fire. As the system uses only water, it is quick and easy to refill in short timeframe, thereby offering ongoing fire protection.

An additional benefit of High Pressure Water Mist systems is that they also generate a smoke scrubbing effect. This not only limits the effect of smoke damage, but more importantly, it can provide increased visibility in the event of a building evacuation.

Finally, Hydrocore High Pressure Water Mist systems require smaller diameter pipes than a standard sprinkler system, making them both easier to install and less obtrusive.

Hydrocore High Pressure Water Mist systems are perfectly suited for providing fire protection for churches, museums, heritage buildings, art galleries and wine cellars. The primary benefit is that they use far less water than traditional sprinkler systems, resulting in significantly lower water damage in the event of a discharge. Additionally Hydrocore High Pressure Water Mist systems also act as a smoke scrubber during discharge, resulting in a further reduction in fire-related damage.

As the high pressure water mist uses less water, there is a consequent reduction in the space requirements for the storage tanks, which also means considerably less weight where the tanks are installed above ground floor level, making them ideal for structures having low load-carrying capacities.

For highly targeted fire protection, the use of FM Approved stainless steel nozzles with a frangible bulb that fractures at a pre-determined temperature (tested for FM Hazard Category 1 (HC-1)) means that a fire event can cause a targeted discharge, which minimises collateral damage.

Finally, Hydrocore High Pressure Water Mist systems require smaller diameter pipes than a standard sprinkler system, making them both easier to install and less obtrusive.

Using the same principles as for Local Applications (above) Hydrocore High Pressure Water Mist systems can be used to provide fire protection for individual transformer installations. Each transformer can be protected with a ring of stainless steel nozzles, at ground level and above the transformer.

This application works for both open-air and enclosed installations, using open nozzles connected to a Fire Detection System (FDS). Recognising that oil bunds and drip trays are a likely source of fire, Hydrocore can provide specialised micro nozzle manifolds to disperse water mist into a targeted zone.

Fire protection of tunnels is a core strength of the Hydrocore high pressure water mist technology. Our systems have been tested to protect both road and utility tunnels, where substantially large fire loads as compared to other fire scenarios can occur. It is not uncommon for fire loads to be in the range of 50MW to 100MW+.

Hydrocore systems allow the use of sectioning so that in the event of a tunnel fire, the system can deliver fire suppression to the fire area itself and also to the adjacent areas to further prevent fire spread.

An additional benefit of Hydrocore High Pressure Water Mist systems is that they also generate a smoke-scrubbing effect. This not only limits the effect of smoke damage, but more importantly, it can provide increased visibility in the event of a required evacuation.

As Hydrocore High Pressure Water Mist systems use Stainless Steel 316, the life of the equipment is enhanced when compared to other systems.