Active protection systems fire mains

For means of protection, the use of water based suppression systems may be a hazard due to the disposal of firewater water, which will freeze quite readily in exposed locations. This may also be the case with exposed hydrocarbon fluid lines that, if isolated, say for an ESD activation, may freeze up due to lack of circulation. This will hamper restart operations for the facility. Typical use in the past has been the reliance on gases fire suppression agents for enclosed area, particularly Halon. Other methods include fire water storage tanks that are kept warm, together with fire mains deeply buried and continually circulated. 

An arming station, which is the main user interface with the security system, allows the user to arm (turn on), disarm (turn off), and communicate with the system. How a specific system is armed will depend on how it is used. For example, while IDSs can be armed for continuous operation (twenty-four hours/day), they are usually armed and disarmed according to the work schedule at a specific location so that personnel going about their daily activities do not set off the alarms. In contrast, fire protection systems are typically armed twenty-four hours/day. 

Since control rooms are normally constantly manned, it is considered unlikely that a fire could progress undetected to a hazardous size. Fixed fire protection systems, whether manually or automatically activated, are seldom installed in control rooms of processing facilities, mainly due to the fact that they are normally constantly manned. As such, it is considered unlikely that any fire that does occur would progress undetected to a size that cannot be extinguished by manual intervention (fire extinguishers, hose reel, etc.). 

Hydrants should be considered as a backup water supply source to monitors and fixed fire suppression systems. Hydrants should be located on the ring main at intervals to suitably direct water on the fire hazard with a fire hose. Hydrants monitors and hose reels should be placed a minimum of 15 meters (50 ft.) from the hazard they protect for onshore facilities. Hydrants in process areas should be located so that any portion of a process unit can be reached from at least two opposite directions with the use of 76 meters (250 ft), hose lines if the approach is made from the upwind side of the fire. Offshore hydrants are located at the main accessways at the edge of the platform for each module. Normal access into a location should not be impeded by the placement of monitors or hydrants. This is especially important for heavy crane access during maintenance and turnaround activities. 

Fuzes usually incorporate protective features that enable the projectile to reach a safe distance from the weapon before they become active. Safety devices may lock the firing fuze mechanism until acceleration moves the lock backwards in a manner restricted by an escapement. Multiple locks may operate sequentially until the projectile is well under way before the projectile is armed. Proximity fuzes can be locked electronically, although these projectiles may be protected with a system that controls the time at which the detonator is placed in alignment with the main charge. 

Translucent sandwich panels for the side-facades were also made of glass-fiber-reinforced polyester composites (see Figure 1.8). The sandwich panels consisted of two layers separated by a composite fiber sheet with trapezoidal corrugations. The surface of the facade panels was finished with fleeces that also provide resistance to aging and U V radiation. As the main function of these facade elements was thermal insulation, the sandwich panels were filled with aerogels. They were therefore able to provide a K-value of 0.4 W m with a panel thickness of only 50 mm [18]. In terms of building fire considerations, a sprinkler system was installed as an active fire protection. 

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