Operation Manual. rev Software. Clean Agent Retrotec Inc.

Transcription

1 Operation Manual rev Software Clean Agent 2001 Retrotec Inc.

2 CleanAgent 2001 Version 2 Software License Agreement and Limited Warranty This is a legal agreement between you, the user of CleanAgent 2001 Version 2 ( CA2001 ), and Retrotec Inc. ( Retrotec ). By using CA2001 ( the Software ), you are agreeing to be bound by the terms of this agreement. If you do not agree to the terms of this agreement, promptly return all of the Software discs and/or CDs to Retrotec. You, all users of the Software and/or related materials that are related to you, and any users of the Software and/or related materials to whom you have provided or distributed copies of the Software and/or related materials, are, and they agree to be, subject to this Software License Agreement. SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT 1. GRANT OF LICENSE 1.1 Software owners/users that test enclosures: Where the Software is being used with door fan equipment to test enclosures, one copy of the Software may be used on any number of computers, however, a unique, individual, separate Calibration Certificate must be on each computer for each door fan. A door fan is defined as a maximum of two door fan blowers and three gauges that can be used as an enclosure testing system. The software is licensed only for the company shown on the home tab and printout and with the equipment serial numbers shown on the calibration certificate(s). 1.2 Software owners/users other than those that test enclosures: 2. COPYRIGHT Where the Software is not being used to test enclosures, one copy of the Software may by used on any number of computers. Neither the original copy of the Software, nor any copies however made or distributed, may be used to test enclosures on any basis whatsoever. All rights reserved. The Software and all accompanying written and other related material are owned by Retrotec and are protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Duplication or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, including photocopying, recording, or the use of any storage or retrieval 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Retrotec Inc. All rights reserved.

3 system, in whole or in part, is not permitted except where the duplication or distribution is for the purpose of sharing the Software and/or other related materials with other parties involved in enclosure testing (including users licensed as Level 1 by Retrotec, witnesses, consultants, designers and AHJs) and the material duplicated is not used to test enclosures. Duplication or transmission of the Software is allowed with the express written permission of Retrotec Inc. The 2002 Retrotec Inc. or such other copyright mark must not be removed from any copies of the Software and/or related materials that are either duplicated or distributed, and Retrotec must be credited as the author and/or owner of the Software and all related materials. 3. OTHER RESTRICTIONS You may not rent or lease the Software to any third party or parties. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software. LIMITED WARRANTY This Limited Warranty applies only to you, if you are the original purchaser of the Software, and to such other parties that Retrotec may, in its sole discretion, extend it to. LIMITED WARRANTY: Retrotec warrants that the Software will perform substantially in accordance with the accompanying written materials for a period of 90 days from the day of receipt. Any implied warranties on the Software are limited to 90 days. Some states do not allow limitations on duration of an implied warranty, so the above limitation may not apply to you. CUSTOMER REMEDIES: Retrotec's entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be, at Retrotec's option, either (a) return of the price paid or (b) repair or replacement of the Software that does not meet Retrotec's Limited Warranty and which is returned to Retrotec with a copy of your receipt. This Limited Warranty is void if the original failure of the Software resulted from accident, abuse, or misapplication. Any replacement of the Software will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period, or 30 days, whichever is longer. NO OTHER WARRANTIES: Retrotec disclaims all other warranties, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to the Software and all accompanying written materials. This limited warranty gives you specific legal rights. You may have others, which vary from state to state. 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Retrotec Inc. All rights reserved.

4 NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES: In no event shall Retrotec be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use or inability to use the Software (and any accompanying materials), even if Retrotec has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Because some states do not allow the exclusion of limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you. This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Washington, USA. 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Retrotec Inc. All rights reserved.

5 Table of Content Home tab:... 1 Building/Room tab:... 5 Agent/Test tab:... 7 Total Leaks tab: Lower Leaks tab: Retention tab: Field Cal tab: Wind Losses tab: Venting tab: Saved Tests tab: Problems and Troubleshooting... 36

6 The following section describes each page that you will encounter in the Clean Air 2001 (CA2001) software. Home tab: Tip: use TAB and ENTER keys to move from field to field through program. Language: The CA2001 software is designed to support many languages. Currently English is the only implemented language. For alternative language support, please contact Retrotec. Blower Model: Before starting any test, ensure that the calibration certificate is correct for the blower that you are using. Calibration certificates for blowers, gauges and technicians can be imported, viewed and modified using the buttons below. Tip: Rest the cursor on any part of the screen and instructions will appear; see below for an example. Standards and Units: Page 1 of 36

7 NFPA analysis may be reported in either Metric or Imperial units. ISO analysis will only run in metric. These setting may be changed after a test is run. Defaults do differ however, for NFPA and ISO. Calibration Certificate: Using the buttons in this section, you may import new calibration certificates, modify (select) the certificates that you wish to use, and view the certificates that are being used and that are available. Import New: allows you to bring in new calibration certificates sent from Retrotec. Clicking the button with present you with a standard Windows dialog box that will allow you to browse your directories and identify (select) the certificate that you wish to import. It is here that you will upgrade both equipment and technician certifications. Both the old and new certificates will be available for future tests but normally only the new certificate will be used. This feature is also used to upgrade a Demo version to a fully functioning program. Change allows you to change from existing to newer or older certificates. Once you change the certificate it will be used of all future tests. Page 2 of 36

8 Page 3 of 36 Note expirey date of certificate

9 5 Year Calibration Certificate date must not have expired The technician must have the correct level of training. Page 4 of 36

10 Building/Room tab: New Group: To create a new group of buildings or building site click the New Group button and enter the requested group name. Once created, you may then add buildings to the group. Existing groups may be selected using the pull-down menu. To modify or delete a Room, Building or Group, use the New Group pull-down menu and select Edit Groups New Building: Clicking the New Building button will open a dialog into which you can enter the name of the new building. Once entered you may enter the details of the building in the area provided. You may add any number of buildings to a building group. Existing buildings may be selected using the pull-down menu. Elevation: The only essential information you need enter about the building is its elevation. Enter the elevation above sea level of the building (between 3,000 and + 10,000) within 600 ft (200m). The program corrects the initial concentration for altitude. The higher the elevation, the higher the initial concentration of agent will need to be. New Room: Once a building group and a building have been created, you may begin adding rooms to that building. Selecting the New Room button will produce a dialog window where you can enter the name of the new room. Existing rooms may be selected using the pull-down menu. Once a room is created you will need to enter the (following) details associated with the room. Net protected room volume: this value must be recalculated for each room. Do not use the design or plan volume, instead, it should be independently measured. This volume must be net volume, that is, the total volume of the enclosure less the volume Page 5 of 36

11 of solid equipment (not equipment or cabinets that will fill with agent). Most often room contents make little difference in this calculation. Room operating temperature: This value is used by CA2001to calculate the initial % concentration of agent and should be representative of the temperature during a discharge (which may be different from that during the test). Normally this value can be left at the default 70 F/20 C. Only enter a different temperature if the protected room normally operates at a significantly different temperature (e.g. 35 F for a cold storage archive, or perhaps 100 F for an unconditioned room in a hot environment). The entered temperature should be within 10 F/5ºC. The lower the temperature, the lower the initial concentration. Room temperature is one factor that affects the design concentration but does not affect retention time. Maximum agent height: The maximum agent height is measured from the lowest slab to the highest point that will be intentionally flooded with agent. Ensure to add the sub-floor into the calculation and to leave out the ceiling space if not flooded. NFPA 2001 calls this value the Measure Protected Height, Maximum C and it must be entered for each room tested. Minimum agent retention: The minimum retention time should be reflective of the time it would take qualified personnel to arrive at the scene. This is typically ten minutes but should be longer for remote unattended sites and could be shorter for small rooms with low masses of combustibles. Recommended Retention Times for Small Rooms For room volumes of (cu. ft) Minimum achievable leakage (sq in) Suggested times for retention Inerts area Halocarbon s (minutes ) (minutes ) Page 6 of 36

12 Agent/Test tab: The Agent/Test screen is where all information about the fire suppressant agent will be entered for the enclosure. Fire suppressing agent: Use the pull-down menu to select the fire suppressant that you will be using. Once you select an agent, the agent density constants will appear in the gray boxes below. Every agent listed in NFPA 2001,12 &12A is listed as well as Novec1230 by 3m and PyroShield (IG-55). If your agent is not on the list please contact Retrotec. Elevation Correction: There are slight differences between various formulae, tables and units for elevation correction. To eliminate conflicts and more closely match designer s calculations, CA2001 allows you to choose from a variety of correction models. Elevation correction method: Using the drop-down list, you may choose the most appropriate correction method for the selected agent. You may also choose to modify the values in the table to the right, and may also simply enter a correction factor. Correction Factor: Selecting this option from the pull-down menu will allow you to enter a single correction factor number. NFPA Table: If you choose to use the NFPA formula, this table will appear disabled. You may modify this table from the pull-down menu, or by clicking on the table. Agent Concentration: As a tester, you can input the actual weight of agent (as read from the bottle/container) and, given the room geometry, CA2001 will calculate the resultant initial agent concentration. As a designer, you can enter the desired initial agent concentration and CA2001 will back-calculate the required agent weight and volume. Calculate initial concentration from: Selecting this option will allow you to enter the actual weight of agent. Clicking Calculate/Save will then calculate the agent volume and the initial agent concentration (given the room geometry, discharge temperature, and elevation). Page 7 of 36

13 Calculate agent quantity from: Selecting this option will allow you to enter the desired agent concentration. Clicking Calculate/Save will then calculate the required weight of agent and volume of agent given the room geometry. Initial Concentration: Once calculated, this initial concentration should always be checked against the minimum standard for the hazard, and also against the specified design values. Agent weight: Usually inspect the tags or use some positive means to verify weight or volume of agent in the tanks. Increasing agent weight decreases the retention time when there is no mixing. When there is mixing however, more agent greatly increases retention time. Agent volume: Agent volume is only used for INERGEN in North America. Test: The test area is where you will enter all of the information associated with the current test. You may also recall previous tests. Test Number & Date: You may conduct any number of tests on a particular room and CA2001 will keep track each. Saved tests are accessible from the Saved Tests section. Select Test Number: Allows you to choose a previous test. By default the test number is 1 when you create a new room. Test results are automatically saved whenever you hit a Calculate/Save button on any of the CA2001 screens. Next Test: Clicking this button will create a new test and increment the test number appropriately. Date and time: When you create a new test the field will automatically update to the current date. You may over-write the date although the intention is to have this display the actual time and date you performed the test not the time you ran the program. Delete Test: Clicking this button will delete the currently selected test. All other tests will remain unchanged. Calibration Certificate in Use: This section shows the certificate that was used for the selected test and allows you to view the certificate. When certificates are changed, past tests will still show the old certificate that was used. New tests will be performed and corrected automatically by the new certificate as chosen on the HOME tab. Change Certificate Used For This Test: Clicking this button will allow you to change the certificate for the currently selected test. This feature can be used to change certificates if the wrong one was used or if old data must be re-worked on an old certificate. Technician: This section allows you to select, create and delete a technician from CA2001. The pull-down menu shows the currently selected technician and allows you to select a different technician from the list. Once selected, the technician s certification level will be displayed in the area to the right. Using the New and Delete buttons you may also create and remove technicians from the system. New technicians will be created without any certification. Certification levels are input by importing encrypted certificate files from Retrotec. Certificates and certification levels can only be changed by Retrotec. Level 1 is for designers, witnesses. Page 8 of 36

14 Level 2 is the minimum level for Door Fan testers who will use only one blower. Level 3 is for Door Fan testers who have passed the double fan exam and know how to measure Lower Leaks. Level 4 is for ISO certification and relief venting. The ISO standard is currently in draft so is optional at this time. Page 9 of 36

15 Total Leaks tab: Tip: use the TAB key to move from Room to Flow pressure to avoid hang-ups. Whole Room Leakage: The total Leaks page is where you will enter all of the information in order to measure the Total Leakage of the room. Tip: if there is a sub-floor, remove a couple tiles to ensure that below-floor leaks are not hidden from the door fan. Tip: If agent is discharged above a suspended ceiling, remove a couple tiles to ensure that leaks above the false ceiling are not hidden from the door fan. Test: Choose this when you are testing a room using the door fan test. Enter untested values: Choose this option when the leakage is already known or if you are pre-analyzing the room to determine what minimum level of tightness is required to put into a performance specification. To see how tight the enclosure needs to be to pass, enter any arbitrary ELA value and click Calculate/Save. The program will then calculate the maximum allowable ELA and display it on the Retention tab. Sub-floor: Choose this setting when testing for sub-floor leakage. First test the entire sub-floor as if it were a small room. Mount the blower(s) over top of an open floor tile. Then, with one blower mounted in the floor and another in the door panel, depressurize the room and neutralize the pressure across the floor to measure only the leakage of the sub-floor. # of Blowers Needed: Clicking the button displays a window providing instruction on how to determine the number of blowers required for large, high volume rooms. Page 10 of 36

16 Operator: From the pull-down menu, select whether the operator is in the room or out of the room depending on where you are standing during the test. When the operator is outside the room, the red room pressure pickup tube goes inside the room. Direction: Using the pull-down menu, choose which direction(s) you plan to test. Normally both directions will be tested to eliminate massive errors in leakage area measurement that can come from duct leakage and/or stack and/or wind. Pressurizing is when the fan is blowing into the room; Depressurizing is when the fan is blowing out of the room. Regardless of operator location, the Flow away from Operator test should be completed first, as it is easier to change range settings in this configuration. Smoke: Once the Retrotec equipment is set up, door fans in place, with fans off, open a single hole in the C8 range. Using the Retrotec smoke puffer, observe the direction of smoke movement through the hole. Enter this direction using the pull-down menu. Static pressure: The static pressure entered here is the static pressure in the room during the door fan test. This pressure must be measured with the perimeter doors shut and the door fan completely covered. Measure this pressure across all walls and choose an average that would be weighted towards the walls that have the most leaks. Temperature during test: Enter an estimate here of the temperature both inside and outside of the enclosure. An estimate within 10ºF/5ºC is adequate and no estimate is necessary if testing will be in both directions. The NFPA Procedure requires a measurement of temperature if the difference is greater than 18ºF. Temperature affects the estimated leakage area (ELA) only, not the predicted initial concentration. 10ºF will affect the ELA estimate by approximately 1%. Temperature can be entered in either Fahrenheit or Celsius depending on the unit choice on the Home tab. For more information see NFPA 2001 C Page 11 of 36

17 Test Section: Following the environmental data section is the actually test results section. The section is broken up into two areas, Flow Towards the Operator and Flow Away from Operator. One or both of these sections will be enabled depending on whether only one test direction or both test directions is chosen. No. of Points: CA2001 supports both single point and multi-point tests. NFPA tests are performed with a Single-point test whereas ISO tests must be performed as a considerably more complex Multi-point test. Select the appropriate test from the pulldown menu. Blower range: From the pull-down menu, select the blower range (restrictor) that you currently have set up on the fan. It is absolutely critical that the range is correct and it must appear exactly as it is in the manufacture s range list. Being out one range designation will affect the results by 50% or more. CA2001 will show you a picture of the range when you click anywhere else on the screen. Range for room pressures: During testing you will vary blower ranges in order to achieve a room pressure within the indicated range. The room pressure must be within this specified range to be in conformance with the procedure. If you can t achieve this pressure, use a higher range, seal up the room or use more blowers. If the required pressure still cannot be achieved CA2001 will display the maximum error that could be caused by measuring at this low pressure. Since higher pressures will make a room appear leakier, testing at higher pressures is always acceptable. Room pressure: This value is the static pressure difference between inside the room and outside, while the door fan(s) are running. To take the measurement, one Page 12 of 36

18 pressure probe is open at the gauge and the other is taken through the red tube that is positioned at the other side of the doorway. Whether inside or outside the room, the red tube is always on the side of the doorway opposite to the operator. Ensure this pressure is representative of the average pressure by checking the pressure across all partition walls where there is not a clear path from the door fan to leaks. Flow pressure: This value is the measure of the pressure difference across the inlet of the blower and is translated into flow by the computer (or can be looked up in a table supplied by the door fan manufacturer). The certificate of calibration defines the exact pressure to flow relationship. In general, the flow pressure must always be much greater than the room pressure. CA2001 will warn the operator when this flow pressure gets too low in which case; a more restrictive range is required. Corrected flow: comes from the calibration curves on the certificate. First, gauge readings are corrected by CA2001 (based on the gauge calibrations), then, flow is calculated using the flow formulae on the certificate. The resultant flow is then corrected for temperature according to NFPA and ISO. Error %: This value only applies to multipoint tests. The resultant value must be 6% or less for the test to be acceptable. Multiple Blowers/ Multiple Ranges: Checking this off opens a window that allows you to use up to 18 blowers on one test or to use multiple ranges in one test or a combination of both. This is very useful when either large rooms are being testing requiring more than one blower to measure flow or for multi-point tests where readings must be taken over a very wide range of room pressures. Select Multiple Blowers/Multiple Ranges here Using Multiple Blowers it is possible to mix different models together for up to 18 blowers on one test! This represents a potential to test almost any enclosure regardless of size. The following picture shows an example of 4 Model 2000 blowers combined with another flow source of 8,000 m 3 /hr. Page 13 of 36

19 Results Section: Below the test section is the results section. The fields in this section will remain blank until you hit the Calculate/Save button located at the bottom of the screen. Hitting this button will calculate the flows and leakage areas resulting from one or both tests. In the above example, NFPA was chosen at the home tab so the left hand ELA is lit up. ELA: When you press the Calculate/Save button, CA2001 uses the entered room and flow pressures to calculate the size of leak for each test. If more than one test is performed, the resultant areas are averaged. This value/area is call the Equivalent Leakage Area (ELA) and represents the size of hole that would have to be made in a flat plate to yield the same flow rate at the tested pressure which is the pressure at which the ELA readings were taken. FA: is the ratio of Lower leaks to Total leaks. Page 14 of 36

20 Tip: use the TAB key to move from Room to Flow pressure to avoid hang-ups. In this example, ISO was chosen at the Home tab so the left hand NFPA ELA is grayed out and the following data is displayed: Slope n, Intercept k1, Correlation, and Standard Error. Slope n: For ISO testing, flow is calculated as flow=pressure n * intercept K1. When used, the flow units are the same as those displayed under Corrected Flow (units). Intercept k1: This value represents the flow at 1 Pa pressure difference. Correlation: This value is the correlation of calculated ELA s across the multiple test and must be 99% or higher. Standard Error: This value is the standard error of the calculated ELA s across the multiple tests and must be 0.07 or less. ELA: is the ISO version of the ELA formula. It is often the same but can differ because it is taken at the Column Pressure not the test pressure as in is the pressure where ISO ELA readings were taken. Currently, the ISO standard does not specify where these readings should be taken so we give numerous choices that will be used for different purposes as described in our training Level 3 and 4 manuals. Lower Leaks tab: Page 15 of 36

21 If the Total Leak test fails, it will be necessary to identify the size of the Lower Leaks (sometime called the Below Ceiling Leakage Area or BCLA) as it is through these leaks that agent will flow out of the room. Below ceiling leakage: There are 3 options to measure the size of the Lower Leak. The most accurate and fast method is the Flex-duct test which takes about 15 minutes to complete. The Plastic on ceiling test is just as accurate but usually takes 2-3 hours to complete. The Estimated method allows the direct entry of the Lower Leak and has the Leak audit as one of its options. Flex-duct test: Choose this option when conducting a flex-duct test to determine the Lower Leaks. This technique neutralizes the upper leaks for the purpose of measuring the more important Lower Leak. Both Total and Lower Leaks are then used to make a more accurate prediction of retention time. This method is acceptable according to NFPA2001 Section C Suspended Ceiling Leakage Neutralization Method (Optional). The resultant leakage area must be entered in the Lower Leak tab, NOT the Total Leak tab (a common mistake). Plastic on ceiling test: Choose this option when using a plastic cover to eliminate airflow above a suspended ceiling. This technique eliminates the upper leaks by covering the ceiling in plastic for the purpose of measuring the more important lower leak. Both Total and Lower Leaks are then used to make a more accurate prediction of retention time. This method is acceptable according to NFPA2001 Section C Estimated: Choose this option when Lower Leaks are estimated using a Leak Audit. This method is explained below and is mentioned in NFPA2001 Section C (e) Technical Judgment. Lower leak fraction, FA: When Calculate/Save is pressed CA2001 derives the ratio of Lower leaks to Total Leaks (FA). When Estimated has been selected, this value may be entered directly. Leak audit: Clicking this button will display the Visual Leak Audit Form on which you can record (audit) all as to their size and location. All leaks are catalogued and their opening sizes recorded. Each one is tested with smoke to see if there is an obstruction that would require the downgrading of the obvious size of the hole. This is done by estimating the velocity of the air going through the leak as compared to a wide-open hole at the doorway. This is entered as % of full speed. Page 16 of 36

22 Page 17 of 36

23 Retention tab: It is on this form where you will find the retention time results of your testing. Before you can calculate retention time however, you must first identify the mixing and discharge scenario. You must select one of Mixing during retention, No mixing during retention, or Extended discharge. For each of these choices, the retention screen presents a slightly different set of fields to fill in. Retention time results are shown in both NFPA and ISO standards. The calculations vary slightly so if you desire one result in particular, then select that method at the Home tab. Both results will often be nearly identical. Inert agents may have longer retention times if a multi-point ISO test is performed otherwise ISO and NFPA results will be very similar. Continual mixing results will be significantly shorter for ISO because the formula makes less conservative though still realistic mixing assumptions. In all cases, you must select the smoke flow direction from the Smoke pull-down menu, and enter the Static pressure during retention. Smoke direction must be determined with the enclosure in a pre-discharge state. Mixing during retention: Choose this discharge regime in situations where you feel mixing will take place. Example of mixing are when the HVAC system or the sub-floor pressurization system was intended to be in operation throughout the retention period. In other cases mixing may be unintentional but should be tested by using a smoke puffer. Carefully walk around the room placing small puffs in front and watching for turbulence and mixing experimentally. Note that the wake created by your walking will create mixing behind you as you walk, so ensure no one has walked past the space being tested. Minimum Concentration: When you select Mixing, you will next have to select a minimum concentration of agent. This minimum concentration must be lower than the Page 18 of 36

24 design concentration and should be a value that would prevent re-ignition from occuring after the typical 10-minute retention time. Make default: allows the operator to change the default value for the Minimum concentration. Each time the program is run, the new default will appear. No mixing during retention: No mixing is a more typical scenario and is the case when an air-agent interface will form. Lower Leaks will cause this interface to slowly descend until the interface reaches the Minimum Protected Height, at which time the equipment is no long protected. Minimum Protected Height: If you select the no-mixing option, you will then be requested to enter the Minimum Protected Height, below which everything will be protected. NFPA2001 calls this Measure Protected Height, Minimum C Page 19 of 36

25 Extended discharge: In the case of an extended discharge, agent continues to be released after the initial discharge period. For the concentration to remain constant, the rate must be equal to the loss rate. It is assumed that continual mixing will occur during the extended discharge but when complete, a descending interface may form. The total retention time becomes a combination of the extended discharge time, plus either, the descending interface time or a continual mixing time. CA2001 does not calculate this directly so this will require an extended discharge test result added to the descending interface or continual mixing result. Further guidance will be found in the Level 3 training course. In each of the above cases, results appear for both the NFPA analysis and the ISO analysis. Both sets of results share some common fields and there are some unique fields to each as well. Common fields to all include: Total room leakage, ELA: This value is a copy of the total Estimated Leakage Area as measured in the Total Leaks test. Lower leakage, BCLA: This value is a copy of the Below Ceiling Leakage Area, as measured in the Lower Leaks test. ISO limits the BCLA to 15% of the ELA. The mixing and no mixing cases share the following fields: Maximum Allowable ELA: Given the room geometry and the required retention time as entered on the Building/Room tab, CA2001 calculates the exact leakage area that will give the minimum specified retention time. Time, t: is the retention time, given all the variables input into CA2001. The extended discharge option has one unique field as follows: Page 20 of 36

26 Required rate: To accommodate for agent losses, CA2001 calculates the amount of agent required during an extended discharge to maintain the initial agent concentration. Page 21 of 36

27 Field Cal tab: A field calibration must be used during training so the operator can verify the equipment is functioning properly. Later a witness or AHJ may ask to see proof that the equipment can accurately measure a hole of a known size. In the above case the error was 3.1% but 15% is allowable. This is just a check to see if the equipment and operator are in the ball park and is outlined in detail in NFPA2001 Section C Field Calibration Check. Note: Only the manufacturer can conduct complete equipment and gauge calibrations. For a field calibration, you will essentially conduct two door fan tests. Each door fan test will consist of a pressurization test and a depressurization test. The first door fan test will measure the ELA of the room. You will then add hole of a known size to the room and conduct a second door fan test. This second test should produce a new ELA that is larger than the ELA from the first test by the size of the added hole. Step 1 Door Fan Test: Enter the data from the first door fan test in this area. Blower Range: From the pull-down menu select the blower range that you are using. Room Pressure: Enter the room pressure that you achieve (typically 15 Pa). Flow Away from Operator: Enter the flow pressure measured with the fan blowing away from the operator. Flow Towards Operator: Enter the flow pressure measured with the fan blowing towards the operator. Step 2 Add a hole to the enclosure: In this area, you will enter the area of the hole that you are adding to the enclosure. Included with the Retrotec door panels is a panel with a set of know sized openings. You may use this or create your own known sized hole to increase the leakage area of the enclosure. Area of hole added: Enter the area of the hole has been added to the room. Page 22 of 36

28 Step 3 Second Door Fan Test: You will now conduct a second door fan test on the room with the addition (known) leakage area. Blower Range: From the pull-down menu select the blower range that you are using. Room Pressure: Enter the room pressure that you achieve. Flow Away from Operator: Enter the flow pressure measured with the fan blowing away from the operator. Flow Towards Operator: Enter the flow pressure measured with the fan blowing towards the operator. Door Fan Measured Hole: CA2001 presents results of the two door fan tests in this section. The Effective Leakage Areas for both tests are shown and the difference calculated. Error: In this section, CA2001 calculates the difference between the chosen area and measured area and presents the percentage error. An error within 15% is acceptable. Page 23 of 36

29 Wind Losses tab: Where walls, floors or ceilings are exposed to wind, wind losses should be taken into account. In fact, in some situations, wind losses can be significantly greater than gravity losses of agent through lower leaks (NFPA and ISO calculations currently calculate retention time based on the loss of agent due to gravity only). This procedure is not part of the NFPA or ISO test but the methodology was developed to measure energy losses in buildings and has been well substantiated over the past 20 years. Wind shielding within 1 mile/kilometer: Select the amount of wind shielding within a mile/kilometer of the building you are testing. Wind shielding within 10 yards/meters: Select the amount of wind shielding in the near proximity of the building you are testing. Net protected room volume: This value is retrieved from the room geometry entered on the Building/Room tab. This value cannot be modified on this page. Total leakage area: This value is retrieved by CA2001 from the Total Leaks page, and represents the total amount of leakage in the room. This value cannot be modified on this page. Allowable agent loss: This number is calculated by CA2001 and represents how much agent can be lost before the concentration reaches the minimum concentration, or until the descending interface reaches the minimum protected height. This value cannot be modified on this page. Ceiling slab height above grade: Enter the height of the ceiling above the outside ground. Do not enter negative numbers. If the ceiling is below grade, enter zero. Page 24 of 36

30 Leakage exposed to wind: Of the Total Room Leakage, enter the approximate leak size that is exposed the outside. This value includes all external leaks in the walls, ceiling and floor and does not include leaks into attached rooms. Exposed wall leakage: Enter the percentage of the above leak size (Leaks exposed to the wind) that is located in vertical walls (as opposed to the ceiling). Peak design wind speed: Enter the average maximum wind speed that is experienced by the building. This may be a speed that the wind exceeds only 1% of the time. In most areas 20mph (28kph) would be a reasonable value to use. The higher the peak wind speed, the greater the wind losses and more conservative the retention time. Wind losses: For your information, CA2001 calculates the retention time assuming only wind losses and ignoring gravity losses. Unadjusted retention: This value is replicated directly from the Retention tab and represents the retention time incorporating only gravity losses. Adjusted retention: This value is the new retention time taking into account the removal of agent from the room due to wind. Page 25 of 36

31 Venting tab: This venting section calculates the peak pressure expected in an enclosure during discharge. Depending on the properties of the agent and the tightness of the enclosure, peak pressures can easily exceed the design specification of the enclosure causing massive damage. The Venting test is essentially another door fan test so some field explanation will be left out in the following description. Depending on the options selected, this screen may appear slightly different than the screen pictured above. (Step 1) CALCULATE VENT NEEDED: this section calculates the minimum size hole needed in the enclosure to ensure the peak pressure does not exceed the Enclosure strength. Enclosure strength: Enter the maximum pressure the enclosure can withstand. This value is usually specified by the enclosure designer. If not, 5-lb/sq ft is commonly used for light partition wall construction, 10-lb/sq ft for medium walls, and much greater for heavy wall construction. Often 2-lb/sq ft is used when nothing is specified although this is an extremely small figure that would often require a potentially expensive vent where it may not be needed. The old NFPA12 CO2 standard used 25, 50 and 100 lb per sq ft for light, medium and vault construction although it has been well established that these figures are too high. The NFPA12 figures were probably borrowed from Architectural wind loading tables without checking them against discharge tests because this range of pressures has Page 26 of 36

32 definitely damaged enclosures. They apply to a different type of loading when compared to the outwardly pushing agent expansion forces experienced on clean agent discharges. Temperature drop: Enter the value of temperature drop expected during the discharge. Halocarbons tend to create a lot of cooling upon discharge due to change of phase from liquid to a gas at the nozzle. This temperature drop reduces the peak pressure created. The value to select here is anyone s guess. Perhaps the best thing we could say about its selection is that when one discharge is performed on an enclosure and the peak pressure recorded then another enclosure with similar heat transfer characteristics can be analyzed. The formulae in CA2001 should be able to scale peak pressure predictions up or down with a fair degree of accuracy, once the temperature-drop figure is determined for a particular agent. Discharge time: Enter the expected discharge time. Shorter times lead to higher peak pressures. Predicted Free Vent Required: This value is CA2001 s prediction of the minimum required leakage to prevent over-pressure of the enclosure. This leakage area can be measured with the door fan provided the leakage is in itself not restricted such that the pressure then imposes itself on another wall outside of the enclosure. In other words, the leakage area or vent must eventually be to atmosphere to prevent damaging walls outside the enclosure. Generally the enclosure is much tighter than the walls beyond it and the pressure dissipates in a cascading effect from one wall to the next. (Step 2) CHECK AND MEASURE VENT: Use this section to record the behaviour of the vent in the room. If there is no vent installed, select that option. If the vent opens, then record the opening pressure; otherwise, select the option that the vent did not open. Record the measured area of the vent in this section also (if applicable). Vent opened at: This is a test to see if the door fan can actually open the vent. In cases of gravity type dampers, this is an ideal check to see if the vent actually works since they often do not. Use Door Fan Testing: A door fan test can be used to obtain the best possible estimate of the required vent size. For venting purposes, this door fan test should be conducted at as high a pressure as possible to obtain the best accuracy. Door Fan Test Vent held open: If Vent Only and Door Fan Test are selected, this section will appear. Hold the vent open and conduct a door fan test to determine the ELA of the room with the vent open. Door Fan Test Vent held closed: Whenever Enter Leakage Directly is not selected, this section is always enabled. Conduct a door fan test with the vent held shut to determine the ELA of the room without the vent. Enter Leakage Directly: Selecting this option you can input the room leakage directly, which will then allow you to calculate the peak pressure in the room during discharge. Venting test results: CA2001 uses this section to calculate the to leakage areas, subtract them and calculate the effective vent area, and then display the maximum room pressure during discharge. Page 27 of 36

33 Saved Tests tab: The Saved Test tab contains a summary of all tests currently in the system. Use the + and icons to expand the various sections. Double clicking any cell in the table will open that item. If you click a test, CA2001 will open move you to the Retention tab and open that test. If you click on a building, CA2001 will move you to the Building/Room tab and open the building you selected. CC#: stands for the Calibration Certificate used. Select Group/Building/Room/Test: Depending on which cell you select, this button takes on one of four forms. Clicking this button opens the group/building/room or test that you have chosen. Delete Group/Building/Room/Test: Depending on which cell you select, this button takes on one of four forms. Clicking this button will open up a dialog asking that you confirm your desire to delete the selected item and all items below. Expand All: Clicking this button will expand all of the elements in the table. Collapse All: Clicking this button will collapse all of the elements in the table. Export Building: Clicking this button allows you to export the entire building test, including all data to your computer in a tiny 5K text file. This file can then be ed to Retrotec for tech support, to your AHJ for review, or to your office. When this text file is opened on any version of CA2001 version or higher. Every detail of your test will be made available to the viewer including all readings and the exact calibration certificates used on the test. Import Building: Selecting the button will open a file selection window where you can browse though your computer directories and select the text file containing the building test data you wish to import. You will also be prompted to select the group to add the building to. During this selection you may create a new group. Add Group: Selecting this button allows you to create a new group. Page 28 of 36

34 Edit Groups: Selecting this button allows you to add, delete, or rename groups. Pass/Fail Computer Report: shown for the previous example. Page 29 of 36

35 Page 30 of 36

36 Notice the room and flow pressures are corrected according to the certificate. The technician certification is shown on the bottom. Page 31 of 36

37 The Lower Leakage printout is only shown if a lower leak test was performed. Page 32 of 36

38 The final page of the report consists of the data shown on graph. This clearly shows how the Lower Leak test with square dots is much tighter than the Total Leak test above with the round dots. Page 33 of 36

39 Field Calibration report prints out what was observed on the screen. Page 34 of 36

40 There will be a lot more study of the Venting test options in Level 4. For the purpose of the Designer or Witness, the report is self explanatory. Page 35 of 36

41 Problems and Troubleshooting Program goes dead: reason: print window may be minimized, preventing program from working. Fix: close print window by hitting the X. Page 36 of 36