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Test results
In early 2004, FM Global (www.fmglobal
.com), a commercial and industrial property
insurer, conducted a series of 23 tests to
24 Turbomachinery International January/February 2005
assess the fire fighting arrangements in turbine halls. The study examined the impact of
various sprinkler configurations against
potential hazards associated with turbine
halls in power generation plants that have no
operating floors. [1]
Under a movable ceiling [2] inside a fire
laboratory at the FM Global Research
Campus,West Glocester, Rhode Island, engineers constructed a large-scale mockup of a
turbine hall, consisting of a lubeoil tank, tank
containment area, and the high- and intermediate-pressure sections of a turbine located on
a pedestal. That pedestal alone measured 15
ft. (4.5 m) wide x 20 ft. (6.1 m) long x 18 ft.
(5.5 m) high, with a grated walkway extending along one edge.
The objectives of the study were to:
Provide detailed visual documentation of
three potential fire scenarios
Examine new and existing protection
schemes to mitigate fire losses
Three different fire hazards were examined in the study:
Spray fires the result of oil being released
under high pressure, causing a spray effect
Pool fires the result of oil accumulating,
in depth, on a floor or in a contained area
Three-dimensional spill fires the result of
oil leaking under low pressure, cascading
from an elevated surface to a lower surface,
and igniting along the way
The fuel source for each of these tests was
a standard mineral oil with a flash point of
285 F (140 C) and a 20,000 BTU-perpound output. Once ignited, this particular
lube oil burns like gasoline.
The tests produced some surprising
results and gave some valuable lessons.
Spray fires cannot be extinguished by ceiling
sprinkler protection. A high-density, local
application sprinkler system [3] (water spray
systems or deluge systems) will control the
fire, but a multiple approach is needed to
minimize the damage.
Pool fires, it was found, can be extinguished by ceiling-based sprinklers, but
sprinkler density and ceiling height determine whether or not this happens. The
greater the distance between the sprinkler
and the fire, the greater the water density
needed to put out the flames. If there is a
large distance and a low water density, the
sprinkler system will be ineffective.
Three-dimensional spill fires, much like
spray fires, cannot be extinguished by ceiling
sprinklers. Properly designed local application sprinkler systems [3] will control the fire.
A multiple approach is needed to minimize
damage to your facility.
Immediate action
Long-term measures
In addition, companies and turbomachineryoperators should see to it that the following
measures are taken to prevent or mitigate the
consequences of these fires:
Use welded pipe construction wherever
possible
Only use flanged and threaded pipe connections to help in maintenance work on
equipment such as bearings, pumps, filters
and heat exchangers, and final terminations
for instruments
Consider using stronger, cleaner stainless
steel pipe, tubing, and fittings instead of carbon steel
Use guard piping [4] design concepts wherever possible to incorporate supply piping
within the return piping
Insulate against dissimilar material contact
at terminations
Avoid excessive vibrations [5]. They can
cause mechanical fatigue and consequent failure of the pressure boundary.
Examples of vibration problems are
loosening of bolts and nuts at flanged
joints, failure of threaded joints at valves
and pressure gauges. Failures at socket
weld (root valves where the valve and nipple assembly have been used to support a
pressure gauge) can produce a cantilever
or pendulum effect
www.turbomachinerymag.com
Author
Terry Cooper is assistant vice president and
power generation industry engineering leader for
FM Global, a leading commercial and industrial
property insurer. He has 31 years of experience
in the power generation industry, working for a
power generation utility, as a consultant, and
with FM Global. Cooper is an active member on
several committees of the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and is a past
chair of the ASME Power Divisions Turbine
Generators and Auxiliaries Committee.
www.turbomachinerymag.com