WHAT IS WATER MIST?
Water mist is a powerful fire suppression system that uses special nozzles to spray a fine mist. It works like both gas systems (by blocking oxygen) and sprinklers (by cooling the fire), but uses much less water.
The mist turns into steam when it hits the fire, cutting off oxygen and helping to put the fire out quickly.
A fire needs oxygen, heat, and fuel to burn, known as the fire triangle. Water mist systems stop fires by reducing both heat and oxygen. Special nozzles turn water into tiny droplets that turn to steam when they hit the fire, cutting off its oxygen supply.
Water mist systems have been used since the 1800s, especially in marine applications. They became more popular on land after halon gas was banned in the 1970s and the 1990 Scandinavian Star disaster.
In addition, water mist has a cooling effect on the surrounding area, which prevents reignition of the fire source and any other material that may have caught fire.
Types of Water Mist Systems
There are three types of water mist systems and the primary difference between these is their operating pressure:-
Low-pressure, Medium Pressure, and High-Pressure water mist systems.
Hydrocore High Pressure Water Mist Systems
- Minimum Discharge Pressure at nozzles: 100bar
- System operating pressure: 105bar to 140bar
- Droplet size: Dv0.99<1000μm
- Power required: 30kW to 240kW
- Pump unit discharge capacity: 100lpm to 800lpm
Hydrocore Low Pressure Water Mist Systems
- Minimum Discharge Pressure at nozzles: 10bar
- System operating pressure: 11bar to 15bar
Extensive Testing
Extensive testing and experience have shown that water mist systems deliver the following advantages:
- Ease of maintenance: The use of water without any chemical additives and the use of high-pressure stainless steel piping (for HPWM systems) makes the system corrosion-resistant, enhancing system life and reducing maintenance costs.
- Quick and efficient fire suppression: The atomizing effect of water mist offers reliable and effective fire suppression.
- Minimal Damage: Atomized mist causes a quick vaporization effect which limits water and fire damage.
- Low downtime: Quick recovery and less downtime compared to other suppression systems which need servicing or recharging post activation, this means you can get back to work quicker. In a large application, the downtime cost could easily be millions if a facility is shut for a week or more.
High Pressure Water Mist Nozzles
Hydrocore has a range of high pressure water mist nozzles both of open and closed types. Open nozzles are designed to offer a total flooding or a deluge effect while the closed nozzles offer a targeted response.
- Closed Nozzles
- Hydrocore Closed (bulb) Nozzles are made of stainless steel.
- They are used in wet-pipe systems for the protection of Light Hazard Occupancies, an occupancy where the quantity and/or combustibility of contents is low and fires with relatively low rates of heat release are expected.
- The nozzle discharges water at 35.0l/min at normal working pressure.
- Each micro nozzle has an integral filter.
- Open Nozzles
- Hydrocore Open Nozzles are manufactured from stainless steel and are used in dry-pipe systems for the protection of machinery spaces, as part of a total flooding system.
- Total Flooding systems use open nozzles (they have no fusible element) spaced throughout a compartment.
- In this dry pipe system, the water is only contained in the pipework prior to the section valve, until automatically released by a signal from the Fire Detection System (FDS) or manual activation.
At AITO Firework Sdn Bhd, we do sell fire extinguishers among an extensive range of fire safety equipment. In addition, we offer education and training to help you, your organization or your business to operate the equipment effectively. To inquire further, contact our friendly team today
