Detection and aisle containment—will

your smoke detectors work?

Fire suppression systems in server rooms often depend on smoke
detectors. Both preaction sprinklers and clean agent systems require
electronic input from a sensor, and that sensor is often a smoke detector.
Aisle containment is basically guaranteed to challenge this equipment,
however. If you plan to retrofit a server room with aisle containment,
make sure the smoke detectors still function correctly.

Even small fires can cause costly damage in server rooms, so it is crucial
to catch them before they grow. Detectors in a server room without aisle
containment already have to pick up on faint signals. Aisle
containment introduces air turbulence, directional airflow, and high air
velocity (between 500 and 1000 air changes per hour, or ACH, in HACA
environments). Small smoke plumes can be quickly diluted and swept
away from detectors in these environments.

Only a professional can tell you precisely what smoke detector set-up
would work for your facility. However, a system can detect smoke more
easily if you recirculate 100% of your air. Whatever the case, adaptations
in light of HACA containment will probably involve some combination of
the following:

 Using highly sensitive detectors.

 Decreasing the space between detectors.
 Mounting detectors on the ceiling or in the ceiling plenum.
 Using air-sampling smoke detectors (ASSD).
You need sensitive smoke detectors to protect sensitive equipment. This
is doubly true in the challenging environment of aisle containment.
Assuming the use of photoelectric sensors, this means employing
detectors that are sensitive to very small amounts of obscuration by
smoke.

NFPA 76: Standard for the Fire Protection of Telecommunications

Facilities states that very-early warning fire detection (VEWFD)
systems should give an alert at 0.2%/ft obscuration and give an alarm at
1%/ft obscuration. FAAST has detectors designed for HACA
environments that are sensitive to 0.00046%/ft obscuration. Consult with
a professional to determine how sensitive your detectors need to be.

The coverage provided by point detectors decreases as ACH

increases.  NFPA 72®: National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code® (2019
edition) provides guidelines for detectors’ spacing in high airflow
environments via Table 17.7.6.3.3.2. However, no guidance is given above
60 ACH (at which point a detector is needed for every 125 ft 2); it stands
to reason that more detectors are proportionally required in
environments with aisle containment. These devices may need to be
spaced 10 ft or less from one another to achieve proper coverage.

Aspirating smoke detectors (ASD), also called air-sampling smoke

detectors (ASSD), can be good choices for aisle containment. ASSD is
active (rather than passive) smoke detection—air is drawn through a
series of sampling pipes to a detector. While ASSD cannot tell you
exactly where smoke is coming from, it uses representative samples of a
room’s air to detect it.
 An
aspirating smoke detector (ASD), also called an air-sampling smoke
detector (ASSD), actively draws air through a network of pipes to a
sensor. They could help you detect fleeting signals in high-airflow
environments. Image source: Xtralis
Placement of the devices is also crucial in aisle containment
environments. Detectors located in the CRAH were mostly ineffective
in one study by the Fire Research Foundation. The same research found
that detectors mounted on the ceiling or in the ceiling plenum are
effective, and Belden echoes this opinion.

If you installed a subfloor with your aisle containment, you might need to

place smoke detectors in it, especially if the room contains cables.
However, the Fire Research Foundation study says that subfloor
detectors may be ineffective as detectors for the whole system without
air recirculation.
Aisle containment and clean agent
concentration
Many server rooms use clean agent fire suppression systems in place of
(or in addition to) sprinklers. While single and double-interlock preaction
systems require multiple conditions to be met before discharge occurs,
water still causes costly damage. For this reason, many companies opt
for clean agent suppression systems.

The gases emitted by these set-ups achieve a target concentration in a

room for a period to extinguish a fire. But the constant and rapid air
circulation in aisle containment systems can impede clean agent systems’
ability to achieve a necessary concentration.

The 2013 edition of NFPA 75 (section 5.6.10) says that modifications are

required if an aisle containment system prevents a gaseous suppression
system from delivering the necessary amount of gas to the entire
protected area.

You should not try to evaluate your system on your own. Consult with a
professional to determine if your clean agent suppression system works
or will work with retrofitted aisle containment. But in all cases, ventilation
systems should be automatically shut down before gas discharge in all
clean agent systems, not just where aisle containment is in use. Stopping
the ventilation before agent discharge eliminates the problems
associated with aisle containment.

This video from BBC Fire and Security shows fire protection systems
integrated properly with aisle containment. Aspirating smoke detectors
effectively detect smoke in the high-airflow environment and ventilation
is shut off before clean agent gas is released:
Hot aisle temperatures—can your
server room fire protection equipment
stand the heat?
Aisle containment (particularly hot-aisle and HACA systems) concentrates
hot air by design. The temperature in a hot aisle can get as high as 117
°F—an extreme environment. NFPA 75 says:

5.5.6 Detection and suppression components within aisle containment systems

shall be rated for the intended temperature of hot aisles when installed in those
locations.

Take care that heat-activated sprinkler heads are sensitive to the right
temperature, that smoke detectors work properly in high temperatures,
and that clean agent systems can achieve the required gas
concentrations at high temperatures.

Heat-sensitive sprinklers in the hot aisle

Table 7.2.4.1 in NFPA 13 (2019 edition) classifies the heat-sensitive bulbs
or metal links in sprinkler heads based on their activation and maximum
ceiling temperatures. An “ordinary” sprinkler head has a maximum ceiling
temperature of 100 °F and activates between 135 and 170 °F. Ordinary
sprinklers are not rated for the extreme temperatures of hot aisles.
Section 9.4.2.2 requires that sprinklers rated for higher heat be used
when ceiling temperature exceeds 100 °F.

“Intermediate” sprinklers may do the job. They are rated for maximum
ceiling temperatures of 150 °F and activate between 175 and 225 °F—
well outside normal temperature ranges in hot aisles.
NFPA 13 rates sprinklers according to activation temperature and
maximum ceiling temperature. For the high temperatures in a hot-aisle
environment, intermediate sprinklers are probably appropriate. Table
source: NFPA 13
Smoke detectors and high temperatures
Extreme temperatures can impact the effectiveness of smoke detectors.
Where temperatures are expected to be colder than 32 °F or hotter than
100 °F, NFPA 72 requires smoke detectors to be specifically rated for the
conditions. Because hot aisles routinely have temperatures above this
range, rated detectors are needed.

Clean agent gas concentration in high heat

As mentioned, clean agent gases need to achieve specific concentrations
and pressures in the hazard area to suppress a fire. The specific volume
(volume produced from a given weight) of a gas increases as
temperature increases.  NFPA 2001 (2018 edition) lists the required
amount (in pounds per cubic feet in the hazard area) of different clean
agents for different temperatures and specific volumes. The good news is
that amount of clean agent needed decreases as temperature increases.
A clean agent suppression system in an after-market hot aisle probably
won’t have insufficient gas.

The bad news is that the pressure could become dangerously high in

the hazard zone if too much clean agent is discharged relative to the
temperature. Rooms protected by clean agent systems are
often equipped with pressure relief vents to protect the building’s
structural integrity from the sudden increase in inside air pressure.

Consult a professional to ensure that your aisle containment system’s

high temperatures don’t create a hazard when the clean agent system
activates.