The Built Environment for Construction Materials and Products - Report Example

Fire Environmant Name Course Lecturer Date Introduction BREEAM rating is a method of crediting building performance in respect to carbon emission metrics in order to reduce the energy demand and consumption in the building and also to reduce carbon generation which entirely is as a result of energy use. The BREEAM rating employs a triple metric approach which gives and elaborates three metrics of modelled building performance into the following: 1. Energy demand-This measures how well a building can minimise heating and cooling energy demands. This is greatly affected by various factors that majorly rely on the building material heat loss and also air permeability. 2. Primary energy consumption-this metric measures how well a building or a site meets the various energy demands required. This aspect is greatly affected by the building services employed and their design and also the reliability of the infrastructure and mechanism for both energy generation and also distribution. 3. Carbon Dioxide emissions-In its endeavour to meet the various operational energy requirements buildings harness carbon dioxide. This parameter measures the amount of carbon dioxide emitted. Factors influencing carbon dioxide emission include: building material performance, various systems and distribution capabilities and also the energy source. Specifications on either zero or low carbon dioxide emission depends on this parameter. With this kind of rating the need to encourage holistic approach to reducing energy and carbon emissions is focused and his can only be achieved through integrated approach incorporating good building designs and also efficient building systems. MCkinsey global institute 2010 acknowledges that improving the building insulation and replacing obsolete heating and cooling equipment could lead to low carbon emission by providing diffusion for low emission solutions. UK construction industry addresses this into three sectors namely: Residential building (new and existing), Non residential (new and existing) and the infrastructure. Built environment is from construction materials and products. This ranges from natural products such as sand ,timber,gravel,rocks,ballast etc and also the manufactures products such as,cement,steel,pipes,cooling and heating equipments,paints,glass.All this have different impact on the level of carbon emissions. All products have impact on the environment this results to embroider impact which is from manufacturing of the materials and also operational impact which entirely on material use in the building. Its therefore important to focus on design and material mix rather than product alone. Building construction has a higher demand for material and therefore it’s important to use low impact materials in order to reduce the carbon dioxide emission. In my view natural materials have a lesser carbon dioxide emissions because of less demand for energy. Paul M, and innovation and growth team 2011 asserts that In Low impact materials and design should be used to minimise carbon emission. Impact can be evaluated in form of building life cycle which includes construction, operation and end of life. Avoid use of direct impact products for example heating and cooling systems and also structural concerns that have impact on individual products because this becomes problematic in control of carbon materials. According to Royal Institute of British Architect design limits for building materials and services should not be exceeded. The building fabric air permeability should not exceed 10m3/m2h and also the maximum thermal transmittance. For building services internal light fittings should be energy efficient and the external lighting should have an automatic control mechanism, for ventilation systems they should have a heat recovery efficiency. Controlled fitting which includes both internal and external doors and windows should be employed. Institution of professional Engineers New Zealand (2014)asserts that for proper fire safety there is a need for fire design documentation. There are a number of safety strategies that can be employed in building that include creating means of escape by providing escapen routes which are wide enough with through signage. Design of proper fire protection sytem can enhance fire safety.This involves installation of fire alarm system and fire suppression system with an elaborate smoke detection system. Fire first aid kit should also be provided and fir horse reel properly marked and defined. To avoid spread of fire, fire compartment should be created to enhance fire control. For sustainable construction development in UK, building lifecycle should be clearly defined to determine the carbon control. According to UK construction engineers proper building design should be observed coupled with proper building fabrics and materials. Part 2 Case Study 1-Brighton bombing 1984. According Carl (2014) from the UK fire service resource group this occurred on 12th October 1984 at grand hotel which at that time was hosting the cabinet meeting. The fire was as a result of a bomb that was planted by terrorists in order to wipe the members of the UK government. The building had fire alarm system that triggered the fire alarm and a signal was transmitted to the fire brigade station for rescue. The building collapsed in some areas and this made rescue process difficult. In the rescue process some of the rooms were still occupied and people were still sleeping, this shows that the hotel didn’t have an efficient fire bell alarms to alert the occupants. The building had not taken into account the building size and use thus the fire safety measure on an elaborate fire bells in all areas was not followed.The building had no defined fire escape routes and signage and as a result the rescue team had to go room by room checking. This is an important fire safety element and requires this area to be protected with emergency exit. The Building still didn’t have a fire assembly point and occupant list thus was difficult to carryout assessment audit. The building had no fire suppression system which was supposed to put off the fire and also support the fire management team this is an important fire safety measure in a building of higher occupancy like the hotel. The staff were not also trained on the use of fire systems and also fire safety measures in case of fire, this could have eased the work for the fire brigade to avoid much risks. According to this case study building with high occupancy like hotels should have a well installed fire system and fire suppression system with fire bell alarms to alert users at different location. Fire escape routes should also be well protected with emergency exits and signage for proper control and ease of rescue process. The Hotels should also have a fire assembly point or specifically for building with a lot of people so that to make audit easier.The staff or caretakers should also be trained on fire safety measures and how to use the fire systems. Case 2 Brazil kiss night club Santa Maria According to Donna (2014) the fire broke up in a club on January 2013 killing 243 people and injuring 200.The news reveals that the rescue team took long to respond and this shows that the club did not have fire alarm system to alert the fire station. As revealed one of the occupants the sign of fire was seen from emerging smoke from the roof, this made it sclear that the building did not have smoke detection system and fire bell system that made it difficult to alert the occupants for early evacuation procedures. According to the police report most of the people died from smoke choking and inhalation showing that the building had no ventilation system by the fact that the building was congested and also it shows that the building did not have a wide fire emergency exit thus the occupants took longer time in the building hence the effects that caused. The building also seems to be an old refurbished building with no fire assembly point and lacked emergency exits that are why some areas were still locked thus leading to congestion. This was evident by the fact that some people were still locked behind locked doors. The building additionally did not have the fire suppression system thus there was continuous generation of smoke thus choking the occupants This case study shows clearly that the fire safety was clearly ignored in this building hence the enormous loss. A building with this kind of occupation need to have a wide fire exit and emergency exit mechanism for the doors specifically they should have access control system instead of lock and key. Properly installed fire system and fire alert should be provided in this kind of building to facilitate rescue procedures by the fire team. The building also lack well trained fire management staff to facilitate fire evacuation and also to make sure that fire system and fire suppression are working okay. Building with high level of occupancy should have well installed fire suppression systems to control spread of fire and also to avoid fire traps. There must be fire and smoke compartment created and avoidance of highly flammable building material to avoid rampant cases of fire. Part 3 1. Halon systems are systems that use halon to stop spread of fire.Halon is a liquefied gas that is highly compressed and through chemical reaction it stops fire combustion. During its use the chemical does not leave any residue that according to National fire protection association its refered to as clean agent. For fire to occur there need to be a complete fire triangle comprising of something to burn, oxygen and ignition heat,halon agents chemically disrupts the cycle thereby offering fire protection. Freon systems are refrigeration systems that offer cooling effect hence used for refrigeration and air conditioning. According to conditioned air inc group Freon is a chemical refrigerant that is used in heating, air conditioning and refrigeration industry. The compressed gas is used to transfer heat from one environment to another thereby offering heat control. The engineers though discovered that the gas has environmental effects since they affect ozone layer which results to climatic change.This has lead to development of Puron as an alternative Snyder (dec 2008) asserts that Halon systems were seen as an alternative to traditional sprinkling system but in 1989 under Montreal it was clear that the compressed gas causes ozone layer degradation which causes climatic change due to lack of atmospheric protection to the earth.There was an injunction to seek alternative ways which included use of inert gases. In my view i support the ban of halogen because though it’s referred as clean agent in fire protection the chemical reactions are emitted to the atmosphere hence affecting the ozone layer. 2.  P = εAσT4 A=0.75,T=100 Emissivity=0.93 Taking constant as 5.67x10-8 then the radiation energy (p)= 3.95 J/s 3. To explain the deference between the Fareinheit and Rankine,Celsius and Kelvin temperature scales this can collectively be analyed in the table below: Fareinheit Rankine celsius kelvin Absolute Zero -459.6 F 0 R -273.14 C 0K Freezing point of water 32 F 492 R 0 C 273K Boiling point of water 212 F 672 R 100 C 373 K 4. LFL= 100/15/12.5+40/4+45/5=100/20.2= 4.95% CONCENTRATION:hydrogen=12.4,Carbon Monoxide=27.3,methane=0.7 5. Frame height L= -1.02D+0.235(Q2/5 ) -1.02X1.2+0.235(Q*X1.204X1.005X293X square root of 9.81x1.2x1.2.1.2)2/5 Q* =0.28 THEREFORE FLAME HEIGHT (L)=1.58M OR 5.17 FT 6. Given A as constant COEFFICIENT RATE at -100 = 3.6e+61 SEC-1 500= 0.07 SEC -1 1000=12547 SEC-1 From the above analysis suggest the higher the temperature the faster the rate of reaction. Higher temperature generates higher kinetic energy hence higher collision rates. 7. Wavelength=v/f Wavelength=3.0 X108 /1.014X103 =295857.9m Wavelength =295857.9m The wavelength of infrared thermal radiation is higher than that of the smooth radio 8. Distance AB=7xcos 30=7X0.866=6M TIME FROM A TO B=6/1.25=4.8 Second SPEED REDUCTION= Time for distance B to C= 2.4+0.03=2.43 TOTAL 7.23 SECONDSS 9. Distance AC =10/0.866=11.5M TIME=DISTANCE/SPEED=11.5/1.55= 7.4SEC. 10. DISTANCE TO BE COVERED =11.5M TIME =11.5/0.95=12.1 SEC When air moves in the opposite direction it offers resistance thus reduction in speed.this will take a longer time to reach the fire exit Reference List: Innovation and growth team (2014).Low Carbon construction: retrieved from: www.gov.uk MCKinsey global institute (2014):retrieved from: www.mckinsy.com Royal Institute of British Architects (2013).Low Carbon assessment and methods. Retrieved from: www.architecture.com Carl, H. (2014) UK fire services resource group. retrieved from: www.fireservices.co.uk Snyder,L. (DEC 2008).why halon fire suppression systems were banned:retrieved from www.facilitiesnet.com Conditionedair Inc. 2014.can i get Freon for my air conditioner:Retrieved from: http://www.conditionedairinc.com/can-i-still-get-freon-for-my-air-conditioner.html Wikipedia page last edited 9th October 2014 :Low carbon building http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_carbon_building Institution of professional Engineers New Zealand (2011).Guideline for documenting fire safety design:retrieved from: www.dbh.govt.nz Donna,B. (2014):Brazil kiss night fire :http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2014/0127/Brazil-Kiss-nightclub-fire-One-year-on-has-anything-changed-video UK Steel construction (2014).Retrieved from: http://www.steelconstruction.info/ Read More