Data Center Return Air Ceiling Plenum w/ Combustible materials

[EricaMPA]

Hey everyone, quick question...
I live in california and am working on a data center job that calls for a return air open plenum above ceiling. However, this is a wood structure, therefore combustible materials would be exposed in the open plenum area. Someone suggested using Foil Scrim insulation to line the Plenum area and exposed wood beams... Is this permissable? Does anyone have any suggestions or is this a situation where the return will have to be ducted? Any advice or ideas woud be apprecited. Thanks.

 

[KiwiMace]

I think you would be running up against section 602 of the CMC unless you provided a full fire rating of the wooden structure. I'm not sure foil scrim insulation will get you there, a question for an architect.

Is there a suspended ceiling already installed? If this is high enough, say 12' or more, and with good rack/crac layout, and not too many W/sf or kW/rack, then you might be ok with natural return path, otherwise a ducted return is worth considering. Experience and CFD help here.

 

[EricaMPA]

Thanks KiwiMace for the information. I've only been in the industry for about a year and only been in California for a few months so I'm deffinitly lacking the experience. I really appreciate the response. We are a smaller mechanical firm and have been doing some research regarding CFD programs. Do you work with this software and/or have any opinions or recommendations on which programs are best?

This particular portion of the project regarding the data center has been permanatly placed on hold so I suppose the issue is now irrelavant until the next time.

 

[Drazen]

what do you want cfd programs for? these are very expensive tools for specific applications.

i assume that what you need is hvac design software, but software cannot replace good senior engineer's guidance in first years of your work.

 

[KiwiMace]

In larger firms, the investment in CFD can pay out over more projects. It needs to be sold and paid for specifically though, rather than generally bundled into projects as a service.

In LA I was doing only data center work, we used future facilities six sigma DC, which made model setup super quick. I would not recommend a generic cfd package for this work.

 

[trashcanman]

Duct the return back to the air handler and move along.