Vertical Fire Curtains – What sort of loads?

[JDrinkard]

Vertical Fire Curtains – What sort of loads?

Have a fire curtain that’s to be installed in an existing building. It is a dual fabric system, two (2) sheets spaced 8 inches apart. The system has been tested to required standards and passed at an 8 inch air gap, however during one of the early tests (when the air gap was only 4 inches) the sheets touched, heat transferred and it failed. These tests were performed on an approximately 10’x10’ setup.

The proposed installation would be 10’x22.5’… we have concern that the deflection on this larger curtain will allow the curtains to touch, creating the failure condition observed in the earlier tests. The problem is that we can’t seem to find any reference/standard/etc. to give us insight into what sort of loading the curtain will experience during a fire.

Anyone have some insight?

 

[Agent666]

Yeah I'm not surprised you haven't seen anything related to working out the loads due to a fire. Seems like something as random as fire cannot be boiled down to a load it applies to another element.

When you say they touch is it in the middle of the curtain or the bottom? Just trying to imagine what this thing looks like and boundary conditions? Are the sides restrained/constrained, is there a stiffening element at the base that relies on weight to pull the curtain tight or does it lock into something at the base, etc?

What parts of the system contribute to the deflections that cause them to touch. Are these actually worsening with the larger size?