oSIST prEN 15004-6:2015

Fixed firefighting systems - Gas extinguishing systems - Part 6: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for HFC 23 extinguishant

This document gives specific requirements for gaseous fire-extinguishing systems, with respect to the HFC 23 extinguishant. It includes details of physical properties, specification, usage and safety aspects and is applicable to systems operating at nominal pressure of 41 bar without nitrogen superpressurization. This does not preclude the use of other systems.

Ortsfeste Brandbekämpfungsanlagen - Löschanlagen mit gasförmigen Löschmitteln - Teil 6: Physikalische Eigenschaften und Anlagenauslegung für Feuerlöschmittel HFC 23

Installations fixes de lutte contre l’incendie - Installations d’extinction à gaz - Partie 6: Propriétés physiques et conception des systèmes pour agent extincteur HFC 23

Vgrajeni gasilni sistemi - Sistemi za gašenje s plinom - 6. del: Fizikalne lastnosti in načrtovanje sistema za gašenje s plinom za gasilo HFC 23

General Information

• Status: Not Published
• Public Enquiry End Date: 30-Mar-2015
• ICS: 13.220.20 - Fire protection
• Technical Committee: POZ - Požarna varnost
• Current Stage: 98 - Abandoned project (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 25-Jul-2016
• Due Date: 30-Jul-2016
• Completion Date: 25-Jul-2016
• Directive: 305/2011 - Regulation (eu) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 march 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing council directive 89/106/eec
• Mandate: M/109 - Mandate to CEN/CENELEC concerning the execution of standardization work for harmonized standards on fire alarm/detection, fixed firefighting, fire and smoke control and explosion suppression products
• Ref Project: prEN 15004-6 - Fixed firefighting systems - Gas extinguishing systems - Part 6: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for HFC 23 extinguishant

Relations

• Revised: SIST EN 15004-6:2008 - Fixed firefighting systems - Gas extinguishing systems - Part 6: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for HFC 23 extinguishant (ISO 14520-10:2005, modified)
• Effective Date: 08-Jun-2022
• Revised: SIST EN 15004-6:2008 - Fixed firefighting systems - Gas extinguishing systems - Part 6: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for HFC 23 extinguishant (ISO 14520-10:2005, modified)
• Effective Date: 01-Mar-2015

Overview

prEN 15004-6 (CEN) is the draft European standard that specifies the physical properties and system design requirements for gas extinguishing systems using HFC 23 (trifluoromethane). It is part of the EN 15004 series covering fixed firefighting systems - gas extinguishing systems. The document addresses product specification, storage and fill characteristics, required extinguishing concentrations, safety for personnel, and environmental information for systems operating typically at a nominal 41 bar (and where applicable at 70 bar with nitrogen superpressurization).

Key topics and technical requirements

• Extinguishant specification: Minimum purity (≥99.6 % mol/mol) and limits on acidity, water content, non‑volatile residue and suspended matter.
• Physical properties: Molecular mass, boiling/freezing/critical points, densities and vapour pressure (tables provided).
• Design concentrations and quantities: Tabulated design and extinguishing concentrations for common fuels (e.g., heptane, methanol, acetone, toluene) and inerting data; design concentrations include a safety factor (typically 1.3). Agent mass per protected volume is calculated using specific volume values (Table 3) and temperature‑dependent formulas.
• Storage and fill density: Maximum fill densities and container working pressures are given (example: for 41 bar systems max fill density 860 kg/m3 and max working pressure 137 bar at 50 °C; for 70 bar superpressurized systems max fill density 852 kg/m3 and working pressure 163 bar at 50 °C). Guidance on avoiding “liquid full” conditions and pressure/temperature relationships is provided.
• Superpressurization: Where used, nitrogen pressurization requirements (equilibrium ~70 (+3.5/-0) bar at 20 °C) and nitrogen moisture limits (≤ 60×10‑6 by mass).
• Safety of personnel: Consideration of hazards from the agent, combustion products and breakdown products. Toxicological guidance includes NOAEL (30 % by volume) and ALC (>65 % by volume). Designers must follow EN 15004‑1 for minimum safety provisions.
• Environmental properties: HFC 23 has a very high GWP (100‑year) of 14 800 and an ODP of 0 - information that influences selection and regulatory compliance.

Applications

• Design and specification of total‑flooding HFC 23 fixed fire suppression systems in hazards where HFC 23 is considered suitable.
• Calculation of agent quantities, container selection and storage requirements, and safety planning for data centres, industrial plant enclosures and other protected volumes where gaseous suppression is used.
• Use by fire protection engineers, system designers, installers, safety managers, regulators and insurers evaluating HFC 23 systems.

Who should use this standard

• Fire protection consultants and system designers specifying HFC 23 systems
• Manufacturers and installers of fixed gaseous extinguishing equipment
• Facility safety officers and compliance teams assessing system performance and personnel safety
• Regulators and certification bodies reviewing conformity to EN series requirements

Related standards

• EN 15004‑1 (general requirements) and other EN 15004 parts (e.g., Parts 2–4, 7–10) covering specific extinguishants and design/installation guidance.

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-marec-2015
9JUDMHQLJDVLOQLVLVWHPL6LVWHPL]DJDãHQMHVSOLQRPGHO)L]LNDOQHODVWQRVWLLQ
QDþUWRYDQMHVLVWHPD]DJDãHQMHVSOLQRP]DJDVLOR+)&
Fixed firefighting systems - Gas extinguishing systems - Part 6: Physical properties and
system design of gas extinguishing systems for HFC 23 extinguishant
Ortsfeste Brandbekämpfungsanlagen - Löschanlagen mit gasförmigen Löschmitteln -
Teil 6: Physikalische Eigenschaften und Anlagenauslegung für Feuerlöschmittel HFC 23
Installations fixes de lutte contre l’incendie - Installations d’extinction à gaz - Partie 6:
Propriétés physiques et conception des systèmes pour agent extincteur HFC 23
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN 15004-6
ICS:
13.220.20 3RåDUQD]DãþLWD Fire protection
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD
DRAFT
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
December 2014
ICS 13.220.20 Will supersede EN 15004-6:2008
English Version
Fixed firefighting systems - Gas extinguishing systems - Part 6:
Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing
systems for HFC 23 extinguishant
Installations fixes de lutte contre l'incendie - Installations Ortsfeste Brandbekämpfungsanlagen - Löschanlagen mit
d'extinction à gaz - Partie 6: Propriétés physiques et gasförmigen Löschmitteln - Teil 6: Physikalische
conception des systèmes pour agent extincteur HFC 23 Eigenschaften und Anlagenauslegung für Feuerlöschmittel
HFC 23
This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 191.

If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which
stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language
made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United
Kingdom.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are aware and to
provide supporting documentation.

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without notice and
shall not be referred to as a European Standard.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2014 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 15004-6:2014 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents
Page
Foreword .3
1 Scope .4
2 Normative references .4
3 Terms and definitions .4
4 Characteristics and uses .4
4.1 General .4
4.2 Use of HFC 23 systems .5
5 Safety of personnel.8
6 System design .9
6.1 Fill density .9
6.2 Superpressurization .9
6.3 Extinguishant quantity .9
7 Environmental properties . 11

Foreword
This document (prEN 15004-6:2014) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 191 “Fixed
firefighting systems”, the secretariat of which is held by BSI.
This document is currently submitted to the CEN Enquiry.
This document will supersede EN 15004-6:2008.
EN 15004 consists of the following parts, under the general title Fixed firefighting systems – Gas extinguishing
systems:
 Part 1: Design, installation and maintenance”
 Part 2: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for FK-5-1-12 extinguishant”
 Part 3: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for HCFC Blend A
extinguishant”
 Part 4: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for HFC 125 extinguishant”
 Part 6: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for HFC 23 extinguishant”
 Part 7: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for IG-01 extinguishant “
 Part 8: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for IG-100 extinguishant”
 Part 9: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for IG-55 extinguishant”
 Part 10: Physical properties and system design of gas extinguishing systems for IG-541 extinguishant”
1 Scope
This part of EN 15004 contains specific requirements for gaseous fire-extinguishing systems, with respect to
the HFC 23 extinguishant. It includes details of physical properties, specification, usage and safety aspects
and is applicable to systems operating at a nominal pressure of 41 bar without nitrogen superpressurization
and 70 bar superpressurized with nitrogen.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references,
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 15004-1, Gaseous fire-extinguishing systems — Physical properties and system design — Part 1: General
requirements.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this part of EN 15004, the terms and definitions given in EN 15004-1 apply.
4 Characteristics and uses
4.1 General
Extinguishant HFC 23 shall comply with the specification shown in Table 1.
HFC 23 is a colourless, almost odourless, electrically non-conductive gas with a density approximately 2,4
times that of air.
The physical properties are shown in Table 2.
HFC 23 extinguishes fires mainly by physical means, but by some chemical means.
Table 1 — Specification for HFC 23
Property Requirement
Purity 99,6 % (mol/mol), min.
–6
Acidity
3 × 10 by mass, max.
–6
Water content
10 × 10 by mass, max.
Non-volatile 0,01 % by mass, max.
residue
Suspended matter None visible
or sediment
Table 2 — Physical properties of HFC 23
Property Units Value
Molecular mass — 70
Boiling point at 1,013 bar (absolute) -82,0
°C
Freezing point -155,2
°C
Critical temperature 25,9
°C
Critical pressure bar abs 48,36
Critical volume cm /mol 133
Critical density kg/m 525
Vapour pressure 20 °C bar abs 41,80
Liquid density 20 °C kg/m 806,6
Saturated vapour density 20 °C kg/m 263,0
Specific volume of superheated vapour m /kg 0,3409
at 1,013 bar and 20 °C
Chemical formula CHF
Chemical name
Trifluoromethane
4.2 Use of HFC 23 systems
HFC 23 total flooding systems may be used for extinguishing fires of all classes within the limits specified in
clause 4 of EN 15004-1.
The extinguishant requirements per volume of protected space are shown in Table 3 for various levels of
concentration. These are based on methods shown in 7.6 of EN 15004-1.
The extinguishing concentrations and design concentrations for n-heptane and surface class A hazards are
shown in Table 4. Concentrations for acetone heptane, methanol and toluene are shown in Table 5, and
inerting concentrations are shown in Table 6.
p
...