| Abstract | Fire safety in tall wood buildings, especially those using mass timber as structural elements is a challenge, with the advent of new regulations including proposed changes for tall wood buildings, which allow/propose to allow the use of uncovered mass timber for various occupancies as long as protected with sprinkler systems. Water mist systems are considered for the protection of timber buildings because the system provides the advantage of minimal amount of water used, less water damage and easier cleanup compared to sprinkler systems.
This report reviews current building regulations and standard requirements for the use of water mist systems for the protection of wood frame buildings. To identify research gaps, previous experimental studies were also reviewed. It is found that there are very limited studies conducted to develop guidelines or design methods for water mist systems in protection of buildings. Although several water mist standards provide test protocols for using water mist systems in residential and light hazards scenarios, none of these standards considered the use of water mist systems in wood frame buildings. Therefore, without verifications, these existing standards and test protocols should not be incorporated in the use of water mist systems in protection of timber buildings.
In addition, development of new test protocols is in need since building codes are evolving to allow various occupancies for timber buildings. Test protocols need to be developed to address important design parameters, such as compartment conditions, fire scenarios and water delivery systems including nozzles. It should be noted that the occupancy, volumes of compartments, ventilation conditions need to be considered in selection of the nozzles and designing layouts of water delivery systems. |
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