Tackling corrosion in active fire protection systems Corrosion is a topic of growing concern in the active fire protection industry. There is mounting evidence that the performance of galvanised pipes traditionally used to combat increased corrosion activity is not as expected. Here Chris Gill, Product Manager – Water, Viking SA, Luxembourg introduces the new Fendium piping technology with significantly improved corrosion protection and improved hydraulics compared to standard black steel and galvanised steel pipe networks. Corrosion is a significant issue in sprinkler and water mist systems, particularly in dry, pre-action or deluge systems where oxygen and water are freely in contact with the pipe, with leaks causing damage and the potential to cause significant business interruption. In addition, the products of corrosion could prevent the proper and effective function of a system by restricting or even completely blocking the flow of water. The biggest challenge is that corrosion progress cannot easily be predicted or monitored, in most
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cases the situation inside the pipes is not visible from the outside. In fact, there is a considerable risk that the function of the system will be significantly impaired or disrupted without being discovered and thereby impacting the ability of the system to control a fire. More recently independent research and testing as well as field experience has cast some doubt on the ability of galvanised pipes to withstand corrosion as much as we had previously thought. In addition, there have been some worrying instances of explosions in galvanised
systems due to hydrogen formation and so this has led to a reduction in scope of use for galvanised pipes. For example, the next edition of EN 12845 will not recommend galvanised pipes for either wet or dry systems and both FM and VdS do not allow the use of galvanised pipes for wet pipe systems. This leaves a significant gap for water mist in particular which requires something more corrosion resistant than black steel. Stainless steel pipes do of course provide excellent corrosion resistance but this comes at a
