Experimental Study of Grid Ceiling Effect on Fire Extinguishment Efficiency of Automatic Sprinkler

Automatic Sprinkler System (ASS) is a regular automatic fire extinguishing system generally used. In this paper, the distribution of water and the fire extinguishment efficiency of ASS were studied experimentally, when the grid ceiling was installed below the sprinkler head. The experimental results indicated: grid ceiling affects the water distribution significantly, related with installation height of sprinkler head and water pressure. When the water pressure is increased, water density increased more quickly in the area without grid ceiling than where with grid ceiling. The effect of grid ceiling can be reduced and the fire extinguishment efficiency can be improved by increasing the water pressure. When the pressure is high enough, the fire extinguishment efficiency will approach the efficiency without grid ceiling. The results can be used in practical project to keep the fire extinguishment efficiency of sprinklers when installed above grid ceiling.