Airflow in Above Ground Drainage Systems
(Room 129 A)
01 Nov 16
3:15 PM
-
4:30 PM
Tracks:
Codes and Advanced Design
This will be a two-part presentation offering both an academic viewpoint and also that of a public health (plumbing) design engineer discussing the control of air pressure within drainage systems. Professor Lynne Jack will open the presentation from an academic stance, focusing on how the latest computer modelling techniques are enhancing our knowledge of airflow. Professor Jack will further explain how this knowledge is being utilized to solve real-world issues such as detecting trap seal loss and attenuating positive pressure. The second part of the presentation will be by Peter White, who will tell the story of how, when first faced with designing a 50-story building in the UK, he realized that UK standards were not adequate for the task. Debating both UK and U.S. guidance, and how this went on to confuse matters further, he will discuss the resolving input from Heriot-Watt University via a robust computer simulation of the airflow within the proposed drainage system. The presentation will conclude with how point-of-need active devices are now being used to provide closer control of air pressure within tall building drainage systems than can be achieved with traditional design methods. This will be demonstrated by comparing a 50-story tower designed by Peter and the airflow modelled by Heriot-Watt with a point-of-need version of the same airflow modelling.