Fire-resistant air ducts are adaptable to complex building layouts, providing important support for the flexible layout of smoke exhaust paths. This support is first reflected in the adaptability to building space. The layout of modern buildings is often intricate, with spacious halls, tall atriums, narrow corridors, and staggered pipe wells. Traditional air ducts are difficult to pass smoothly in these complex spaces due to their strong rigidity and large turning radius. Fire-resistant air ducts use flexible materials or modular designs, and can adjust their direction according to the actual structure of the building. For example, they can be installed close to the wall in narrow corridors, and can change direction with the turning of the well in the pipe well. They can even find a suitable installation location in irregular shaped spaces, allowing the smoke exhaust path to extend to every corner of the building, avoiding smoke exhaust blind spots due to space limitations.
This adaptability is also reflected in the connection method of the air duct. In complex building layouts, the smoke exhaust path often needs to cross different functional areas, such as extending from the underground garage to the ground floor, and from the office to the evacuation stairwell. The connection parts of fire-resistant air duct are designed flexibly, and can be spliced at multiple angles and directions. Whether it is vertical rise, horizontal extension or diagonal span, it can be tightly connected through special connectors to ensure the continuity of the smoke exhaust path. For example, in a multi-story building in a shopping mall, the air duct can start from the shops on the first floor, extend upward through the gap next to the elevator shaft, and then horizontally pass through the floor slab to enter the smoke exhaust port on the second floor. The entire path does not need to be detoured due to connection difficulties, which not only shortens the smoke exhaust distance, but also ensures the smoke exhaust efficiency.
The adjustable size of fire-resistant air duct allows it to coexist with other pipelines in a complex layout. In addition to smoke exhaust ducts, there are also air conditioning pipes, water pipes, cable trays and other pipelines inside the building. These pipelines often occupy limited space and are prone to mutual interference. Fire-resistant air duct can adjust the cross-sectional size according to the actual space size. Flat or small cross-sections are used in areas with dense pipelines, and regular sizes are restored in places with ample space. The flexible change of size avoids the obstruction of other pipelines. For example, in the ceiling of an office building, when the smoke exhaust duct meets the air conditioning duct, the smoke exhaust duct can be compressed into a flat shape and passed under the air conditioning duct, which does not affect the functions of both, and keeps the smoke exhaust path smooth, avoiding interruption of the path due to pipeline conflicts.
For buildings with special structures such as arcs and inclinations, the shape adaptability of fire-resistant air duct can also help the reasonable layout of the smoke exhaust path. Some buildings are designed with arc-shaped domes, inclined walls, etc. for aesthetics or functional requirements. Traditional air ducts are difficult to fit these special structures, resulting in the smoke exhaust port being unable to accurately align with the smoke gathering area. Fire-resistant air duct can be prefabricated and bent or processed on site to produce arc-shaped and oblique air ducts that match the building structure, so that the smoke exhaust port can be installed close to the inner wall of the arc dome, or arranged along the inclined wall to ensure that the smoke can be efficiently sucked into the air duct. For example, in the curved auditorium of a theater, the air duct can bend with the curvature of the auditorium, and the smoke exhaust ports are evenly distributed under the dome to timely exhaust the smoke that may be generated during the performance while maintaining the aesthetics of the building.
The lightweight characteristics of fire-resistant air duct reduce the load-bearing pressure of installation in complex layouts, and indirectly expand the optional range of smoke exhaust paths. When laying out smoke exhaust paths in the exterior walls, glass curtain walls and other parts of high-rise buildings, overweight air ducts will cause additional loads on the building structure and limit the installation location. Fire-resistant air duct uses lightweight and high-temperature resistant materials, and its weight is only a fraction of that of traditional air ducts. It can be installed in locations with limited load-bearing capacity such as wall interlayers and curtain wall keels, allowing the smoke exhaust path to extend along the periphery of the building. For example, the air duct is installed in the gap between the glass curtain wall and the floor slab to directly exhaust the smoke in the high-rise room to the outside to prevent the smoke from spreading inside the building. This flexible installation location selection further optimizes the layout of the smoke exhaust path.
In the renovation of old buildings, fire-resistant air ducts can adapt to complex layouts and lay out new smoke exhaust paths without destroying the original structure. The structure of old buildings is often relatively fixed, and the load-bearing capacity and opening positions of walls and floors are limited. If traditional air ducts are used when re-laying the smoke exhaust system, a large number of original structures may need to be demolished, which is time-consuming and affects the safety of the building. Fire-resistant air ducts can use the existing gaps in old buildings, such as cracks in walls and mezzanines in suspended ceilings, for pipe installation. If necessary, they can be partially bent to adapt to the direction of the existing structure, and a complete smoke exhaust path can be formed without large-scale renovation. For example, in the renovation of old residential buildings, the air duct can meander along the corners of the stairwell, and smoke exhaust ports can be set near the windows on each floor, which not only meets the smoke exhaust needs, but also protects the original structure of the building.
The adaptability of fire-resistant air ducts to different environments allows the smoke exhaust path to maintain stable operation in a variety of complex scenarios. Some areas of some buildings have special environments, such as the humid environment of underground garages and the high-temperature fume environment of kitchens. Traditional air ducts are easily damaged in these environments, affecting the durability of the exhaust path. Fire-resistant air ducts are corrosion-resistant and high-temperature resistant. They can be used for a long time in the humid environment of underground garages without rusting, and will not be corroded and blocked by oil in the kitchen fume environment, ensuring that the exhaust path can still work normally in these special areas. For example, in the exhaust system of underground shopping malls, the air duct can extend from the dry shopping area to the humid underground garage, keeping the structure stable throughout the process, so that the smoke in the garage can be discharged in time to avoid gathering in the closed space.
In addition, the fast construction characteristics of fire-resistant air ducts allow the exhaust paths in complex layouts to be efficiently formed. In construction projects with tight schedules, the cutting and welding of traditional air ducts take a long time, and it is difficult to quickly complete the layout of complex paths. Fire-resistant air ducts are assembled in a modular manner. After the prefabrication of the components, only simple splicing and fixing are required on site. The installation of complex paths can be completed in a short time, ensuring that the exhaust system is put into use as soon as possible.
For example, in the construction of large-scale exhibition centers, due to the complex layout and tight construction schedule, fire-resistant air duct can be used through prefabricated elbows, tees and other components to quickly build a smoke exhaust network covering exhibition halls, passages, and offices, so that the smoke exhaust path can be debugged before the completion of the building to ensure safe use.
