Calculating Frequency Dependent Sound Pressure Levels in Data Centers During Fire Suppression Discharges

Data Centers are a vital part of the growing technological world and in the past few years have been found to have a large weakness. Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), which are the main component of data storage, have been found to be very sensitive to sound. High sound levels can cause failure of HDDs in these data centers which can lead to down time and even worse, lost data. To protect these centers, Tyco has created an Acoustic Nozzle inert gas fire suppression system, which unlike many suppressions systems, creates acceptable levels of sound in a data centers. To further support this endeavor, an Acoustic Calculator was programmed which takes into account room construction materials, air attenuation, fire suppression technology and more. This program can predict sound pressure levels at every one-third-octave frequency to ensure that the sound levels of a fire suppression system are safe for data centers. This tool, combined with the new Acoustic Nozzle are being used worldwide to protect data centers from fire hazards as well as loss of data.