Reliability Analysis of Access Door Opening Force Measured with a Digital Force Gauge of a Pressurized Smoke Control Zone and Presentation of Optimum Conditions for the Opening Force

Abstract

The aim of this study was to measure the opening force of an access door of a pressurized smoke control zone and verify the reliability of the opening force. For the access door opening force, the opening load of the access door was measured before and after pressurized air had entered the smoke control zone. The reliability of the measured values was verified using the Anderson Darling's statistical analysis method of the Minitab Program. Because the analyzed P values were greater than 0.05 except for some floors before and after the operation of the smoke control equipment, the opening force was found to have 95% reliability. The normal distribution of the measured values showed no relationship with the operation of the smoke control equipment and the precision of the force gauge was believed to be reliable. The major factors for the optimal design of the pressurized smoke control equipment include the precision and reliability of the force gauge, the correct posture of the measuring person, and the same conditions for access doors. Therefore, a digital force gauge is believed to be suitable for measuring the opening force of the access door of a pressurized smoke control zone. In addition, standardization of the posture of a measuring person, the setup of the initial opening force of an access door, etc., are major variables for effective measurements of the door opening force of an access door.