Experts in fire protection

Oxeo extinguishing systems

TECHNOLOGIES
GAS EXTINGUISHING SYSTEMS
 Residue-free fire extinguishing
Oxeo extinguishing systems from Minimax use nitrogen and argon to fight fire. These natural inert
gases are characterized by an outstanding extinguishing effect – even in special risk areas. Since
they are also electrically non-conductive and leave no extinguishant residues behind in the event
of fire, they can be used especially in areas with high-value and sensitive facilities.

The inert gases used in Oxeo extinguishing systems Oxeo extinguishing systems can therefore be
are distributed homogeneously in the event of fire deployed particularly in areas with movement of
and displace the oxygen from the fire source. people.
Thanks to the three-dimensional mode of action,
even concealed fire sources are reliably and safely Besides accessible rooms (room protection), Oxeo
extinguished before re-ignition. For this reason extinguishing systems also protect enclosed facili-
Oxeo extinguishing systems are very suitable even ties, such as control cabinets and distributor boxes
for the fire protection of special risk areas with or machine tools (local protection). The special pre-
flammable liquids and other hazardous substances fabricated Oxeo compact assemblies are optimally
and of areas with high fire loading. equipped for this.

Rapid fire extinguishing with inert gases keeps dam- Inside track: Oxeo extinguishing systems offer the
age caused by fire to a minimum. In addition to this features of all modern inert gas extinguishing sys-
– in contrast to water, foam or power – secondary tems – from 300 bar technology to ConstantFlow
damage caused by the extinguishing agent is excluded: versions. In addition the in-house developed
inert gases leave no extinguishing agent residues and Minimax Design Manager always ensures the
can be simply removed from the affected area again optimum dimensioning of the system.
by ventilation after extinguishing the fire. Oxeo
extinguishing systems are therefore always an out-
standing solution if it is worth protecting valuable
goods or irreplaceable cultural objects from being
destroyed by fire. Moreover inert gases are electrically
non-conductive, so that they can also be used in
areas with electrical or electronic components. So
Oxeo extinguishing systems avoid long downtimes
and expensive interruptions in operations.

Nitrogen and argon are non-toxic even at concen-

trations capable of extinguishing fire – the oxygen
concentration of the ambient air is however signifi-
cantly reduced in the process. Therefore, persons
present are called to leave the extinguishing area by
acoustic and optical alarm signals before extinguishing
agent flooding is activated.

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Inert gases possess a first-class extinguishing effect For every risk the suitable inert gas
for fires of fire classifications A (solids), B (flammable
liquids) and C (flammable gases). Furthermore, argon  Nitrogen
is the only inert gas also suitable for fires of fire Nitrogen is a 78.1% constituent part of the
classification D (metal fires). natural atmosphere by volume. Its density in
relation to air is 0.967: 1. Nitrogen thus has a
Nitrogen and argon are natural components of the special gravity similar to air, which means that
ambient air and, therefore, have no harmful impact it is optimally distributed in the extinguishing
on the atmosphere. No other gaseous extinguishing area and can maintain an inert gas concentra-
agent has this outstanding environmental audit. tion capable of extinguishing for a particularly
Both gases are consequently not only safe for the long time. This qualifies nitrogen as a universal
future but are also easily and quickly obtainable extinguishing agent for multiple applications.
nearly everywhere, as apart from fire extinguishing
they are also used for many other purposes.  Argon
Therefore, after a release Oxeo extinguishing sys- Argon is a noble gas obtained from the ambient
tems that use pure nitrogen or pure argon can be air and is contained in the natural atmosphere
cost-effectively and quickly refilled and put back at 0.93 vol %. Its density in relation to air is
into operation again. 1.38: 1. Argon is therefore significantly heavier
than air and is thus particularly suitable for
Whichever inert gas is used – nitrogen, argon or if double floors, and as a “real inert gas” with
necessary a mixture - in Oxeo extinguishing systems its high inertness is also outstanding as an
the system technology is always the same. extinguishing agent for metal fires.

 Mixed gases
Mixed gases, which contain both nitrogen and
argon and as necessary also small proportions
of carbon dioxide, can also be used in Oxeo
extinguishing systems. Typical mixed gases for
use in inert gas extinguishing systems are IG 55
consisting of 50 % nitrogen and 50 % argon –
and IG 541 – consisting of 52 % nitrogen,
40 % argon and 8 % carbon dioxide.

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 Constuction and function
Oxeo extinguishing systems are subdivided into fire detection and extinguishing control technology,
the extinguishant supply and into one or more extinguishing areas with corresponding area subdivision.

Fire detection- and extinguishing technology quantity is constantly under control. The filling
Oxeo extinguishing systems are controlled and quantity to be supplied depends upon the fire risk
function-checked by Minimax’s proven fire detection and the size and condition of the facility to be
and extinguishing control technology. This guarantees protected. The modular construction of the Oxeo
optimal compatibility, confirmed by the correspond- supply system enables an optimum adjustment
ing approvals, of electrical and mechanical system to individual customer requirements and local
components. Unnecessary expenditure of effort on conditions and offers the highest degree of
coordination and interface problems between differ- flexibility for conversion- or extension actions.
ent units are avoided. The extinguishing areas are
continually monitored by smoke-, heat- and/or flame Extinguishing zones and zone division
detectors. In a fire event these emit a signal to the Oxeo extinguishing systems can be designed as a
fire detection and extinguishing control panel. The single-zone system to protect one extinguishing
latter releases an acoustic and optical alarm by section or as a Multi-Zone system for the protection
which persons present are notified to leave the of two or more extinguishing areas. Multi-Zone
affected room and in parallel sends a signal to a systems are fitted with selector valves which in the
permanently attended place. Upon expiry of a pre- event of fire direct the extinguishing agent only into
defined pre-warning period the extinguishing agent the extinguishing area affected by the fire event.
is released from the containers via cylinder valves. Individually controllable container groups always
A precisely calculated filling quantity is fed via the release a filling quantity exactly adjusted to the
pipe network into the extinguishing area and extinguishing areas. This means that each area does
escapes at the extinguishing nozzles. The rapid and not need to be provided with its own extinguishing
homogeneous distribution of the extinguishing agent supply. The total supply of extinguishant is
agent displaces the oxygen from the fire source. reduced to the quantity required for the largest
extinguishing area and thus to a minimum. Further,
Extinguishing agent supply the system can be easily adjusted. Changes of use
The extinguishing agent is stored in high pressure and conversions in the building can be reacted to
cylinders which in turn are placed together in the extremely flexibly. The filling quantity to be fed in
Oxeo supply system in a space-saving but extendable and the flooding time determine the arrangement
manner. The charging pressure on each individual of the extinguishing nozzles and the complexity
cylinder is constantly monitored for leakage by of the pipework. Specially designed extinguishing
pressure recording. Any error messages are auto- nozzles allow the pipework to be simply designed.
matically forwarded to the fire detection and
extinguishing control panel. So the available filling

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 Flooding zone 1 Flooding zone 2

15
12

9
8

10
11 13

14
7 3

5 4

Extinguishing system
1
control panel

Extinguishing system control panel Extinguishing zones

Oxeo supply system Zone control- and Oxeo VN
1 (operation and reserve) 5 disabling device 8 extinguishing nozzle 12 Optical/acoustic signaller

Pilot cylinders Oxeo SPA

2 (operation and reserve) 6 Selector valves 9 extinguishing nozzle 13 Illuminated warning signal

Operation/reserve Fire detection and

3 changeover 7 extinguishing control panel 10 Fire detectors 14 Manual actuation

4 Time delay device 11 Pneumatic horn 15 Pressure relief flap

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 Construction and function

Technology for a space-saving supply

of extinguishing gas

Oxeo extinguishing systems allow a particularly multiple rows and to adapt the cylinder set-up to
compact and space-saving supply of extinguishing the premises creates additional flexibility for the
agent. inert gas storage.

In Oxeo extinguishing systems the inert gas is Therefore, Oxeo extinguishing systems require up to
stored as standard in extinguishing agent cylinders 50 % less space for the extinguishing agent supply
with a volume of 140 liters at a charging pressure of than inert gas systems with 80 l / 200 bar gas cylin-
300 bar. A large volume and high charging pressure ders extinguishing agent containers. Consequently
allow the uptake of large quantities of inert gas per via the use of Oxeo extinguishing systems a smaller
cylinder. So only a few extinguishing agent cylinders space for the extinguishing agent supply can be
are required for the supply. planned in new buildings, which incurs lower con-
struction costs. In existing buildings on the other
In addition, the cylinders can be set up extremely hand the use of an inert gas extinguishing system
compactly using the Oxeo supply system. The ability often only becomes possible at all with the
to arrange the extinguishing agent cylinders in space-saving extinguishing agent supply.

A Space requirement with 80 l / 200 bar gas cylinders, without Oxeo storage system

B Space requirement with 140 l / 300 bar gas cylinders, with Oxeo storage system

Space saving
up to 50%

This illustration is an example

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 Construction and function

ConstantFlow technology

Oxeo ConstantFlow technology operates with The extinguishing areas can be planned more flexibly.
high-performance pressure regulators mounted di- Smaller pressure relief flaps can be more easily in-
rectly on the extinguishing agent cylinder valves. At tegrated into exteriors and the area excess pressure
the start of the extinguishing procedure the operat- from basements can be conducted via small channels
ing pressure is thus already reduced to a maximum into the open air without any problem.
of 60 bar at the output of the extinguishing agent
cylinders. In addition, a constant stream of extin- Together with the special nozzles with SPA silencers
guishing agent is created without a pressure spike. the constant stream of extinguishing agent without
In conventional inert gas extinguishing systems a pressure spike allows a "soft flood" in the event of
on the other hand the gas escapes from the cylin- fire. The gentler flooding process reduces vibrations
ders into the pipe network at the beginning of the on the protected equipment and in particular is gen-
extinguishing process with a charging pressure of tle on particularly sensitive equipment such as rotat-
up to 300 bar. This creates a pressure spike at the ing hard drives in server rooms and data centers.
beginning of an extinguishing process as well as a
heavy stream of extinguishing agent which rapidly When using Oxeo ConstantFlow technology the con-
decreases with the duration of the flooding. nected conduits and selector valves need only to be
designed for the low pressure level of 60 bar max-
A crucial advantage: In Oxeo extinguishing systems imum, which may result in significantly profitable
with ConstantFlow, thanks to the constant stream solutions being implemented in many cases.
of extinguishing agent, pressure relief flaps can turn
out to be 70 % smaller than in conventional inert
gase xtinguishing systems.

p(bar) Conventional
300
gas extinguishing system

Oxeo extinguishing system

with constant flow

60

0
0 t(s)

A constant stream of extinguishing agent without a pressure spike Oxeo ConstantFlow Technology cylinder valve with high-performance
– Thanks to Oxeo ConstantFlow Technology pressure regulator

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 Construction and function

Nozzles for all incidents

Different requirements and integration situations  Together with the ConstantFlow Technology
both in the room and in local protection each the special nozzles with SPA silencers allow a
require specially tailored nozzle designs: Oxeo “soft flooding” in the event of fire: The acoustic
extinguishing system nozzles of types VN, SPA, pressure is significantly reduced when the inert
ARGE and DD introduce the inert gas in the gas emanates and the
required flooding time and quantity into the extin- flooding process using
guishing area, distribute it evenly there and thus the Oxeo extinguishing
provide the desired oxygen displacement. system is thereby overall
gentler. Protected facili-
ties are thus protected
 The type VN nozzle is available in various sizes against strong vibrations
and offers an innovative solution: It can be and particularly sensitive equipment, such as
adjusted to the relevant required extinguishant rotating hard disks in server rooms and data
throughput via a patented centers, spared.
screen technology. Room
alterations simply require
an adjustment of the nozzle,
but not of the pipework.
 The ARGE type special nozzles have particularly
small nozzle bores which enable an extremely
fine extinguishant output. For fire fighting in
control cabinets, narrowly confined facilities or
in very small rooms they are the ideal solution,
since they introduced the
inert gas very slowly and
 The Oxeo extinguishing system type DD nozzles in very small quantities.
are designed for flush integration, for example
on housings or fairings on facilities to be pro-
tected. The nozzles are
designed with threads on
the input- and output
side so that they can be
attached quickly and
easily from outside on
the housing.

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 Construction and function

Prefabricated for
local protection

For the protection of smaller enclosed facilities,

such as control- or server cabinets or machine tools,
the Oxeo extinguishing system offers pre-fabricated
compact assemblies.

In the compact assemblies, all central components

are combined into one unit in a cabinet and pro-
tected against dust, moisture and mechanical stress.
One or two extinguishing agent cylinders and an
electronically monitored depletion indication and
electromagnetic extinguishant release are combined
in the cabinet. The integrated fire detection and extin-
guishing control panel controls the extinguishing
unit in the event of fire.

Standardized connections are available on the com-

pact assembly for pipework with Oxeo extinguishing
nozzles and for cables to the fire detectors.

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 Construction and function

Optimally designed with

the Minimax DesignManager.

Oxeo extinguishing systems are designed project- 1/2 inch or 1 1/2 inch nozzles, 200 bar or 300 bar
specifically with the Minimax DesignManager. technology, single- or multi-zone systems, with or
Minimax has developed this calculation program on without ConstantFlow, the MinimaxDesignManager
the basis of comprehensive theoretical foundational will always find the optimal system variant and solution
work and numerous flow tests with real extinguish- for every task.
ant floodings. Minimax DesignManager's calculation
accuracy allows an optimal dimensioning of gas
extinguishing systems both from a safety-related
and economic perspective: The extinguishing systems
designed have proven reliable and effective.
MX DesignManager

argon multi-zone systems cylinder size

local conditions
ConstantFlow

200 bar
system optimization
extinguishing agent optimization
extinguishing zones
ConstantFlow

MX DesignManager
engineering
optimization

design
isometry
pipework configuration pipework configuration
local conditions

customers' requirements
room protection

customers' requirements extinguishing agent

design

room protection
cylinder valve cylinder size
isometry

cylinder valve
extinguishing nozzle safety valve
argon

nitrogen nitrogen
engineering

200 bar
300 bar
300 bar space requirement extinguishing zones
section subdivision
The Minimax DesignManager integrated connection
extinguishing agent supply selector valve
to CAD software allow the calculation to be easily
extinguishing agent supply

number of cylinders disable device

executed and the result to then be inserted into project
number of cylinders
space requirement
documents and system documentation.
extinguishing nozzle

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 Applications
As inert gases are electrically non-conductive and leave no extinguishant residues behind in the event of fire,
Oxeo extinguishing systems are an outstanding solution to protect valuable goods and irreplaceable cultural
objects or prevent electrical or electronic equipment from being out of operation for a long time.

Oxeo extinguishing systems are also best suited for

the protection of special risk areas with flammable
liquids and other hazardous substances, such as
paint facilities, and of areas with concealed fire
sources such as automated storage and retrieval
systems. With argon even metal fires can be extin-
guished. All system variants and options of the
Oxeo extinguishing systems are tested and recog-
nized by the VdS Schadenverhütung (German testing
institution for fire protection and safety). In addition,
approvals from international certifying bodies are
also available.

 Data centers, server rooms and server cabinets

 Switchgear, control rooms, and control cabinets
 Control centers, operations- and control rooms
 Utility rooms
 Painting- and powder coating systems
 Hazardous substance- and VbF
(flammable liquid) stores
 Automated storage and retrieval systems
(shuttle/paternoster)
 Machine tools
 Museums, archive rooms

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There are many reasons in favor of Oxeo
extinguishing systems from Minimax:

 Ideal for the protection of high-value goods  High flexibility - therefore also very suitable
and sensitive facilities even for conversion- or extension measures

 Outstanding extinguishing effect even in risk  Up to 50% space saving in the area of
areas with high or concealed fire load the extinguishant supply

 Prevents long downtimes and expensive  Use of up to 70% smaller pressure relief
interruptions in operations flap possible

 Particularly good for use in areas with  The Minimax DesignManager will find the
movement of persons optimally designed solution and system variant
for each project
 Inert gases are extinguishing agents that
are safe for the future

 Implementation of complex systems over large

distances and cost-effective multi-zone systems
possible
PB08Ce/11.13/0/10.17/0/WK · Printed in Germany · Subject to technical modifications

Photos Editor:
Cover Minimax GmbH
picture: Kromat, Bad Oldesloe
Fotolia@Brian-Kinnex; Industriestrasse 10/12
Fotolia@Andreas Schindl; 23840 Bad Oldesloe
Fotolia@Nataliya Hora
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Page 10: Stefan Albrecht, Hamburg +49 4531 803-0
Page 11: Minimax AG, Schweiz;
BMW Group; Fotolia@Pavel Losevsky
[email protected]
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