Implementation of new high-rise building staircase pressure differential system improvements

The following technical note demonstrates full-scale staircase test results of the pressure differential system improvement method described by Fryda et al. in 2021. It is a continuation of experimental research on the impact of the escape route’s leakages on the pressure differential systems for staircases. Based on the lab experiments, it has been found that an additional throttle of the leak implemented in the pressure differential system improves its effectiveness and allows it to be more precisely adjusted to the required overpressure. The results presented in this article have confirmed this hypothesis and provided the opportunity to apply for new patent solutions of a special throttle of the leak control and pressure regulating system. The proposed new leakage-based improvements could increase the efficiency of existing systems based on proportional-integral-derivative controller and could also be installed in new buildings.