A.

MECHANICAL SYSTEMS:

Design Philosophy and Concepts

Primary objective of Mechanical system design is to realize the end objectives of (a) cost
effectiveness (b) energy conservation and energy auditing (c) Fire safety, (d) Indoor air
quality (IAQ), (e) design flexibility providing ample scope for expansion / modifications
(f) Introduction of new concepts / technologies and (g) ease of maintenance.

The Mechanical, Public health and Fire engineering services will be developed to meet
the operational requirements, to provide the correct environment for the occupants
and to ensure that fire safe and fully controlled and conditioned spaces are provided as
required to meet the expected level of servicing, zoning and flexibility.

Energy optimization measures will be considered and justified as part of the Life Cycle
Costing process. Ideally the selected system will have low requirements for maintenance
and components will be easy to replace.

The Mechanical building services systems are generally consist of,
1. Air Conditioning & Ventilating
The HVAC systems shall be designed as per the latest ASHRAE (American Society of
Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) standards.
The HVAC System Selection Report shall start by confirming the system performance
objectives and compliance criterion. Subsequently, the selection/recommendation
of a certain HVAC strategy shall be thoroughly documented and justified in the
Detailed Design Report.
Selection Parameters
The following factors have been highlighted as being of primary importance in
determination of a suitable HVAC system.
Comfort & Controls
System Flexibility
System Integration
Energy Efficiency
Whole of life costs including capital costs, maintenance costs, energy costs and
replacement cost
The above factors represent a minimum set of criteria against which HVAC system
selection shall be assessed.
Pressure Philosophy
Fresh air requirement to zones shall be generally determined by the level of dirty
extract to that same zone, or to a value as required for the levels of occupancy in
each zone.
Area requiring no dirty extract shall be pressurized by returning less air than that
supplied.
Areas requiring dirty extract (toilets, kitchens, etc) shall be maintained under
negative pressure by extracting volumes more than the supply volume.
The building shall be kept under positive pressure to prevent hot air infiltration.
2. Domestic cold and hot water distribution
From the PAEW (Public Authority for Electricity & Water) mains, an incoming supply
shall be connected to main storage tank via filter media located in the pump room.
The tank shall be sized to store water for one day domestic water consumption
along with the minimum fire reserve as required by the local Civil Defence Authority.
3. Drainage Services:
Drainage designs shall be carried out in accordance with BS 5572 Code of Practice
for sanitary work and to the satisfaction of the local Drainage Department.
4. Fire Protection:
System Design
All systems shall be designed in accordance with the requirements as set out in
NFPA and to the requirements of the Royal Oman Police Civil Defence Authority.
5. Seismic Vibration Control
All mechanical equipment, pipe work within plant rooms shall be mounted on
vibration Isolators in accordance with seismic codes (Zone 2A)
6. Building Management System (BMS)
The Building Management System shall be a PC based System. It shall combine the
latest state of the art technology with simple operating techniques and shall be used
to manage and monitor the building services installation.

7. Basis of Design
All Mechanical designs will be in strict compliance with the applicable sections of the
codes and standards, design guides issued by the following agencies:
ARI - American Refrigeration Institute
ASHRAE - American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
Engineers Inc
ASTM - American Society of Testing Materials
SMACNA - Sheet metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association
CIBSE - Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
NFPA - National Fire Prevention Association
BS EN - British Standards European Norms
UL - Underwriters Laboratories
ISO - International Organization of Standardization
- BS 6700 Domestic Water Services
- BS EN 12056 2 2000 Gravity Drainage systems inside building
- CIBSEG, Public Health Engineering
- Institute of Plumbing, UK
- Civil Defence Authority Sultanate of Oman