MORE THAN JUST WALLS: REDEFINING DATA CENTER CONTAINMENT

• Routine maintenance and active construction threaten operations in mission-critical environments. Traditional containment materials like drywall can introduce hazardous dust, block critical server cooling paths, and risk inadvertent downtime.

• Safe data center maintenance requires an integrated containment strategy built on three pillars: CONTAIN, PRESSURIZE, MONITOR.

• Using a purpose-built containment system eliminates dangerous particles by using advanced barriers, actively captures airborne dust and debris with high-CFM air scrubbers, and ensures continuous airflow integrity via portable differential pressure monitors.

Data centers leave no room for compromise. As mission-critical facilities they must operate 24/7 with zero downtime. This presents complex challenges with regular maintenance and facility updates. Critical operations can not be interrupted to accommodate active construction such as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) upgrades or phased and non-phased hot aisle containment system (HACS) commissioning.

Traditional construction containment methods such as drywall can put these live environments at risk in the following ways:

• Particulate Contamination: Drywall can generate dust and debris that can easily infiltrate sensitive electronics and lead to catastrophic equipment damage or failure.

• Inadvertent Downtime: Improper handling of tools or drywall materials can cause accidental contamination or damage to spaces and equipment. This may force downtime while the facility recovers.

• Disrupted Cooling & Airflow: Construction can inadvertently block or alter critical air paths, compromising the cooling efficiency required by server racks.

• Noise and Vibration: Heavy construction generates disruptions that can threaten the safety of sensitive operations and personnel.

• Contaminated Entryways and Ceilings: Workers accessing ceilings for cable work or moving in and out of work zones can transfer harmful particulates to clean areas without proper containment.

Proper work zone containment and zero-downtime construction require a solution that can live up to the unique challenges of data center maintenance.

The Integrated System from SHIELD WALL™ and Abatement Technologies®

SHIELD WALL™ by Abatement Technologies® acts as your dedicated mission-critical partner, offering fully integrated solutions manufactured in-house. SHIELD WALL™ temporary containment safeguards your facility during active work by focusing on three essential steps for construction in mission-critical facilities: CONTAIN, PRESSURIZE, MONITOR.

Step 1: CONTAIN Work Zones to Prevent Particulate Contamination

SHIELD WALL™ reusable containment barriers replace traditional drywall with a highly advanced system to protect live environments and ensure clean, quick deployment with no drywall dust, low noise, and minimal vibration.

• Preserve Facility Integrity: The system requires no cutting, drilling, or permanent attachments, ensuring your facility remains undamaged.

• Advanced Panel Technology: Choose from CORE, CLASSIC, CONNECT panels. These panels exceed ASTM E84 smoke and flame ratings. CORE and CLASSIC options also provide STC-rated sound attenuation and can be fully sealed to keep contaminants from escaping. Easily reconfigured during phased work.

• Secure Access: Ensure strict protocol compliance using secure locking doors with keyed or keypad access.

• Targeted Isolation: Deploy anteroom kits to create clean entry and decontamination zones, and mobile containment carts to help prevent particulate escape during sensitive ceiling and cable/duct work.

Step 2: Use Negative Air Machines to PRESSURIZE Environments and Capture Debris

Maintaining total airflow integrity and cooling efficiency during active construction in data centers is non-negotiable. The SHIELD WALL™ system seamlessly supports positive and negative pressure control zones without disrupting operations.

• Use negative air machines to actively capture dust and debris before it can spread.

• Use high-CFM air scrubbers for massive areas or new HACS commissioning, such as the HEPA-AIRE® PAS5000, which delivers a peak airflow of up to 4,000 CFM.

Step 3: Remotely MONITOR Containment Zones for Continuous Airflow Integrity

To maintain strict environmental tolerances, you must have visibility into your containment zones.

• Differential pressure monitors use continuous checks to ensure proper air pressure differentials are maintained between positive and negative pressure zones.

• The PPM4 Portable Differential Pressure Monitor offers optional Web, Wi-Fi, and mobile connections, allowing facility managers to remotely ensure continuous airflow integrity.

The "One-Stop Shop" Advantage

Sourcing containment strategies from multiple vendors leaves room for error and incompatibility. The SHIELD WALL™ system provides a single point of contact for walls, specialized equipment, accessories, and support.

• Components are designed and manufactured in-house, allowing for superior quality control where all equipment works seamlessly together.

• The system includes a complete selection of consumables and accessories, including sticky mats, replacement filters, and HEPA vacuums designed specifically for cleaning dust-attracting surfaces and wires.

• SHIELD WALL™ offers a highly sustainable solution designed with hyperscalers in mind, supporting rapid reconfiguration that can be reused across projects, phases, and sites.

Conclusion

When active construction meets a live, mission-critical environment, you need more than just walls. By leveraging SHIELD WALL's full-spectrum containment strategy from Abatement Technologies®, data centers and other mission-critical facilities can ensure their ongoing operations remain safe, clean, and uninterrupted.

To explore solutions to fit your facility and budget requirements, visit us at SHIELDWALLSYSTEMS.COM and ABATEMENT.COM