Regular testing and upkeep ensure a most service life and useful and failure-related safety of technical home equipment. The similar applies to foam-based hearth extinguishing methods and the froth proportioners put in in them.
Up to now, such testing and maintenance have required the presence of personnel on-site. However, it would be easier and extra cost-efficient for extinguishing system operators if this was attainable in a fully automatic and remote-controlled method. For example, this may additionally make regular maintenance personnel travel to remotely positioned proportioners redundant. In addition, this would make sure that necessities by the manufacturer, requirements and sets of laws are noticed without any useful deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
The distant testing system inside the ‘Smart Proportioner’ growth framework has been created just for this objective. It is an advancement of the distant monitoring system.
Brief overview of the distant monitoring system
The remote monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode throughout upkeep and stay firefighting operations.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning price and other operating parameters are determined, recorded and forwarded to the system operator if necessary. Thus, the smooth functionality and operational readiness of the system are monitored and ensured this manner.
A distant monitoring system consists of a management system, including an elective local display unit (HMI) if applicable, and sensor technology. The sensor know-how consists of, at least, the possibility to discover out the water motor’s variety of revolutions and to discover out the foam agent flow rate. These values are used to calculate the proportioning rate. This figure is the core characteristic during the operation and testing of a foam proportioner. Further sensor technology is on the market on an optionally available basis.
The distant monitoring system helps the operating and service personnel on-site. It can be suitable for remote monitoring of the froth proportioner.
However, it’s a fundamental fact that personnel are at all times needed to carry out the maintenance work or the proportioning fee testing on-site because the system plays a monitoring function solely. It doesn’t actively interact with the functioning of the proportioner.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning rate and different working parameters are decided, displayed and forwarded. Images supplied by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from remote monitoring to distant testing
The query is the method to additional decrease the upkeep effort on foam proportioners.
The resolution lies in the distant testing system, the following step of the clever FireDos proportioners. The distant testing system permits monitoring of the proportioner and individual maintenance, together with proportioning fee testing.
The situation of the proportioner may be checked with out having to start up the fire extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a distant place or which may be only rarely inspected by personnel on-site could be checked without upkeep employees and related expenses, such as journey expenditure. In specific, increasing the testing interval is feasible with out extra efforts. The instruction handbook for FireDos proportioners requires common starting-up, utilizing the service crank manually at least. This is intended to forestall deposits inside the gear, impairing its ease of motion and thus conserving the proportioner’s performance. The distant testing system can undertake these common movements and take a look at the proportioning price, growing the service life and practical safety of the proportioner.
What is the design of a distant testing system?
The distant testing system is usually based upon the distant monitoring system. It is, nevertheless, particularly prolonged by means of actuators. This is because they enable the completely independent operation of the remote testing system; i.e., the proportioning fee of the proportioner is examined without activating the water pumps of the fireplace extinguishing system.
The core parts include a central control system, with an elective HMI, sensor know-how, electrical ball valve drives, an electrical drive for the proportioner and a bypass line previous the water motor.
The connection of the electrical drive and the proportioner is designed so that the electrical drive could have no interference with the proportioner’s functionality within the case of a fire. This means, some nice advantages of the mechanical proportioning precept are preserved.
How does the distant testing system work, and the way can the proportioning price be checked with out activating the water pumps?
If in ready-to-operate mode, the proportioner is all the time in the proportioning position. Upon initiation of an computerized testing course of, no matter if after a defined time interval, upon request through a cloud resolution or from the hearth extinguishing system/a local operator, the proportioner is put into testing operation. Specifically, the control system places the proportioner into testing operation utilizing an electrically actuated ball valve drive whereas the foam agent just isn’t combined into the extinguishing water however returned to the froth agent tank. At the identical time, it opens the electrically actuated ball valve in the bypass line past the water motor. Next, the electric drive of the proportioner is activated, driving the complete proportioner at its start-up circulate fee. The start-up flow rate is the lowest operating level of a proportioner to succeed in its nominal proportioning fee.
Due to the exterior electrical drive, the water motor works like a pump and generates a water flow via the bypass from the water motor’s outlet to the water motor’s inlet. The operation causes no change of pressure within the extinguishing water line. The hearth extinguishing system is subsequently not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water move fee simulated by the exterior drive is also known due to the identified ratio of the water motor’s variety of revolutions and the water circulate rate, just the foam agent move rate should be decided to allow the subsequent calculation of the proportioning rate. This is done by a volumetric move meter between the proportioning pump’s outlet and the ball valve, which switches between returning and proportioning mode. This permits willpower of the froth agent circulate fee, each in testing mode and while proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning fee is decided based on the method as required in the requirements and regulations EN 13565-1, NFPA eleven, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 technique.
Foam agent move fee [l/min]
(Extinguishing water flow fee x 100 = proportioning fee %+ foam agent flow rate) [l/min]
After completion of the testing process, the electric drive of the proportioner stops, the bypass line is closed, and the proportioner is returned to proportioning mode.
Sensor technology installed as an extra option or inside the electric drive permits obtaining additional information and conclusions about the state and condition of the respective unit. It is checked, for example, whether the ball valves are of their appropriate positions or adequate oil is within the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the strain values on the pump inlet/outlet and the stress on the water motor are recorded. Finally, measuring the entire system’s torque and the move fee inside the bypass line permits checking the general situation of the proportioner.
The data may be displayed domestically or through a cloud solution. Controlling the upkeep operation can be potential by way of both interfaces.
What if there might be an alarm during a testing process?
An necessary question is: Does the proportioner work with none limitations and as traditional if there could be an alarm? The reply is: Yes!
The distant testing system is designed in such a method that extinguishing water can flow by way of the water motor and start it up at any time, even when the electrical drive is working at the identical time. In addition, a singular, absolutely automatic and purely mechanical decoupling mechanism ensures that the electrical drive doesn’t intervene with the proportioner’s functioning and readiness to operate.
In case of an alarm, the ball valves within the bypass line and people for switching between returning and proportioning are immediately switched in order that the proportioner is in proportioning mode for firefighting. Thus, the management system is put into alarm mode in this case. This alarm mode causes the disabling of all features not necessary at that second and all ball valves to be set to their correct position.
Therefore, in case of an alarm throughout testing operation, the ball valves change to their right position totally mechanically and the electric drive is switched off. Even if the electric drive continues to be running or coming to a stop, the extinguishing water can flow by way of the water motor and drive the proportioning pump with out limitations. เพรสเชอร์เกจน้ำ of the control system prevents re-activation of the electric drive or any unintended ball valve switching.
What advantages does a remote testing system provide?
Compared with normal proportioners and people geared up with a distant monitoring system, a remote testing system provides numerous benefits. They feature the next:
ν Proportione
Display view for testing operation of the FireDos distant testing system. Images provided by Author / Contributor
cian should be on-site.
Regular proportioning rate testing: Regular proportioning fee testing ensures optimum functioning of the proportioner in case of a hearth. If the proportioning rate is too low, the extinguishing success can be compromised. Overdosing causes the foam agent to be consumed quicker than meant, resulting in the untimely ending of the froth operation.
Increasing functional and failure safety due to elevated testing intervals: An increased take a look at interval causes the proportioner to be tested absolutely mechanically at shorter intervals of time. This notably reduces the danger of a failure remaining undetected for a longer time frame. In addition, more frequent testing prevents the formation of deposits inside the water motor.
Early fault detection and diagnostics: Faults in the proportioner or elements of the extinguishing system, instantly affecting the proportioner’s performance, could be identified at an early stage of time. This includes, for instance, pressure variations in the extinguishing water line or a jammed suction line.
Inclusion of all features and advantages of the distant monitoring system: All features and advantages of the remote monitoring system are additionally present in the distant testing system, i.e. all related working parameters are recorded and processed repeatedly and correctly in addition to documented in a log file. In addition, all information are displayed by a visualization.
Reduction of prices: Regular functional testing makes it attainable to detect faults even earlier. This means, upkeep and repairs can happen before any more serious injury occurs. The elevated functionality and fault safety of the proportioner ensures that the service lifetime of the proportioners is maximized and the probability of a failure is minimized. As a result, reduced service and operating workforce on-site reduce costs considerably, particularly if the proportioner is located in a distant place. In addition, useful testing of the proportioner permits early identification, analysis and probably limiting a fault remotely. This makes service visits more efficient and therefore cheaper.
Summary and prospect
The remote monitoring system already supplies various advantages and helps reduce prices, nevertheless it can not reduce the workforce required on-site.
The distant testing system is an answer for decreasing maintenance requirements. It is the next evolution in the midst of growing intelligent FireDos proportioners.
The distant testing system allows decreasing the workforce required on-site to a minimum, together with shorter testing intervals and increased failure safety. This increases the proportioner’s service life.
If the proportioner is in a fault-free state, no further upkeep by personnel on-site is critical, apart from an oil change. The oil change could be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, simply and with none deeper data of the operating principle of proportioners. If a service visit or restore ought to nonetheless turn into needed, remote monitoring and early fault detection will make the planning and completion of such work more efficient.
Like the distant monitoring system, the remote testing system is an optimum symbiosis of mechanical proportioners and an clever electronic improve. Thus, the benefits from each know-how fields are combined without compromising the functionality of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For more data, go to www.firedos.com
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