Regular testing and maintenance ensure a maximum service life and useful and failure-related security of technical home equipment. The identical applies to foam-based fireplace extinguishing systems and the foam proportioners installed in them.
Up to now, such testing and maintenance have required the presence of personnel on-site. However, it might be easier and extra cost-efficient for extinguishing system operators if this was attainable in a completely automatic and remote-controlled manner. For example, this may also make regular upkeep personnel journey to remotely positioned proportioners redundant. In addition, this is in a position to ensure that necessities by the manufacturer, standards and sets of rules are observed without any practical deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
The remote testing system throughout the ‘Smart Proportioner’ development framework has been created just for this function. It is an development of the distant monitoring system.
Brief overview of the remote 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 different operating parameters are decided, recorded and forwarded to the system operator if needed. Thus, the graceful functionality and operational readiness of the system are monitored and ensured this fashion.
A remote monitoring system consists of a management system, including an optional local display unit (HMI) if relevant, and sensor expertise. The sensor know-how consists of, as a minimum, the likelihood to determine the water motor’s variety of revolutions and to discover out the froth agent circulate fee. 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 know-how is out there on an elective foundation.
The remote monitoring system supports the working and service personnel on-site. It is also suitable for distant monitoring of the foam proportioner.
However, it is a basic proven truth that personnel are at all times necessary to hold out the maintenance work or the proportioning fee testing on-site as the system performs a monitoring role solely. It doesn’t actively work together with the functioning of the proportioner.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning fee and other working parameters are decided, displayed and forwarded. Images provided by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from distant monitoring to remote testing
The question is the way to further minimize the maintenance effort on foam proportioners.
The resolution lies within the distant testing system, the subsequent step of the clever FireDos proportioners. The remote testing system permits monitoring of the proportioner and individual maintenance, including proportioning rate testing.
The condition of the proportioner may be checked without having to begin up the fire extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a remote place or which might be only not often inspected by personnel on-site may be checked without maintenance staff and associated expenses, similar to travel expenditure. In specific, growing the testing interval is feasible without additional efforts. The instruction guide for FireDos proportioners requires regular starting-up, using the service crank manually as a minimum. This is intended to stop deposits inside the gear, impairing its ease of movement and thus conserving the proportioner’s functionality. The distant testing system can undertake these regular actions and check the proportioning rate, growing the service life and practical security of the proportioner.
What is the design of a remote testing system?
The distant testing system is usually based mostly upon the distant monitoring system. It is, nonetheless, particularly extended by the use of actuators. This is because they permit the utterly independent operation of the remote testing system; i.e., the proportioning fee of the proportioner is tested without activating the water pumps of the fire extinguishing system.
The core elements embrace a central management system, with an optionally available HMI, sensor technology, 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 in order that the electrical drive will have no interference with the proportioner’s performance within the case of a hearth. This method, the benefits of the mechanical proportioning precept are preserved.
How does the remote 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 at all times within the proportioning place. Upon initiation of an automatic testing course of, no matter if after an outlined time interval, upon request via a cloud solution or from the hearth extinguishing system/a native operator, the proportioner is put into testing operation. Specifically, the control system puts the proportioner into testing operation using an electrically actuated ball valve drive while the foam agent is not blended into the extinguishing water however returned to the froth agent tank. At the same 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 flow fee. The start-up move fee is the bottom operating level of a proportioner to succeed in its nominal proportioning rate.
Due to the exterior electrical drive, the water motor works like a pump and generates a water move through the bypass from the water motor’s outlet to the water motor’s inlet. The operation causes no change of stress in the extinguishing water line. The fireplace extinguishing system is therefore not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water move price simulated by the exterior drive is also identified as a end result of recognized ratio of the water motor’s variety of revolutions and the water circulate rate, simply the foam agent circulate price should be decided to permit the next calculation of the proportioning fee. This is done by a volumetric flow meter between the proportioning pump’s outlet and the ball valve, which switches between returning and proportioning mode. This allows willpower of the froth agent flow price, each in testing mode and whereas proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning rate is determined according to the formulation as required within the standards and laws EN 13565-1, NFPA 11, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 method.
Foam agent move price [l/min]
(Extinguishing water flow fee x 100 = proportioning rate %+ foam agent flow rate) [l/min]
After completion of the testing process, the electrical drive of the proportioner stops, the bypass line is closed, and the proportioner is returned to proportioning mode.
Sensor technology installed as an additional option or inside the electric drive permits obtaining additional information and conclusions about the state and situation of the respective unit. It is checked, for example, whether the ball valves are in their correct positions or sufficient oil is in the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the strain values at the pump inlet/outlet and the pressure at the water motor are recorded. Finally, measuring the whole system’s torque and the circulate rate contained in the bypass line permits checking the final situation of the proportioner.
The knowledge may be displayed locally or via a cloud answer. Controlling the upkeep operation can be attainable by way of each interfaces.
What if there is an alarm throughout a testing process?
An important query is: Does the proportioner work without any limitations and as ordinary if there may be an alarm? The reply is: Yes!
The distant testing system is designed in such a method that extinguishing water can circulate by way of the water motor and begin it up at any time, even if the electrical drive is working on the similar time. In addition, a unique, totally automatic and purely mechanical decoupling mechanism ensures that the electrical drive doesn’t interfere with the proportioner’s functioning and readiness to operate.
In case of an alarm, the ball valves in the bypass line and people for switching between returning and proportioning are instantly switched so that the proportioner is in proportioning mode for firefighting. Thus, the control system is put into alarm mode on this case. This alarm mode causes the disabling of all functions not necessary at that second and all ball valves to be set to their correct place.
Therefore, in case of an alarm throughout testing operation, the ball valves swap to their correct place absolutely automatically and the electrical drive is switched off. Even if the electrical drive remains to be running or coming to a cease, the extinguishing water can circulate through the water motor and drive the proportioning pump without limitations. The alarm mode of the control system prevents re-activation of the electrical drive or any unintended ball valve switching.
What advantages does a distant testing system provide?
Compared with normal proportioners and those equipped with a distant monitoring system, a distant testing system offers varied advantages. They function the following:
ν Proportione
Display view for testing operation of the FireDos remote testing system. Images supplied by Author / Contributor
cian need to be on-site.
Regular proportioning rate testing: Regular proportioning price testing ensures optimum functioning of the proportioner in case of a fireplace. If the proportioning price is too low, the extinguishing success could be compromised. Overdosing causes the foam agent to be consumed faster than supposed, resulting in the untimely ending of the froth operation.
Increasing practical and failure security because of increased 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 risk of a failure remaining undetected for a longer time period. In addition, extra frequent testing prevents the formation of deposits contained in the water motor.
Early fault detection and diagnostics: Faults within the proportioner or components of the extinguishing system, immediately affecting the proportioner’s functionality, could be recognized at an early stage of time. This consists of, for instance, strain variations in the extinguishing water line or a jammed suction line.
Inclusion of all capabilities and advantages of the remote monitoring system: All functions and advantages of the distant monitoring system are also current in the distant testing system, i.e. all related operating parameters are recorded and processed repeatedly and appropriately as well as documented in a log file. In addition, all data are displayed by a visualization.
เกจวัดแรงดันไทวัสดุ of prices: Regular useful testing makes it possible to detect faults even earlier. This method, upkeep and repairs can happen before any more severe damage happens. The increased functionality and fault security of the proportioner ensures that the service life of the proportioners is maximized and the probability of a failure is minimized. As a end result, reduced service and operating workforce on-site scale back prices considerably, significantly if the proportioner is located in a remote place. In addition, useful testing of the proportioner permits early identification, analysis and presumably limiting a fault remotely. This makes service visits extra efficient and therefore more cost-effective.
Summary and prospect
The distant monitoring system already supplies numerous advantages and helps reduce costs, nevertheless it can’t cut back the workforce required on-site.
The remote testing system is an answer for decreasing upkeep necessities. It is the following evolution in the course of creating clever FireDos proportioners.
The remote testing system allows decreasing the workforce required on-site to a minimal, 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 additional upkeep by personnel on-site is critical, other than an oil change. The oil change may be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, easily and without any deeper information of the operating principle of proportioners. If a service go to or repair should nonetheless turn into necessary, distant monitoring and early fault detection will make the planning and completion of such work extra efficient.
Like the remote monitoring system, the distant testing system is an optimum symbiosis of mechanical proportioners and an intelligent electronic improve. Thus, the benefits from each know-how fields are mixed with out compromising the performance of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For more data, go to www.firedos.com
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