Water mist expertise remains to be a relatively new idea when it comes to hearth suppression, yet it’s proving to be an exciting growth in the industry. As the industry evolves, so do the rules, legal guidelines and requirements in order to improve security and allow improvement. These can range largely from country to nation, and even area to area.
The means during which a water mist system operates is an analogous mechanism to the traditional sprinkler system in that the nozzles are usually activated through a bulb which blows at a selected temperature permitting for the activation of the mist by way of a low-pressure water piping system.
Here we have a look at how some water mist nozzles are produced and put in – from arriving as a large ‘bar’ of metallic, to becoming the environment friendly water mist nozzles we see put in in plenty of new projects/developments throughout a lot of the globe right now.
The metal arrives for slicing
Here at Dual Mist Ltd, Stainless Steel 304 is used for so much of components as this could be very sturdy and corrosion resistant compared to different similar metals. The body is machined out of Brass CZ121, which arrives as large bars of steel which are delivered to the warehouse in 3m lengths. This is then cut into two smaller elements able to insert into the machine. Not all water mist corporations have the flexibility to machine the components they require in-house although it may possibly prove very useful for value and manufacturing functions as we’re about to see.
Machining
The metal is fed to a Nakamura WT150 CNC lathe. This high-performance Japanese machine tool is equipped with carbide tooling and high-pressure by way of coolant techniques, with the twin-spindle and twin-turret making haste of the otherwise difficult parts. A Citizen M532 Sliding Head Lathe is used for the smaller components.
A Citizen L12 additionally makes the filters with a functionality of drilling 365 holes in 51 seconds, utterly automated – this means it can turnover an unbelievable four,000 filters in a weekend fully unmanned.
The brass heads are also de-burred on the machine, removing all sharp edges before being polished and despatched for Electroless Nickel Plating. This offers a corrosion-proof coating to the brass, enabling it to turn into far more durable. All parts are then inspected for dimensional accuracy earlier than the assembly stage.
This Technifor Laser machine engraves every nozzle in preparation for the testing phases.
Assembly
There are many small parts of varied shapes and sizes that make up the nozzle – In the DM4R nozzle, (as seen on the leak-testing pic) there are a complete of thirteen components or ‘components’. These elements are then meticulously put together and assembled by the production team requiring a good amount of labour before the ultimate product is achieved. Various levels embody tightening with specially tailored tools, urgent using a hand-press and using a specific ‘Locktite’ method at some phases which is a threadlock that prevents fixings from coming loose during the operational lifetime of the product. The ultimate stage of assembly is fastidiously loading the bulb and making use of the correct load to it utilizing a torque wrench.
The assembled nozzles are then placed on one other machine to be able to be labelled and uniquely identified using a serial number. At Dual Mist Ltd this is accomplished on a Technifor Laser Engraver fitted with a 4th axis unit before they are ready to be placed via the various stages of testing.
In less than known as bubble testing in layman’s phrases, this check is to make sure no injury has occurred to the bulb throughout meeting and is a critical check for LPCB approval. The take a look at includes utilizing a high-powered microscope to measure the size of the bubble in every bulb earlier than putting in warm water to find a way to shrink the size of the bubble to nothing. Once this is checked, the nozzles are then left to rest and return to room temperature earlier than the bubble is measured once again to be able to guarantee it has returned to the unique measurement within a small tolerance.
Leak Testing
Every nozzle is also stringently examined for leaks by applying 24-bar pressure for 1 hour and guaranteeing no water has escaped. It is rare for any leaks on the manufacturing line, but that is a particularly important stage of the testing as leaks could occur if dirt is trapped within the seal face.
Activation Testing
On a month-to-month basis, random nozzles are additionally examined for activation by inserting the nozzle on a strain jig at numerous pressures and applying warmth to the bulbs. The nozzles ought to all activate cleanly throughout the complete stress vary specified to that nozzle.
A member of the production team makes use of a microscope and software to find out the size of every bubble in the bulb.
Approvals
At Dual Mist Ltd, these checks aren’t just to guarantee the standard of the production line but are additionally an necessary part of the LPCB Approval. Unexplored allow clients to recognise that the products they’re shopping for are made to the highest possible quality standard within the area.
The drawback to this is that the Approval Testing system may be both expensive and time-consuming – generally needing to be booked several months prematurely and requiring years of onerous work to achieve.
The nozzles produced by Dual Mist have been put through their paces at BRE Global by way of both hearth testing and component/type approval.
Tamper proofing
In order to make sure that no one is tempted to interfere with the grub screw holding the bulb, a small plastic bung is pressed into the grub screw. The strain load setting on the bulb is then subsequently fixed.
The nozzles are then able to be packaged and despatched off for set up.
Here is an instance of a management panel having been put in in The Claridges Hotel, London, UK. This is the place the system is operated.
Installation
Rather than having to use the heavy and labour-intensive steel pipes often used in high-pressure techniques, low-pressure water methods can use CPVC piping. This is a particular sort of fire-resistant plastic enabling fast set up. Instead of threading each pipe, a heated glue can be used to quickly build giant pipe networks. These networks are approved to deal with as much as 12 bar strain. The nozzles are screwed into a special pipe adaptor utilizing a half-inch fuel becoming.
An electric control panel is fitted for the system control along with pumps and a water tank, often with a mains feed.
The system is tested, signed off and handed over to the client.
The last product as quickly as put in. This exhibits how we anticipate to see the nozzles once a venture has been accomplished.
Conclusion
As we are ready to see there are numerous phases to go from metallic to nozzle head with each nozzle taking a significant effort by varied professionals to finish to the accredited commonplace.
Not only do water mist nozzles require a number of stages of machining and assembling, they must also undergo a string of exams to be able to be approved for set up. Once put in, there are even additional exams undergone, sometimes by third-party organisations in order for the entire hearth suppression system to lastly be handed over to the consumer.
Water mist technology assures security, high quality and assurance through the stringent testing that is required.
With the recent publication of water mist standards, particularly in Britain over current years, building developers can now be assured that the quality required for water mist systems is now at an equivalent commonplace to other suppression methods.
For extra information, go to www.dualmist.com
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