Water mist expertise remains to be a comparatively new concept in phrases of fire suppression, yet it’s proving to be an thrilling development within the trade. As the trade evolves, so do the regulations, laws and necessities to have the ability to enhance security and enable improvement. These can range largely from country to country, and even area to area.
The way by which a water mist system operates is an identical mechanism to the normal sprinkler system in that the nozzles are usually activated via a bulb which blows at a particular temperature permitting for the activation of the mist by way of a low-pressure water piping system.
Here we take a look at how some water mist nozzles are produced and installed – from arriving as a large ‘bar’ of metallic, to becoming the efficient water mist nozzles we see put in in lots of new projects/developments across a lot of the globe today.
The metallic arrives for cutting
Here at Dual Mist Ltd, Stainless Steel 304 is used for lots of elements as this can be very sturdy and corrosion resistant in comparability to other comparable metals. The physique is machined out of Brass CZ121, which arrives as giant bars of metal which may be delivered to the warehouse in 3m lengths. This is then reduce into two smaller components able to insert into the machine. Not all water mist companies have the ability to machine the elements they require in-house although it might possibly prove very useful for price 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 software is equipped with carbide tooling and high-pressure by way of coolant methods, with the twin-spindle and twin-turret making haste of the in any other case difficult components. A Citizen M532 Sliding Head Lathe is used for the smaller components.
A Citizen L12 also makes the filters with a capability of drilling 365 holes in fifty one seconds, completely automated – this means it can turnover an unimaginable 4,000 filters in a weekend utterly unmanned.
The brass heads are also de-burred on the machine, eradicating all sharp edges earlier than being polished and sent for Electroless Nickel Plating. This provides a corrosion-proof coating to the brass, enabling it to turn out to be much more sturdy. เกจวัดแรงดันไฮดรอลิค are then inspected for dimensional accuracy before the assembly stage.
This Technifor Laser machine engraves every nozzle in preparation for the testing levels.
Assembly
There are many small elements of assorted 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 manufacturing team requiring a good amount of labour earlier than the ultimate product is achieved. Various stages embrace tightening with specially tailored tools, urgent using a hand-press and using a selected ‘Locktite’ formula at some levels which is a threadlock that forestalls fixings from coming loose through the operational lifetime of the product. The final stage of assembly is rigorously loading the bulb and applying the correct load to it utilizing a torque wrench.
The assembled nozzles are then positioned on another machine in order to be labelled and uniquely recognized using a serial quantity. At Dual Mist Ltd this is done on a Technifor Laser Engraver fitted with a 4th axis unit before they’re ready to be positioned via the various levels of testing.
Testing
Cull Testing
Also known as bubble testing in layman’s terms, this test is to ensure no damage has occurred to the bulb throughout meeting and is a crucial test for LPCB approval. The take a look at involves using a high-powered microscope to measure the size of the bubble in each bulb earlier than putting in warm water so as to shrink the dimensions of the bubble to nothing. Once this is checked, the nozzles are then left to relaxation and return to room temperature before the bubble is measured once again so as to guarantee it has returned to the original size inside a small tolerance.
Leak Testing
Every nozzle is also stringently examined for leaks by making use of 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 very important stage of the testing as leaks might occur if filth is trapped inside the seal face.
Activation Testing
On a month-to-month basis, random nozzles are additionally examined for activation by putting the nozzle on a pressure jig at various pressures and applying warmth to the bulbs. The nozzles should all activate cleanly across the entire stress range specified to that nozzle.
A member of the manufacturing group uses a microscope and software program to determine the size of each bubble in the bulb.
Approvals
At Dual Mist Ltd, these exams usually are not just to guarantee the quality of the manufacturing line but are additionally an important a half of the LPCB Approval. These approvals enable prospects to recognise that the merchandise they’re buying are made to the best potential high quality standard in the region.
The drawback to this is that the Approval Testing system can be both pricey and time-consuming – generally needing to be booked several months upfront and requiring years of hard work to realize.
The nozzles produced by Dual Mist have been put through their paces at BRE Global when it comes to both fireplace testing and component/type approval.
Tamper proofing
In order to ensure that no person 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 example 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 metal pipes often used in high-pressure techniques, low-pressure water techniques can use CPVC piping. This is a particular type of fire-resistant plastic enabling quick installation. Instead of threading each pipe, a heated glue can be utilized to shortly construct massive pipe networks. These networks are approved to deal with as a lot as 12 bar strain. The nozzles are screwed into a particular pipe adaptor utilizing a half-inch gasoline fitting.
An electric management panel is fitted for the system management together with pumps and a water tank, usually with a mains feed.
The system is tested, signed off and handed over to the shopper.
The final product as soon as put in. This reveals how we count on to see the nozzles as quickly as a challenge has been completed.
Conclusion
As we can see there are heaps of stages to go from steel to nozzle head with each nozzle taking a big effort by varied professionals to complete to the approved standard.
Not only do water mist nozzles require multiple stages of machining and assembling, they need to additionally bear a string of tests in order to be approved for installation. Once installed, there are even additional checks undergone, typically by third-party organisations in order for the whole hearth suppression system to finally be handed over to the shopper.
Water mist expertise assures security, high quality and assurance via the stringent testing that’s required.
With the recent publication of water mist requirements, significantly in Britain over recent years, building builders can now be assured that the standard required for water mist methods is now at an equivalent commonplace to different suppression techniques.
For more info, go to www.dualmist.com
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