Regular testing and upkeep ensure a most service life and functional and failure-related safety of technical appliances. The identical applies to foam-based fire extinguishing techniques and the foam proportioners put in in them.
Up to now, such testing and upkeep have required the presence of personnel on-site. However, it would be simpler and extra cost-efficient for extinguishing system operators if this was potential in a totally automated and remote-controlled method. For example, this would also make common upkeep personnel travel to remotely positioned proportioners redundant. In addition, this may be positive that requirements by the producer, standards and units of regulations are observed with none practical deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
The distant testing system within the ‘Smart Proportioner’ improvement framework has been created only for this function. It is an development of the remote monitoring system.
Brief overview of the remote monitoring system
The remote monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode throughout maintenance and reside firefighting operations.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning rate and different working parameters are determined, recorded and forwarded to the system operator if essential. Thus, the sleek performance and operational readiness of the system are monitored and ensured this manner.
A distant monitoring system consists of a management system, together with an optionally available local display unit (HMI) if relevant, and sensor technology. The sensor expertise consists of, at the least, the likelihood to find out the water motor’s variety of revolutions and to find out the foam agent circulate price. These values are used to calculate the proportioning price. This figure is the core characteristic through the operation and testing of a foam proportioner. Further sensor expertise is out there on an elective foundation.
The remote monitoring system supports the operating and repair personnel on-site. It can additionally be suitable for remote monitoring of the foam proportioner.
However, it’s a basic incontrovertible truth that personnel are at all times necessary to hold out the upkeep work or the proportioning fee testing on-site because the system performs a monitoring function solely. It does not actively interact with the functioning of the proportioner.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning rate and other operating parameters are decided, displayed and forwarded. Images supplied by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from distant monitoring to distant testing
The query is the method to further reduce the maintenance effort on foam proportioners.
The resolution lies within the remote testing system, the subsequent step of the clever FireDos proportioners. The distant testing system allows monitoring of the proportioner and individual maintenance, together with proportioning fee testing.
The condition of the proportioner may be checked without having to start up the hearth extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a remote place or which are solely not often inspected by personnel on-site can be checked without maintenance staff and associated expenses, similar to travel expenditure. In explicit, increasing the testing interval is feasible without additional efforts. The instruction manual for FireDos proportioners requires common starting-up, utilizing the service crank manually as a minimum. This is intended to stop deposits inside the tools, impairing its ease of motion and thus conserving the proportioner’s functionality. The remote testing system can adopt these regular actions and test the proportioning price, increasing the service life and functional security of the proportioner.
What is the design of a remote testing system?
The remote testing system is usually based upon the distant monitoring system. It is, nevertheless, particularly prolonged by the use of actuators. This is as a result of they enable the utterly impartial operation of the distant testing system; i.e., the proportioning rate of the proportioner is examined with out activating the water pumps of the fire extinguishing system.
The core elements embrace a central control system, with an optional HMI, sensor technology, electrical ball valve drives, an electrical drive for the proportioner and a bypass line past the water motor.
The connection of the electrical drive and the proportioner is designed in order that the electrical drive may have no interference with the proportioner’s functionality within the case of a fireplace. This method, the advantages of the mechanical proportioning principle are preserved.
How does the remote testing system work, and the way can the proportioning rate be checked with out activating the water pumps?
If in pressure gauge หน้าปัด 2 นิ้ว -to-operate mode, the proportioner is always within the proportioning place. Upon initiation of an automatic testing course of, irrespective of if after an outlined time interval, upon request by way of a cloud solution or from the fireplace extinguishing system/a local operator, the proportioner is put into testing operation. Specifically, the management system puts the proportioner into testing operation utilizing an electrically actuated ball valve drive whereas the foam agent is not blended into the extinguishing water but 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 whole proportioner at its start-up move rate. The start-up circulate price is the lowest working point of a proportioner to achieve its nominal proportioning rate.
Due to the external electrical drive, the water motor works like a pump and generates a water circulate through the bypass from the water motor’s outlet to the water motor’s inlet. The operation causes no change of pressure in the extinguishing water line. The fire extinguishing system is due to this fact not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water circulate rate simulated by the exterior drive can additionally be known due to the recognized ratio of the water motor’s number of revolutions and the water flow rate, just the foam agent circulate rate should be decided to permit the next calculation of the proportioning rate. This is finished by a volumetric move meter between the proportioning pump’s outlet and the ball valve, which switches between returning and proportioning mode. This permits determination of the foam agent circulate price, both in testing mode and whereas proportioning in case of an alarm.
เพรสเชอร์เกจคือ is determined according to the method as required within the standards and regulations EN 13565-1, NFPA 11, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 method.
Foam agent circulate price [l/min]
(Extinguishing water move fee x one hundred = proportioning price %+ 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 know-how put in as an additional possibility or inside the electric drive allows 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 enough oil is within the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the strain values at the pump inlet/outlet and the pressure on the water motor are recorded. Finally, measuring the entire system’s torque and the flow rate inside the bypass line permits checking the overall condition of the proportioner.
The information may be displayed regionally or through a cloud answer. Controlling the upkeep operation is also possible through both interfaces.
What if there’s an alarm during a testing process?
An necessary question is: Does the proportioner work without any limitations and as traditional if there might be an alarm? The reply is: Yes!
The distant testing system is designed in such a method that extinguishing water can move by way of the water motor and begin it up at any time, even if the electrical drive is working at the similar time. In addition, a novel, totally computerized and purely mechanical decoupling mechanism ensures that the electrical drive does not interfere 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 control system is put into alarm mode on this case. This alarm mode causes the disabling of all features not essential at that second and all ball valves to be set to their right place.
Therefore, in case of an alarm during testing operation, the ball valves switch to their correct place totally routinely and the electrical drive is switched off. Even if the electrical drive is still working or coming to a cease, the extinguishing water can circulate by way of the water motor and drive the proportioning pump without limitations. The alarm mode of the management system prevents re-activation of the electrical drive or any unintended ball valve switching.
What benefits does a distant testing system provide?
Compared with standard proportioners and those outfitted with a distant monitoring system, a distant testing system offers varied benefits. They function the following:
ν Proportione
Display view for testing operation of the FireDos remote testing system. Images supplied by Author / Contributor
cian should be on-site.
Regular proportioning fee testing: Regular proportioning price testing ensures optimum functioning of the proportioner in case of a fire. If the proportioning price is too low, the extinguishing success can be compromised. Overdosing causes the foam agent to be consumed sooner than supposed, leading to the untimely ending of the foam operation.
Increasing practical and failure safety because of increased testing intervals: An elevated check interval causes the proportioner to be tested absolutely routinely at shorter intervals of time. This notably reduces the danger of a failure remaining undetected for an extended time frame. In addition, extra frequent testing prevents the formation of deposits contained in the water motor.
Early fault detection and diagnostics: Faults in the proportioner or components of the extinguishing system, immediately affecting the proportioner’s performance, may be identified at an early stage of time. This contains, 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 capabilities and advantages of the distant monitoring system are also present in the remote testing system, i.e. all relevant operating parameters are recorded and processed constantly and accurately as nicely as documented in a log file. In addition, all information are displayed by a visualization.
Reduction of costs: Regular useful testing makes it possible to detect faults even earlier. This way, upkeep and repairs can take place before any extra critical damage happens. The elevated performance and fault safety of the proportioner ensures that the service life of the proportioners is maximized and the likelihood of a failure is minimized. As a outcome, decreased service and operating workforce on-site reduce costs considerably, particularly if the proportioner is located in a remote place. In addition, functional testing of the proportioner allows early identification, analysis and possibly limiting a fault remotely. This makes service visits extra environment friendly and therefore more cost-effective.
Summary and prospect
The remote monitoring system already provides varied benefits and helps scale back costs, however it can’t scale back the workforce required on-site.
The distant testing system is a solution for decreasing maintenance requirements. It is the subsequent evolution in the center of developing clever FireDos proportioners.
The remote testing system permits lowering the workforce required on-site to a minimum, together with shorter testing intervals and increased failure safety. This will increase the proportioner’s service life.
If the proportioner is in a fault-free state, no additional upkeep by personnel on-site is important, apart from an oil change. The oil change may be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, simply and with none deeper information of the operating principle of proportioners. If a service go to or restore should still turn out to be necessary, remote monitoring and early fault detection will make the planning and completion of such work more efficient.
Like the distant monitoring system, the distant testing system is an optimum symbiosis of mechanical proportioners and an clever digital improve. Thus, the advantages from both expertise fields are mixed with out compromising the functionality of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For more info, go to www.firedos.com
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