Regular testing and upkeep guarantee a maximum service life and practical and failure-related safety of technical appliances. The similar applies to foam-based fire extinguishing methods and the froth proportioners installed in them.
Up to now, such testing and upkeep have required the presence of personnel on-site. However, it would be easier and extra cost-efficient for extinguishing system operators if this was potential in a completely computerized and remote-controlled manner. For instance, this is in a position to additionally make common upkeep personnel travel to remotely located proportioners redundant. In addition, this may be sure that requirements by the producer, requirements and sets of rules are observed without any practical 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 remote monitoring system.
เกจวัดแรงดัน300psi of the remote monitoring system
The distant monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode throughout upkeep and live firefighting operations.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning rate and different working parameters are decided, recorded and forwarded to the system operator if necessary. Thus, the sleek performance and operational readiness of the system are monitored and ensured this manner.
A remote monitoring system consists of a control system, together with an elective local display unit (HMI) if relevant, and sensor technology. The sensor know-how contains, at least, the chance to find out the water motor’s number of revolutions and to determine the froth agent flow price. These values are used to calculate the proportioning fee. This figure is the core attribute during the operation and testing of a foam proportioner. Further sensor expertise is available on an optional basis.
The remote monitoring system supports the working and repair personnel on-site. It can additionally be suitable for distant monitoring of the froth proportioner.
However, it’s a primary incontrovertible fact that personnel are all the time essential to hold out the upkeep work or the proportioning price testing on-site because the system plays a monitoring role only. It doesn’t actively work together with the functioning of the proportioner.
In the course of distant monitoring, the proportioning fee and different working parameters are determined, displayed and forwarded. Images provided by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from distant monitoring to remote testing
The question is how to additional decrease the upkeep effort on foam proportioners.
The answer lies in the remote testing system, the next step of the intelligent FireDos proportioners. The distant testing system allows monitoring of the proportioner and individual upkeep, together with proportioning price testing.
The condition of the proportioner can be checked with out having to begin up the hearth extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a remote place or which might be solely hardly ever inspected by personnel on-site can be checked with out maintenance staff and related bills, such as travel expenditure. In explicit, rising the testing interval is feasible without extra efforts. The instruction guide for FireDos proportioners requires common starting-up, using the service crank manually as a minimum. This is meant to forestall deposits contained in the tools, impairing its ease of motion and thus conserving the proportioner’s performance. The distant testing system can adopt these common actions and check the proportioning price, rising the service life and useful safety of the proportioner.
What is the design of a remote testing system?
The remote testing system is usually based upon the remote monitoring system. It is, nonetheless, particularly extended by means of actuators. This is because they permit the utterly unbiased operation of the remote testing system; i.e., the proportioning fee of the proportioner is examined with out activating the water pumps of the fire extinguishing system.
The core parts embody a central control system, with an elective HMI, sensor expertise, 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, the advantages of the mechanical proportioning precept are preserved.
How does the remote testing system work, and how can the proportioning rate be checked with out activating the water pumps?
If in ready-to-operate mode, the proportioner is at all times in the proportioning place. Upon initiation of an computerized testing process, irrespective of if after a defined time interval, upon request through a cloud resolution or from the fire extinguishing system/a native operator, the proportioner is put into testing operation. Specifically, the control system places the proportioner into testing operation using an electrically actuated ball valve drive while the froth agent is not combined into the extinguishing water but returned to the foam agent tank. At the same time, it opens the electrically actuated ball valve within 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 rate. The start-up move rate is the bottom operating 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 via 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 hearth extinguishing system is therefore not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water flow price simulated by the exterior drive can also be recognized because of the identified ratio of the water motor’s variety of revolutions and the water move price, just the froth agent circulate price have to be determined to allow the next calculation of the proportioning fee. This is finished by a volumetric flow meter between the proportioning pump’s outlet and the ball valve, which switches between returning and proportioning mode. This allows dedication of the foam agent move fee, each in testing mode and whereas proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning price is set based on the formulation as required within the requirements and rules EN 13565-1, NFPA eleven, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 method.
Foam agent move price [l/min]
(Extinguishing water move rate x a hundred = proportioning rate %+ foam agent move rate) [l/min]
After completion of the testing course of, the electrical drive of the proportioner stops, the bypass line is closed, and the proportioner is returned to proportioning mode.
Sensor expertise installed as a further possibility or inside the electric drive allows acquiring further data and conclusions in regards to the state and situation of the respective unit. It is checked, for instance, whether the ball valves are of their appropriate positions or sufficient oil is in the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the pressure values at the pump inlet/outlet and the stress on the water motor are recorded. Finally, measuring the complete system’s torque and the move fee contained in the bypass line permits checking the general situation of the proportioner.
pressure gauge 2.5 นิ้ว could be displayed regionally or by way of a cloud answer. Controlling the upkeep operation is also possible by way of both interfaces.
What if there is an alarm during a testing process?
An necessary query is: Does the proportioner work with none limitations and as usual if there is an alarm? The answer is: Yes!
The distant testing system is designed in such a method that extinguishing water can move through the water motor and begin it up at any time, even when the electrical drive is working at the identical time. In addition, a novel, totally automated and purely mechanical decoupling mechanism ensures that the electrical drive doesn’t intrude with the proportioner’s functioning and readiness to function.
In case of an alarm, the ball valves within the bypass line and those for switching between returning and proportioning are instantly switched so 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 capabilities not needed at that second and all ball valves to be set to their appropriate position.
Therefore, in case of an alarm during testing operation, the ball valves swap to their appropriate position totally routinely and the electrical drive is switched off. Even if the electric drive remains to be working or coming to a stop, the extinguishing water can flow via 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 remote testing system provide?
Compared with commonplace proportioners and those equipped with a remote monitoring system, a remote testing system offers varied advantages. They feature the next:
ν Proportione
Display view for testing operation of the FireDos distant 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 fire. If the proportioning rate is simply too low, the extinguishing success may be compromised. Overdosing causes the foam agent to be consumed faster than supposed, leading to the premature ending of the froth operation.
Increasing functional and failure safety as a result of elevated testing intervals: An increased test interval causes the proportioner to be examined totally mechanically at shorter intervals of time. This notably reduces the risk of a failure remaining undetected for a longer time period. In addition, more 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, could be recognized at an early stage of time. This includes, for example, pressure variations within the extinguishing water line or a jammed suction line.
Inclusion of all functions and advantages of the remote monitoring system: All capabilities and advantages of the remote monitoring system are additionally current in the remote testing system, i.e. all relevant working parameters are recorded and processed continuously and correctly as properly as documented in a log file. In addition, all knowledge are displayed by a visualization.
Reduction of prices: Regular practical testing makes it potential to detect faults even earlier. This means, maintenance and repairs can happen before any extra critical harm happens. The elevated performance and fault safety of the proportioner ensures that the service life of the proportioners is maximized and the chance of a failure is minimized. As a result, decreased service and working workforce on-site scale back costs considerably, notably if the proportioner is located in a distant place. In addition, useful testing of the proportioner permits early identification, evaluation and presumably limiting a fault remotely. This makes service visits extra efficient and subsequently more cost-effective.
Summary and prospect
The remote monitoring system already supplies varied advantages and helps scale back prices, but it can’t reduce the workforce required on-site.
The distant testing system is a solution for reducing upkeep necessities. It is the next evolution in the course of developing clever FireDos proportioners.
The distant testing system permits reducing the workforce required on-site to a minimal, 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 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, easily and with none deeper data of the working precept of proportioners. If a service visit or restore should still turn out to be essential, 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 both technology fields are mixed without compromising the functionality of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For extra information, go to www.firedos.com
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