Regular testing and upkeep ensure a maximum service life and practical and failure-related security of technical home equipment. The identical applies to foam-based hearth extinguishing techniques and the froth 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 more cost-efficient for extinguishing system operators if this was attainable in a totally automatic and remote-controlled manner. For instance, this would also make regular upkeep personnel travel to remotely positioned proportioners redundant. In addition, this would make positive that necessities by the manufacturer, requirements and sets of laws are noticed with none useful deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
The remote testing system throughout the ‘Smart Proportioner’ development framework has been created just for this purpose. It is an development of the remote monitoring system.
Brief overview of the distant monitoring system
The remote monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode throughout upkeep and stay firefighting operations.
In the course of distant monitoring, the proportioning price and other operating parameters are decided, recorded and forwarded to the system operator if needed. Thus, the sleek performance and operational readiness of the system are monitored and ensured this fashion.
A remote monitoring system consists of a control system, including an optionally available native display unit (HMI) if applicable, and sensor technology. The sensor technology consists of, at the least, the chance to determine the water motor’s number of revolutions and to find out the foam agent move fee. These values are used to calculate the proportioning fee. This determine is the core characteristic during the operation and testing of a foam proportioner. Further sensor technology is on the market on an optional foundation.
The remote monitoring system helps the operating and service personnel on-site. It can additionally be suitable for distant monitoring of the foam proportioner.
However, it’s a basic proven truth that personnel are all the time essential to carry out the maintenance work or the proportioning price testing on-site as the system plays a monitoring position solely. It does not actively interact with the functioning of the proportioner.
In the course of distant monitoring, the proportioning price and other operating parameters are determined, displayed and forwarded. Images supplied by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from distant monitoring to remote testing
The question is tips on how to additional decrease the upkeep effort on foam proportioners.
The answer lies in the remote testing system, the subsequent step of the clever FireDos proportioners. The distant testing system allows monitoring of the proportioner and individual upkeep, together with proportioning fee testing.
The situation of the proportioner can be checked with out having to start up the hearth extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a remote place or which are only not often inspected by personnel on-site can be checked without maintenance employees and related expenses, such as travel expenditure. In particular, increasing 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 intended to forestall deposits inside the gear, impairing its ease of motion and thus conserving the proportioner’s performance. The remote testing system can undertake these regular movements and take a look at the proportioning price, rising the service life and functional safety 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, notably prolonged by means of actuators. This is as a result of they permit the fully unbiased operation of the remote testing system; i.e., the proportioning fee of the proportioner is tested without activating the water pumps of the fireplace extinguishing system.
The core components embody a central management system, with an elective 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 could have no interference with the proportioner’s functionality in the case of a hearth. This means, the advantages of the mechanical proportioning principle are preserved.
How does the remote testing system work, and the way can the proportioning price be checked without activating the water pumps?
If in ready-to-operate mode, the proportioner is all the time within the proportioning place. Upon initiation of an automated testing course of, no matter if after a defined time interval, upon request via a cloud solution or from the fire extinguishing system/a native operator, the proportioner is put into testing operation. Specifically, the control system puts the proportioner into testing operation utilizing an electrically actuated ball valve drive whereas the foam agent isn’t mixed 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 flow price. The start-up move price is the lowest working point of a proportioner to achieve its nominal proportioning price.
Due to the exterior electrical drive, the water motor works like a pump and generates a water move via the bypass from the water motor’s outlet to the water motor’s inlet. The operation causes no change of stress within the extinguishing water line. The hearth extinguishing system is subsequently not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water flow price simulated by the exterior drive can also be known because of the recognized ratio of the water motor’s number of revolutions and the water flow rate, simply the foam agent flow fee should be determined to permit the subsequent calculation of the proportioning price. This is completed by a volumetric flow meter between the proportioning pump’s outlet and the ball valve, which switches between returning and proportioning mode. This permits willpower of the foam agent flow price, both in testing mode and whereas proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning fee is set according to the method as required in the standards and laws EN 13565-1, NFPA 11, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 technique.
Foam agent flow rate [l/min]
(Extinguishing water circulate rate x a hundred = proportioning fee %+ foam agent circulate 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 know-how put in as an extra option or inside the electrical drive permits obtaining additional data and conclusions in regards to the state and condition of the respective unit. It is checked, for example, whether the ball valves are in their right positions or enough oil is in the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the strain 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 rate contained in the bypass line permits checking the general condition of the proportioner.
The data could be displayed locally or via a cloud resolution. Controlling the maintenance operation can additionally be possible via each interfaces.
What if there’s an alarm throughout a testing process?
An essential question is: Does the proportioner work with none limitations and as ordinary if there might be an alarm? The reply is: Yes!
The remote testing system is designed in such a way that extinguishing water can circulate by way of the water motor and start it up at any time, even when the electrical drive is working on the similar time. In addition, a unique, absolutely automated and purely mechanical decoupling mechanism ensures that the electrical drive doesn’t intrude 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 needed at that moment and all ball valves to be set to their right position.
Therefore, in case of an alarm throughout testing operation, the ball valves swap to their correct position totally routinely and the electric drive is switched off. Even if the electric drive is still working or coming to a stop, the extinguishing water can move 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 electric drive or any unintended ball valve switching.
What advantages does a distant testing system provide?
Compared with commonplace proportioners and people outfitted with a remote monitoring system, a remote testing system offers numerous advantages. They function the next:
ν Proportione
Display view for testing operation of the FireDos remote testing system. Images equipped 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 merely too low, the extinguishing success could be compromised. Overdosing causes the froth agent to be consumed faster than supposed, resulting in the untimely ending of the froth operation.
Increasing functional and failure safety because of elevated testing intervals: An increased test interval causes the proportioner to be tested totally routinely at shorter intervals of time. This notably reduces the danger of a failure remaining undetected for an extended period of time. In pressure gauge หลักการ ทํา งาน , extra frequent testing prevents the formation of deposits inside the water motor.
Early fault detection and diagnostics: Faults in the proportioner or parts of the extinguishing system, immediately affecting the proportioner’s performance, may be recognized at an early stage of time. This consists of, for instance, pressure variations within the extinguishing water line or a jammed suction line.
Inclusion of all capabilities and benefits of the distant monitoring system: All functions and advantages of the distant monitoring system are additionally present in the distant testing system, i.e. all related working parameters are recorded and processed continuously and accurately as well as documented in a log file. In addition, all information are displayed by a visualization.
Reduction of prices: Regular functional testing makes it possible to detect faults even earlier. This way, maintenance and repairs can take place before any extra severe injury happens. The increased functionality and fault safety of the proportioner ensures that the service lifetime of the proportioners is maximized and the probability of a failure is minimized. As a result, reduced service and working workforce on-site cut back costs considerably, particularly if the proportioner is located in a remote place. In addition, practical testing of the proportioner permits early identification, analysis and possibly limiting a fault remotely. This makes service visits extra efficient and therefore less expensive.
Summary and prospect
The distant monitoring system already offers numerous advantages and helps scale back prices, however it cannot scale back the workforce required on-site.
The distant testing system is an answer for reducing maintenance necessities. It is the following evolution in the middle of growing clever FireDos proportioners.
The distant testing system permits decreasing the workforce required on-site to a minimum, together with shorter testing intervals and increased failure security. This increases the proportioner’s service life.
If the proportioner is in a fault-free state, no additional upkeep by personnel on-site is necessary, other than an oil change. The oil change may be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, easily and without any deeper knowledge of the working principle of proportioners. If a service go to or repair ought to still turn into essential, distant monitoring and early fault detection will make the planning and completion of such work extra environment friendly.
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 know-how fields are mixed without compromising the performance of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For extra information, go to www.firedos.com
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