Regular testing and maintenance ensure a maximum service life and useful and failure-related safety of technical appliances. The identical applies to foam-based hearth extinguishing systems 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 attainable in a totally automatic and remote-controlled method. For example, this would also make common upkeep personnel travel to remotely situated proportioners redundant. In addition, this may make certain that requirements by the manufacturer, standards and units of rules are noticed without any practical deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
xp2i within the ‘Smart Proportioner’ growth framework has been created just for this function. It is an advancement of the distant monitoring system.
Brief overview of the distant monitoring system
The distant monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode throughout maintenance and stay firefighting operations.
In the course of distant monitoring, the proportioning price and other working parameters are decided, recorded and forwarded to the system operator if essential. Thus, the graceful functionality and operational readiness of the system are monitored and ensured this way.
A distant monitoring system consists of a control system, including an optional local show unit (HMI) if relevant, and sensor know-how. The sensor technology consists of, at least, the likelihood to find out the water motor’s variety of revolutions and to discover out the froth agent flow price. These values are used to calculate the proportioning fee. This figure is the core attribute in the course of the operation and testing of a foam proportioner. Further sensor technology is available on an optionally available basis.
The remote monitoring system helps the working and service personnel on-site. It can also be suitable for distant monitoring of the froth proportioner.
However, it is a primary incontrovertible fact that personnel are always necessary to hold out the upkeep work or the proportioning fee testing on-site because the system performs a monitoring role solely. It doesn’t actively work together with the functioning of the proportioner.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning rate and different working parameters are determined, displayed and forwarded. Images supplied by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from distant monitoring to distant testing
The query is the means to additional minimize the upkeep effort on foam proportioners.
The resolution lies within the remote testing system, the following step of the clever FireDos proportioners. The distant testing system allows monitoring of the proportioner and particular person maintenance, together with proportioning fee testing.
The situation of the proportioner could be checked with out having to begin out up the fire extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a remote place or which would possibly be solely rarely inspected by personnel on-site could be checked without maintenance workers and associated bills, corresponding to journey expenditure. In explicit, growing the testing interval is possible with out further efforts. The instruction guide for FireDos proportioners requires regular starting-up, using the service crank manually at the least. This is meant to prevent deposits contained in the equipment, impairing its ease of movement and thus conserving the proportioner’s performance. The distant testing system can adopt these regular actions and test the proportioning price, rising the service life and practical safety of the proportioner.
What is the design of a remote testing system?
The distant testing system is mostly primarily based upon the remote monitoring system. It is, nevertheless, significantly extended by way of actuators. This is as a result of they enable the completely impartial operation of the remote testing system; i.e., the proportioning rate of the proportioner is examined without activating the water pumps of the hearth extinguishing system.
The core parts embrace a central management system, with an optional HMI, sensor know-how, 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 will have no interference with the proportioner’s functionality within the case of a hearth. This means, the advantages of the mechanical proportioning principle are preserved.
How does the remote testing system work, and how can the proportioning fee be checked without activating the water pumps?
If in ready-to-operate mode, the proportioner is at all times in the proportioning position. Upon initiation of an automatic testing process, regardless of if after an outlined time interval, upon request by way of a cloud resolution or from the hearth extinguishing system/a native operator, the proportioner is put into testing operation. Specifically, the management system places the proportioner into testing operation using an electrically actuated ball valve drive whereas the foam agent just isn’t blended into the extinguishing water however returned to the froth agent tank. At the identical time, it opens the electrically actuated ball valve in the bypass line previous the water motor. Next, the electrical drive of the proportioner is activated, driving the complete proportioner at its start-up flow price. The start-up circulate price is the bottom operating point of a proportioner to reach its nominal proportioning price.
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 pressure within the extinguishing water line. The fireplace extinguishing system is therefore not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water move price simulated by the external drive can additionally be identified because of the known ratio of the water motor’s variety of revolutions and the water move price, simply the froth agent move rate have to be decided to allow the next calculation of the proportioning price. 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 froth agent flow rate, both in testing mode and while proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning fee is decided in accordance with the formulation as required within the requirements and regulations EN 13565-1, NFPA eleven, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 technique.
Foam agent flow fee [l/min]
(Extinguishing water move fee x 100 = proportioning price %+ foam agent move 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 installed as an extra choice or inside the electric drive permits acquiring further info and conclusions in regards to the state and condition of the respective unit. It is checked, for instance, whether or not the ball valves are in their right positions or sufficient oil is within the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the stress 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 inside the bypass line permits checking the final situation of the proportioner.
The knowledge could be displayed regionally or by way of a cloud solution. Controlling the maintenance operation can be attainable by way of each interfaces.
What if there might be an alarm during a testing process?
An essential question is: Does the proportioner work with none limitations and as ordinary if there might be an alarm? The answer is: Yes!
The distant testing system is designed in such a means that extinguishing water can flow through the water motor and start it up at any time, even if the electrical drive is working on the similar time. In addition, a novel, absolutely computerized and purely mechanical decoupling mechanism ensures that the electrical drive doesn’t intervene with the proportioner’s functioning and readiness to function.
In case of an alarm, the ball valves in the bypass line and those for switching between returning and proportioning are immediately switched so that the proportioner is in proportioning mode for firefighting. Thus, the management system is put into alarm mode on this case. This alarm mode causes the disabling of all functions not necessary at that moment 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 right place fully mechanically and the electric drive is switched off. Even if the electric drive continues to be operating or coming to a cease, 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 benefits does a distant testing system provide?
Compared with standard proportioners and people geared up with a remote monitoring system, a remote testing system supplies various advantages. They characteristic the next:
ν Proportione
Display view for testing operation of the FireDos remote testing system. Images provided by Author / Contributor
cian have to be on-site.
Regular proportioning rate testing: Regular proportioning price testing ensures optimum functioning of the proportioner in case of a hearth. If the proportioning fee is merely too low, the extinguishing success may be compromised. Overdosing causes the foam agent to be consumed faster than meant, resulting in the premature ending of the foam operation.
Increasing functional and failure security because of elevated testing intervals: An elevated take a look at interval causes the proportioner to be examined absolutely mechanically at shorter intervals of time. This notably reduces the chance 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 within the proportioner or components of the extinguishing system, instantly affecting the proportioner’s functionality, can be identified at an early stage of time. This includes, for instance, stress variations in the extinguishing water line or a jammed suction line.
Inclusion of all functions and advantages of the distant monitoring system: All features and benefits of the remote monitoring system are additionally present in the distant testing system, i.e. all relevant operating parameters are recorded and processed constantly and appropriately as well as documented in a log file. In addition, all data are displayed by a visualization.
Reduction of costs: Regular useful testing makes it possible to detect faults even earlier. This method, upkeep and repairs can take place before any more severe damage happens. The elevated functionality and fault security of the proportioner ensures that the service life of the proportioners is maximized and the probability of a failure is minimized. As a end result, reduced service and operating workforce on-site cut back prices considerably, particularly if the proportioner is situated in a distant place. In addition, useful testing of the proportioner permits early identification, analysis and presumably limiting a fault remotely. This makes service visits more environment friendly and therefore less expensive.
Summary and prospect
The remote monitoring system already offers varied benefits and helps reduce prices, but it can not reduce the workforce required on-site.
The remote testing system is an answer for lowering maintenance requirements. It is the next evolution in the center of growing clever FireDos proportioners.
The distant testing system allows reducing the workforce required on-site to a minimum, together with shorter testing intervals and increased failure security. This will increase the proportioner’s service life.
If the proportioner is in a fault-free state, no additional maintenance by personnel on-site is necessary, apart from an oil change. The oil change could be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, easily and without any deeper data of the working principle of proportioners. If a service go to or restore ought to still become necessary, distant monitoring and early fault detection will make the planning and completion of such work extra environment friendly.
Like the distant monitoring system, the remote testing system is an optimum symbiosis of mechanical proportioners and an intelligent electronic upgrade. Thus, the advantages from each expertise fields are mixed with out compromising the performance of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For extra data, go to www.firedos.com
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