Regular testing and upkeep ensure a most service life and practical and failure-related safety of technical home equipment. The similar applies to foam-based fireplace extinguishing systems and the foam 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 more cost-efficient for extinguishing system operators if this was potential in a fully automatic and remote-controlled manner. For instance, this is in a position to additionally make common maintenance personnel journey to remotely located proportioners redundant. In addition, this is in a position to be sure that necessities by the manufacturer, standards and sets of regulations are observed with none useful deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
The remote testing system throughout the ‘Smart Proportioner’ improvement 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 remote monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode during maintenance and live firefighting operations.
In the course of distant monitoring, the proportioning rate and other operating 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 way.
A remote monitoring system consists of a management system, together with an optionally available native show unit (HMI) if applicable, and sensor expertise. The sensor expertise includes, as a minimum, the chance to discover out the water motor’s variety of revolutions and to determine the froth agent flow rate. 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 technology is on the market on an optional basis.
The remote monitoring system supports the operating and repair personnel on-site. It can also be appropriate for remote monitoring of the froth proportioner.
However, it is a fundamental proven reality that personnel are at all times needed to hold out the maintenance work or the proportioning rate testing on-site as the system performs 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 operating parameters are decided, displayed and forwarded. Images equipped by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from distant monitoring to distant testing
The query is tips on how to additional reduce the maintenance effort on foam proportioners.
The resolution lies in the distant testing system, the following step of the clever FireDos proportioners. The distant testing system allows monitoring of the proportioner and individual upkeep, including proportioning price testing.
The condition of the proportioner may be checked with out having to begin up the hearth extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a remote place or that are solely not often inspected by personnel on-site can be checked without upkeep workers and related expenses, such as journey expenditure. In specific, increasing the testing interval is possible without further efforts. The instruction manual for FireDos proportioners requires common starting-up, utilizing the service crank manually at least. This is intended to prevent deposits contained in the gear, impairing its ease of movement and thus conserving the proportioner’s performance. The distant testing system can adopt these regular actions and take a look at the proportioning rate, rising the service life and useful security of the proportioner.
What is the design of a remote testing system?
The remote testing system is generally based mostly upon the remote monitoring system. It is, however, significantly extended by way of actuators. This is because they permit the utterly impartial operation of the remote testing system; i.e., the proportioning fee of the proportioner is tested without activating the water pumps of the hearth extinguishing system.
The core components embody a central management system, with an elective HMI, sensor know-how, 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 hearth. This means, some nice advantages of the mechanical proportioning precept are preserved.
How does the distant testing system work, and the way can the proportioning fee be checked without activating the water pumps?
If in ready-to-operate mode, the proportioner is all the time within the proportioning position. Upon initiation of an computerized testing course of, regardless of if after an outlined 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 froth agent isn’t mixed into the extinguishing water however returned to the froth agent tank. At the identical time, it opens the electrically actuated ball valve within the bypass line past the water motor. Next, the electrical drive of the proportioner is activated, driving the entire proportioner at its start-up move fee. The start-up move rate is the bottom operating level 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 circulate through 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 fire extinguishing system is due to this fact not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water move price simulated by the external drive is also identified as a outcome of known ratio of the water motor’s number of revolutions and the water move rate, simply the foam agent circulate fee have to be determined to permit the subsequent calculation of the proportioning rate. This is done by a volumetric move meter between the proportioning pump’s outlet and the ball valve, which switches between returning and proportioning mode. This allows determination of the foam agent move fee, each in testing mode and whereas proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning rate is decided based on the formula as required within the standards and regulations EN 13565-1, NFPA 11, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 methodology.
Foam agent move price [l/min]
(Extinguishing water flow rate x one hundred = proportioning rate %+ foam agent flow 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 installed as an additional possibility or inside the electrical drive permits acquiring further data and conclusions concerning 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 in the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the strain values on the pump inlet/outlet and the strain at the water motor are recorded. Finally, measuring the complete system’s torque and the circulate rate inside the bypass line allows checking the final condition of the proportioner.
The data can be displayed locally or by way of a cloud solution. Controlling the upkeep operation can also be possible via both interfaces.
What if there is an alarm during a testing process?
An essential question 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 way that extinguishing water can move through the water motor and start it up at any time, even if the electrical drive is working at the similar time. In addition, a singular, absolutely computerized and purely mechanical decoupling mechanism ensures that the electrical drive does not intervene with the proportioner’s functioning and readiness to function.
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 in this case. This alarm mode causes the disabling of all features not necessary at that moment and all ball valves to be set to their appropriate position.
Therefore, in case of an alarm during testing operation, the ball valves change to their right place totally mechanically and the electric drive is switched off. Even if the electric drive continues to be working or coming to a stop, the extinguishing water can circulate by way of the water motor and drive the proportioning pump without limitations. The alarm mode of the control system prevents re-activation of the electric drive or any unintended ball valve switching.
What advantages does a remote testing system provide?
Compared with commonplace proportioners and people equipped with a remote monitoring system, a distant testing system provides various advantages. They characteristic the following:
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 fee testing: Regular proportioning price testing ensures optimum functioning of the proportioner in case of a fireplace. If the proportioning rate is too low, the extinguishing success could be compromised. Overdosing causes the froth agent to be consumed sooner than intended, resulting in the untimely ending of the foam operation.
Increasing functional and failure security due to increased testing intervals: An elevated check interval causes the proportioner to be tested absolutely automatically at shorter intervals of time. This notably reduces the danger 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 within the proportioner or parts of the extinguishing system, immediately affecting the proportioner’s performance, can be identified at an early stage of time. This contains, for example, stress variations in the extinguishing water line or a jammed suction line.
Inclusion of all features and advantages of the distant monitoring system: All functions and benefits of the distant monitoring system are additionally present in the remote testing system, i.e. all relevant operating parameters are recorded and processed continuously and correctly as well as documented in a log file. In addition, all data are displayed by a visualization.
Reduction of costs: Regular functional testing makes it possible to detect faults even earlier. This means, maintenance and repairs can happen earlier than any more critical injury happens. The elevated functionality and fault security of the proportioner ensures that the service lifetime of the proportioners is maximized and the chance of a failure is minimized. As a result, decreased service and working workforce on-site reduce costs considerably, significantly 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. เกจวัดแรงดันน้ำ makes service visits extra environment friendly and subsequently cheaper.
Summary and prospect
The remote monitoring system already provides various advantages and helps reduce prices, nevertheless it can’t reduce the workforce required on-site.
The distant testing system is a solution for decreasing upkeep necessities. It is the next evolution in the midst of growing clever FireDos proportioners.
The remote testing system permits lowering the workforce required on-site to a minimum, along with shorter testing intervals and elevated failure security. This increases the proportioner’s service life.
If the proportioner is in a fault-free state, no further upkeep by personnel on-site is necessary, apart from an oil change. The oil change can be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, easily and without any deeper data of the working principle of proportioners. If a service visit or repair should nonetheless turn into necessary, distant monitoring and early fault detection will make the planning and completion of such work extra efficient.
Like the distant monitoring system, the remote testing system is an optimum symbiosis of mechanical proportioners and an intelligent digital upgrade. Thus, the benefits from each expertise fields are combined without compromising the performance of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For more data, go to www.firedos.com
Share