Regular testing and maintenance guarantee a maximum service life and functional and failure-related safety of technical home equipment. The same applies to foam-based hearth extinguishing systems and the foam proportioners put in in them.
Up to now, such testing and maintenance have required the presence of personnel on-site. However, it would be simpler and more cost-efficient for extinguishing system operators if this was potential in a fully automated and remote-controlled method. For example, this is able to also make common upkeep personnel journey to remotely positioned proportioners redundant. In addition, this may be certain that requirements by the producer, standards and sets of rules are noticed with none practical deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
The distant testing system within the ‘Smart Proportioner’ development framework has been created just for this purpose. It is an advancement of the distant monitoring system.
Brief overview of the remote monitoring system
The remote monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode during maintenance and reside firefighting operations.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning fee and other working parameters are decided, recorded and forwarded to the system operator if necessary. Thus, the graceful 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 optional local show unit (HMI) if applicable, and sensor expertise. The sensor know-how includes, at least, the likelihood to discover out the water motor’s number of revolutions and to discover out the foam agent circulate fee. These values are used to calculate the proportioning rate. This determine is the core attribute through the operation and testing of a foam proportioner. Further sensor know-how is available on an optionally available foundation.
The remote monitoring system helps the operating and service personnel on-site. It is also appropriate for remote monitoring of the froth proportioner.
However, it is a fundamental proven fact that personnel are always essential to carry out the upkeep work or the proportioning fee testing on-site as the system plays a monitoring role solely. It doesn’t actively work together with the functioning of the proportioner.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning fee and other working parameters are decided, displayed and forwarded. Images provided by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from distant monitoring to remote testing
The query is how to further reduce the maintenance effort on foam proportioners.
The answer lies within the remote testing system, the subsequent step of the clever FireDos proportioners. The remote testing system permits monitoring of the proportioner and individual upkeep, together with proportioning price testing.
The situation of the proportioner may be checked without having to start up the fireplace extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a remote place or that are solely rarely inspected by personnel on-site may be checked without maintenance employees and related bills, similar to travel expenditure. In specific, increasing the testing interval is possible without further efforts. The instruction manual for FireDos proportioners requires regular starting-up, using the service crank manually at the least. This is meant to forestall deposits contained in the tools, impairing its ease of motion and thus conserving the proportioner’s functionality. The remote testing system can adopt these common actions and take a look at the proportioning rate, rising the service life and practical security of the proportioner.
What is the design of a remote testing system?
The distant testing system is mostly based mostly upon the remote monitoring system. It is, however, notably prolonged by the use 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 without activating the water pumps of the hearth extinguishing system.
The core elements include a central management system, with an elective HMI, sensor expertise, 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 so that the electrical drive may have no interference with the proportioner’s performance within the case of a fireplace. This way, the benefits of the mechanical proportioning precept 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 place. Upon initiation of an automatic testing course of, no matter if after a defined time interval, upon request through a cloud resolution or from the fireplace 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 but returned to the froth agent tank. At the same time, it opens the electrically actuated ball valve within the bypass line previous 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 fee is the lowest operating level of a proportioner to achieve its nominal proportioning price.
Due to the external electrical drive, the water motor works like a pump and generates a water flow through the bypass from the water motor’s outlet to the water motor’s inlet. The operation causes no change of strain in the extinguishing water line. The hearth extinguishing system is therefore not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water circulate fee simulated by the exterior drive can be known as a outcome of identified ratio of the water motor’s variety of revolutions and the water circulate rate, simply the froth agent move fee have to be decided to permit the following calculation of the proportioning rate. This is done by a volumetric circulate meter between the proportioning pump’s outlet and the ball valve, which switches between returning and proportioning mode. This allows determination of the froth agent flow fee, each in testing mode and whereas proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning fee is decided based on the method as required within the standards and laws EN 13565-1, NFPA eleven, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 methodology.
Foam agent circulate price [l/min]
(Extinguishing water circulate price x one hundred = proportioning price %+ 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 an extra possibility or inside the electrical drive allows acquiring additional 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 appropriate positions or sufficient oil is in the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the strain values at the pump inlet/outlet and the stress at the water motor are recorded. Finally, measuring the complete system’s torque and the circulate rate contained in the bypass line permits checking the overall condition of the proportioner.
The data can be displayed locally or by way of a cloud answer. Controlling the maintenance operation can be potential by way of both interfaces.
What if there is an alarm throughout a testing process?
An important query is: Does the proportioner work with none limitations and as traditional if there is an alarm? The answer is: Yes!
The distant testing system is designed in such a method that extinguishing water can flow by way of the water motor and start it up at any time, even if the electrical drive is working on the identical time. In addition, a novel, fully 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 in 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 in this case. This alarm mode causes the disabling of all capabilities not needed at that moment and all ball valves to be set to their correct position.
Therefore, in case of an alarm throughout testing operation, the ball valves swap to their appropriate position absolutely mechanically and the electric drive is switched off. Even if the electric drive continues to be running or coming to a stop, the extinguishing water can move through the water motor and drive the proportioning pump with out 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 remote testing system provide?
Compared with commonplace proportioners and people outfitted with a distant monitoring system, a remote testing system offers varied benefits. เกจวัดแรงดันน้ําไทวัสดุ function the next:
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Display view for testing operation of the FireDos distant testing system. Images provided by Author / Contributor
cian should be on-site.
Regular proportioning rate testing: Regular proportioning rate testing ensures optimum functioning of the proportioner in case of a fire. If the proportioning rate is simply too low, the extinguishing success could be compromised. Overdosing causes the froth agent to be consumed sooner than supposed, leading to the untimely ending of the froth operation.
Increasing practical and failure security as a end result of increased testing intervals: An elevated take a look at interval causes the proportioner to be examined totally automatically at shorter intervals of time. This notably reduces the risk of a failure remaining undetected for an extended period of time. 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 parts of the extinguishing system, immediately affecting the proportioner’s performance, could be recognized at an early stage of time. This consists of, for instance, stress variations within the extinguishing water line or a jammed suction line.
Inclusion of all capabilities and advantages of the distant monitoring system: All functions and advantages of the distant monitoring system are also current within the distant testing system, i.e. all related operating parameters are recorded and processed constantly and correctly in addition to documented in a log file. In addition, all information are displayed by a visualization.
Reduction of prices: Regular functional testing makes it attainable to detect faults even earlier. This means, maintenance and repairs can take place earlier than any extra severe injury 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 end result, lowered service and operating workforce on-site reduce prices significantly, particularly if the proportioner is positioned 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 more environment friendly and therefore cheaper.
Summary and prospect
The remote monitoring system already provides various advantages and helps reduce costs, nevertheless it cannot scale back the workforce required on-site.
The distant testing system is an answer for lowering maintenance necessities. It is the subsequent evolution in the course of developing clever FireDos proportioners.
The remote testing system permits decreasing the workforce required on-site to a minimal, together with shorter testing intervals and elevated failure safety. 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 critical, apart from an oil change. The oil change may be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, easily and without any deeper information of the working principle of proportioners. If a service visit or restore should still turn into needed, remote monitoring and early fault detection will make the planning and completion of such work extra efficient.
Like the remote monitoring system, the remote testing system is an optimum symbiosis of mechanical proportioners and an clever electronic upgrade. Thus, the benefits from both know-how fields are mixed without compromising the functionality of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For extra information, go to www.firedos.com
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