Regular testing and upkeep ensure a most service life and useful and failure-related safety of technical home equipment. The identical 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, จำหน่ายเกจวัดแรงดัน would be easier and more cost-efficient for extinguishing system operators if this was attainable in a completely automated and remote-controlled method. For instance, this would additionally make common maintenance personnel journey to remotely located proportioners redundant. In addition, this would ensure that necessities by the producer, standards and units of regulations are noticed with none functional deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
The remote testing system within the ‘Smart Proportioner’ development framework has been created just for this purpose. It is an development of the distant monitoring system.
Brief overview of the remote monitoring system
The remote monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode throughout maintenance and live firefighting operations.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning rate and other working 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 way.
A remote monitoring system consists of a control system, together with an optionally available native show unit (HMI) if applicable, and sensor expertise. The sensor technology consists of, at the least, the chance to find out the water motor’s number of revolutions and to find out the foam agent move price. These values are used to calculate the proportioning fee. This figure is the core characteristic during the operation and testing of a foam proportioner. Further sensor technology is on the market on an optional basis.
The remote monitoring system helps the working and service personnel on-site. It can also be appropriate for remote monitoring of the foam proportioner.
However, it’s a fundamental incontrovertible reality that personnel are all the time needed to carry out the maintenance work or the proportioning price testing on-site as the system plays a monitoring function solely. It doesn’t actively work together with the functioning of the proportioner.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning rate and other working parameters are decided, displayed and forwarded. Images provided by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from distant monitoring to distant testing
The question 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 maintenance, together with proportioning fee testing.
The situation of the proportioner may be checked with out having to begin up the fireplace extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a remote place or which may be only hardly ever inspected by personnel on-site can be checked without upkeep workers and related expenses, similar to journey expenditure. In particular, rising the testing interval is possible without further efforts. The instruction handbook for FireDos proportioners requires regular starting-up, using the service crank manually at least. This is meant to stop deposits inside the equipment, impairing its ease of motion and thus conserving the proportioner’s functionality. The distant testing system can undertake these regular movements and check the proportioning fee, increasing the service life and useful safety of the proportioner.
What is the design of a distant testing system?
The distant testing system is mostly primarily based upon the remote monitoring system. It is, however, notably extended by means of actuators. This is because they permit the utterly unbiased operation of the remote testing system; i.e., the proportioning price of the proportioner is examined without activating the water pumps of the hearth extinguishing system.
The core components include a central management system, with an optional HMI, sensor technology, 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 could have no interference with the proportioner’s performance within the case of a fire. This way, the advantages of the mechanical proportioning principle 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 all the time in the proportioning place. Upon initiation of an automatic testing process, no matter if after a defined time interval, upon request via a cloud solution or from the fire extinguishing system/a local operator, the proportioner is put into testing operation. Specifically, the control system places the proportioner into testing operation utilizing an electrically actuated ball valve drive whereas the froth agent just isn’t mixed into the extinguishing water but 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 entire proportioner at its start-up circulate rate. The start-up flow rate is the bottom operating level of a proportioner to succeed in its nominal proportioning fee.
Due to the external 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 in the extinguishing water line. The hearth extinguishing system is therefore not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water flow rate simulated by the external drive can be known due to the recognized ratio of the water motor’s variety of revolutions and the water move price, just the froth agent move fee have to be determined to allow the next calculation of the proportioning price. This is completed by a volumetric move 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 circulate rate, each in testing mode and while proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning price is decided in accordance with the method as required within the requirements and rules EN 13565-1, NFPA 11, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 method.
Foam agent circulate fee [l/min]
(Extinguishing water move rate x one hundred = proportioning fee %+ foam agent move rate) [l/min]
After completion of the testing course of, the electric drive of the proportioner stops, the bypass line is closed, and the proportioner is returned to proportioning mode.
Sensor expertise put in as a further option or inside the electric drive permits obtaining additional information and conclusions about the state and condition of the respective unit. It is checked, for instance, whether the ball valves are in their right positions or enough oil is within the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the pressure values on the pump inlet/outlet and the pressure at the water motor are recorded. Finally, measuring the entire system’s torque and the move fee inside the bypass line permits checking the final situation of the proportioner.
The data can be displayed domestically or by way of a cloud resolution. Controlling the maintenance operation can additionally be possible by way of each interfaces.
What if there might be an alarm throughout a testing process?
An important query is: Does the proportioner work without any limitations and as traditional if there is an alarm? The reply is: Yes!
The remote testing system is designed in such a means that extinguishing water can move via the water motor and begin it up at any time, even if the electrical drive is working at the same time. In addition, a singular, absolutely automated and purely mechanical decoupling mechanism ensures that the electrical drive does not intrude with the proportioner’s functioning and readiness to function.
In case of an alarm, the ball valves within 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 management system is put into alarm mode in this case. This alarm mode causes the disabling of all functions not necessary at that second and all ball valves to be set to their right position.
Therefore, in case of an alarm during testing operation, the ball valves switch to their appropriate position fully mechanically and the electric drive is switched off. Even if the electrical drive remains to be operating or coming to a stop, the extinguishing water can move by way of the water motor and drive the proportioning pump with out limitations. The alarm mode of the control system prevents re-activation of the electrical 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 distant testing system supplies numerous advantages. They function the next:
ν Proportione
Display view for testing operation of the FireDos distant testing system. Images supplied by Author / Contributor
cian have to be on-site.
Regular proportioning price testing: Regular proportioning rate testing ensures optimum functioning of the proportioner in case of a fire. If the proportioning price is just too low, the extinguishing success could be compromised. Overdosing causes the foam agent to be consumed sooner than intended, resulting in the premature ending of the froth operation.
Increasing practical and failure security as a result of elevated testing intervals: An increased check interval causes the proportioner to be tested totally mechanically 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 inside the water motor.
Early fault detection and diagnostics: Faults within the proportioner or elements of the extinguishing system, immediately affecting the proportioner’s performance, could be identified 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 advantages of the remote monitoring system: All capabilities and benefits of the remote 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 data are displayed by a visualization.
Reduction of costs: Regular practical testing makes it possible to detect faults even earlier. This way, maintenance and repairs can take place earlier than any more critical injury happens. The increased 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, lowered service and working workforce on-site reduce costs considerably, notably if the proportioner is situated in a distant place. In addition, functional testing of the proportioner allows early identification, analysis and possibly limiting a fault remotely. This makes service visits extra environment friendly and due to this fact less expensive.
Summary and prospect
The remote monitoring system already supplies various advantages and helps scale back prices, however it can not cut back the workforce required on-site.
The remote testing system is a solution for reducing upkeep necessities. It is the next evolution in the course 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 elevated failure security. 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 necessary, aside from an oil change. The oil change may be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, easily and with none deeper information of the working principle of proportioners. If a service visit or repair ought to nonetheless turn out to be essential, remote 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 digital improve. Thus, the advantages from both know-how fields are mixed without compromising the performance of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For extra info, go to www.firedos.com
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