Regular testing and maintenance guarantee a most service life and useful and failure-related safety of technical appliances. The same applies to foam-based hearth extinguishing methods and the foam proportioners put in 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 completely automatic and remote-controlled manner. For เกจวัดแรงดัน , this may also make regular upkeep personnel travel to remotely situated proportioners redundant. In addition, this is able to ensure that requirements by the producer, requirements and units of rules are noticed with none practical deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
The distant testing system inside the ‘Smart Proportioner’ development framework has been created only for this objective. It is an development of the distant monitoring system.
Brief overview of the distant monitoring system
The remote monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode throughout maintenance and live firefighting operations.
In the course of distant monitoring, the proportioning fee and different operating parameters are determined, recorded and forwarded to the system operator if necessary. Thus, the smooth functionality and operational readiness of the system are monitored and ensured this manner.
A remote monitoring system consists of a management system, including an elective local show unit (HMI) if relevant, and sensor know-how. The sensor technology includes, as a minimum, the likelihood to find out the water motor’s number of revolutions and to discover out the foam agent circulate price. These values are used to calculate the proportioning price. This figure is the core characteristic through the operation and testing of a foam proportioner. Further sensor know-how is out there on an optionally available foundation.
The distant monitoring system helps the working and service personnel on-site. It can be appropriate for remote monitoring of the froth proportioner.
However, it is a fundamental fact that personnel are all the time necessary to hold out the maintenance work or the proportioning rate testing on-site because the system plays a monitoring position only. It does not actively work together with the functioning of the proportioner.
In the course of distant monitoring, the proportioning price and different operating parameters are decided, displayed and forwarded. Images provided by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from distant monitoring to remote testing
The query is the means to additional minimize the upkeep effort on foam proportioners.
The solution lies in the distant testing system, the next step of the clever FireDos proportioners. The distant testing system permits monitoring of the proportioner and particular person upkeep, including proportioning rate testing.
The situation of the proportioner can be checked without having to begin up the fire extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a distant place or which are only rarely inspected by personnel on-site could be checked with out upkeep staff and associated expenses, such as journey expenditure. In particular, growing the testing interval is possible without further efforts. The instruction handbook for FireDos proportioners requires regular starting-up, utilizing the service crank manually as a minimum. This is meant to stop deposits inside the gear, impairing its ease of movement and thus conserving the proportioner’s functionality. The remote testing system can adopt these common movements and take a look at the proportioning rate, rising the service life and practical safety of the proportioner.
What is the design of a distant testing system?
The distant testing system is usually based upon the remote monitoring system. It is, nonetheless, significantly extended by means of actuators. This is as a end result of they enable the completely independent operation of the distant testing system; i.e., the proportioning fee of the proportioner is tested with out activating the water pumps of the fire extinguishing system.
The core elements include a central control system, with an elective 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 so that the electrical drive may have no interference with the proportioner’s performance in the case of a fireplace. This method, the benefits of the mechanical proportioning principle are preserved.
How does the distant testing system work, and the way can the proportioning fee be checked with out activating the water pumps?
If in ready-to-operate mode, the proportioner is always in the proportioning position. Upon initiation of an automated testing course of, regardless of if after an outlined time interval, upon request via a cloud resolution 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 using an electrically actuated ball valve drive while the foam agent just isn’t blended into the extinguishing water but returned to the foam agent tank. At the same 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 circulate rate. The start-up move rate is the bottom working level of a proportioner to achieve its nominal proportioning rate.
Due to the exterior 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 stress within the extinguishing water line. The hearth extinguishing system is therefore not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water circulate price simulated by the external drive can also be identified due to the identified ratio of the water motor’s variety of revolutions and the water circulate price, simply the foam agent circulate rate have to be decided to permit the subsequent calculation of the proportioning rate. 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 allows willpower of the froth agent circulate rate, each in testing mode and while proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning price 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 method.
Foam agent move rate [l/min]
(Extinguishing water circulate rate x 100 = proportioning price %+ foam agent flow 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 installed as an additional possibility or inside the electric drive permits acquiring additional info 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 sufficient oil is within the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the pressure 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 overall condition of the proportioner.
The knowledge may be displayed locally or through a cloud solution. Controlling the maintenance operation is also potential by way of each interfaces.
What if there is an alarm during a testing process?
An important query is: Does the proportioner work without any limitations and as traditional if there could be an alarm? The reply is: Yes!
The distant testing system is designed in such a method that extinguishing water can move via the water motor and start it up at any time, even if the electrical drive is working on the same time. In addition, a unique, absolutely computerized and purely mechanical decoupling mechanism ensures that the electrical drive does not intervene with the proportioner’s functioning and readiness to operate.
In case of an alarm, the ball valves within the bypass line and those for switching between returning and proportioning are instantly switched in order 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 features not needed at that moment and all ball valves to be set to their appropriate position.
Therefore, in case of an alarm throughout testing operation, the ball valves swap to their correct position absolutely routinely and the electric drive is switched off. Even if the electric drive is still running or coming to a cease, the extinguishing water can circulate via 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 distant testing system provide?
Compared with normal proportioners and those outfitted with a remote monitoring system, a distant testing system offers varied advantages. They characteristic the following:
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 fee testing: Regular proportioning fee testing ensures optimum functioning of the proportioner in case of a fireplace. If the proportioning price is too low, the extinguishing success may be compromised. Overdosing causes the foam agent to be consumed sooner than meant, 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 examined fully routinely at shorter intervals of time. This notably reduces the chance 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 in the proportioner or parts of the extinguishing system, instantly affecting the proportioner’s performance, may be identified at an early stage of time. This contains, for example, strain 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 remote testing system, i.e. all relevant operating parameters are recorded and processed constantly and accurately in addition to documented in a log file. In addition, all information are displayed by a visualization.
Reduction of prices: Regular practical testing makes it potential to detect faults even earlier. This method, maintenance and repairs can take place earlier than any more severe injury happens. The elevated performance and fault security of the proportioner ensures that the service lifetime of the proportioners is maximized and the likelihood of a failure is minimized. As a result, decreased service and working workforce on-site reduce prices significantly, significantly if the proportioner is situated in a distant place. In addition, useful testing of the proportioner allows early identification, evaluation and possibly limiting a fault remotely. This makes service visits more environment friendly and subsequently less expensive.
Summary and prospect
The remote monitoring system already offers various advantages and helps cut back costs, nevertheless it can’t scale back the workforce required on-site.
The remote testing system is a solution for lowering maintenance necessities. It is the subsequent evolution in the course of developing clever FireDos proportioners.
The distant testing system permits reducing the workforce required on-site to a minimal, together 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 could be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, easily and without any deeper knowledge of the operating precept of proportioners. If a service go to or repair ought to nonetheless turn into necessary, distant monitoring and early fault detection will make the planning and completion of such work extra efficient.
Like the remote monitoring system, the distant testing system is an optimum symbiosis of mechanical proportioners and an clever digital improve. Thus, the benefits from both know-how fields are combined without compromising the performance of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For more data, go to www.firedos.com
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