Regular testing and upkeep guarantee a maximum service life and functional and failure-related safety of technical home equipment. The similar applies to foam-based fireplace extinguishing techniques and the foam proportioners installed in them.
Up to now, such testing and upkeep have required the presence of personnel on-site. However, it might be simpler and extra cost-efficient for extinguishing system operators if this was possible in a fully automatic and remote-controlled method. For example, this may additionally make common maintenance personnel travel to remotely situated proportioners redundant. In addition, this is ready to ensure that necessities by the producer, standards and sets of laws are noticed with none useful deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
The remote testing system inside the ‘Smart Proportioner’ improvement framework has been created only for this function. It is an advancement of the remote monitoring system.
Brief overview of the remote monitoring system
The remote monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode during 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 essential. Thus, the graceful performance and operational readiness of the system are monitored and ensured this fashion.
A distant monitoring system consists of a control system, together with an optional local display unit (HMI) if relevant, and sensor technology. The sensor technology includes, at the least, the possibility to determine the water motor’s variety of revolutions and to determine the foam agent circulate fee. These values are used to calculate the proportioning price. This determine is the core characteristic through the operation and testing of a foam proportioner. ราคาเกจวัดแรงดันลม is available on an optional foundation.
The distant monitoring system helps the working and service personnel on-site. It is also suitable for remote monitoring of the foam proportioner.
However, it’s a fundamental incontrovertible truth that personnel are all the time essential to carry out the maintenance work or the proportioning fee testing on-site as 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 fee 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 way to further reduce the maintenance effort on foam proportioners.
The answer lies within the distant testing system, the next step of the clever FireDos proportioners. The remote testing system permits monitoring of the proportioner and particular person upkeep, including proportioning price testing.
The situation of the proportioner can be checked without having to start out up the fire extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a distant place or which would possibly be only hardly ever inspected by personnel on-site could be checked with out upkeep workers and associated expenses, similar to travel expenditure. In explicit, increasing the testing interval is feasible with out additional efforts. The instruction handbook for FireDos proportioners requires regular starting-up, using the service crank manually at the least. This is meant to stop deposits contained in the equipment, impairing its ease of movement and thus conserving the proportioner’s functionality. The remote testing system can adopt these common actions and check the proportioning rate, growing the service life and practical security of the proportioner.
What is the design of a distant testing system?
The distant testing system is generally based mostly upon the distant monitoring system. It is, nevertheless, significantly prolonged by the use of actuators. This is as a outcome of they permit the utterly unbiased operation of the remote testing system; i.e., the proportioning price of the proportioner is tested with out activating the water pumps of the fireplace extinguishing system.
The core components include a central management system, with an optionally available 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 so that the electrical drive may have no interference with the proportioner’s functionality within the case of a hearth. This means, the advantages of the mechanical proportioning precept are preserved.
How does the remote testing system work, and how can the proportioning price be checked with out activating the water pumps?
If in ready-to-operate mode, the proportioner is always within the proportioning position. Upon initiation of an automatic testing process, irrespective of if after a defined time interval, upon request through a cloud solution or from the hearth extinguishing system/a native operator, the proportioner is put into testing operation. Specifically, the management system puts the proportioner into testing operation using an electrically actuated ball valve drive while the foam agent just isn’t blended into the extinguishing water however returned to the foam agent tank. At the identical time, it opens the electrically actuated ball valve within the bypass line past the water motor. Next, the electric drive of the proportioner is activated, driving the complete proportioner at its start-up flow fee. The start-up circulate fee is the lowest operating level 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 move through the bypass from the water motor’s outlet to the water motor’s inlet. The operation causes no change of pressure in the extinguishing water line. The fireplace extinguishing system is therefore not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water circulate price simulated by the external drive can be identified due to the known ratio of the water motor’s variety of revolutions and the water flow rate, simply the froth agent move fee have to be determined to allow the next calculation of the proportioning price. 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 dedication of the froth agent circulate fee, both in testing mode and while proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning fee is decided in accordance with the formula as required within the requirements and rules EN 13565-1, NFPA eleven, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 method.
Foam agent circulate fee [l/min]
(Extinguishing water move fee x a hundred = proportioning price %+ foam agent flow 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 expertise put in as an additional choice or inside the electric drive permits obtaining further data and conclusions about the state and situation of the respective unit. It is checked, for example, whether the ball valves are of their correct positions or adequate oil is within the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the pressure values at the pump inlet/outlet and the strain at the water motor are recorded. Finally, measuring the entire system’s torque and the flow rate contained in the bypass line allows checking the general condition of the proportioner.
The data could be displayed locally or via a cloud resolution. Controlling the upkeep operation can also be possible through each interfaces.
What if there’s an alarm throughout a testing process?
An important query is: Does the proportioner work with none limitations and as traditional if there could be an alarm? The answer is: Yes!
The remote testing system is designed in such a method that extinguishing water can flow by way of the water motor and begin it up at any time, even if the electrical drive is working at the same time. In addition, a unique, fully automatic 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 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 control system is put into alarm mode in this case. This alarm mode causes the disabling of all functions not essential at that second and all ball valves to be set to their appropriate place.
Therefore, in case of an alarm during testing operation, the ball valves swap to their right place absolutely routinely and the electric drive is switched off. Even if the electric drive is still running or coming to a stop, the extinguishing water can move via the water motor and drive the proportioning pump without limitations. The alarm mode of the control system prevents re-activation of the electrical drive or any unintended ball valve switching.
What benefits does a distant testing system provide?
Compared with standard proportioners and those equipped with a distant monitoring system, a remote 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 need to be on-site.
Regular proportioning rate testing: Regular proportioning price testing ensures optimum functioning of the proportioner in case of a fireplace. If the proportioning fee is too low, the extinguishing success may be compromised. Overdosing causes the foam agent to be consumed sooner than meant, resulting in the untimely ending of the foam operation.
Increasing functional and failure safety as a result of elevated testing intervals: An increased take a look at interval causes the proportioner to be examined totally routinely at shorter intervals of time. This notably reduces the risk of a failure remaining undetected for an extended time period. In addition, more 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, immediately affecting the proportioner’s performance, may be recognized at an early stage of time. This consists of, for example, strain variations within the extinguishing water line or a jammed suction line.
Inclusion of all features and advantages of the remote monitoring system: All capabilities and advantages of the distant monitoring system are also present within the remote testing system, i.e. all related working parameters are recorded and processed constantly and appropriately in addition to documented in a log file. In addition, all data are displayed by a visualization.
Reduction of prices: Regular functional testing makes it attainable to detect faults even earlier. This way, upkeep and repairs can happen before any extra serious harm occurs. The increased functionality and fault safety of the proportioner ensures that the service lifetime of the proportioners is maximized and the probability of a failure is minimized. As a result, lowered service and operating workforce on-site scale back prices considerably, particularly if the proportioner is situated in a remote place. In addition, functional testing of the proportioner permits early identification, evaluation and presumably limiting a fault remotely. This makes service visits more environment friendly and therefore more cost-effective.
Summary and prospect
The remote monitoring system already supplies various advantages and helps cut back prices, however it can not reduce the workforce required on-site.
The remote testing system is an answer for lowering maintenance requirements. It is the following evolution in the midst of growing intelligent FireDos proportioners.
The remote testing system permits lowering the workforce required on-site to a minimum, along with shorter testing intervals and increased failure security. This increases the proportioner’s service life.
If the proportioner is in a fault-free state, no further maintenance by personnel on-site is important, aside from an oil change. The oil change can be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, simply and without any deeper data of the operating precept of proportioners. If a service go to 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 distant monitoring system, the distant testing system is an optimum symbiosis of mechanical proportioners and an intelligent electronic upgrade. Thus, the advantages from both technology fields are mixed with out compromising the functionality of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For extra data, go to www.firedos.com
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