GEN III Smart Proportioner – distant testing system

Regular testing and maintenance ensure a maximum service life and useful and failure-related security of technical home equipment. The identical applies to foam-based fireplace extinguishing systems and the froth proportioners put in in them.
Up to now, such testing and upkeep have required the presence of personnel on-site. However, it might be easier and extra cost-efficient for extinguishing system operators if this was possible in a completely automatic and remote-controlled method. For instance, this is in a position to additionally make regular upkeep personnel journey to remotely located proportioners redundant. In addition, this would make sure that requirements by the manufacturer, requirements and sets of laws are observed without any practical deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
The remote testing system throughout the ‘Smart Proportioner’ growth framework has been created just for this objective. It is an development of the remote monitoring system.
Brief overview of the distant monitoring system
The distant monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode throughout maintenance and live 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 smooth performance and operational readiness of the system are monitored and ensured this manner.
A remote monitoring system consists of a control system, together with an optionally available native show unit (HMI) if relevant, and sensor expertise. The sensor technology contains, as a minimum, the possibility to discover out the water motor’s variety of revolutions and to determine the froth agent flow fee. These values are used to calculate the proportioning rate. This figure is the core attribute during the operation and testing of a foam proportioner. Further sensor technology is out there on an optional foundation.
The distant monitoring system supports the working and service personnel on-site. It can be suitable for remote monitoring of the foam proportioner.
However, it is a fundamental proven truth that personnel are at all times needed to carry out the upkeep work or the proportioning rate testing on-site as the system plays a monitoring function solely. It does not actively interact with the functioning of the proportioner.
In the course of distant monitoring, the proportioning rate and different working parameters are determined, displayed and forwarded. Images equipped by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from remote monitoring to remote testing
The query is the way to additional minimize the maintenance effort on foam proportioners.
The resolution lies in the distant testing system, the next step of the intelligent FireDos proportioners. The distant testing system permits monitoring of the proportioner and individual maintenance, including proportioning price testing.
The situation of the proportioner can be checked without having to start up the fire extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a distant place or which are only hardly ever inspected by personnel on-site may be checked with out maintenance employees and associated expenses, corresponding to journey expenditure. In explicit, growing the testing interval is feasible without extra efforts. The instruction guide for FireDos proportioners requires regular starting-up, using the service crank manually at least. This is intended to prevent deposits inside the equipment, impairing its ease of movement and thus conserving the proportioner’s functionality. The distant testing system can adopt these regular actions and take a look at the proportioning rate, growing the service life and practical security of the proportioner.
What is the design of a remote testing system?
The remote testing system is generally based upon the distant monitoring system. It is, nonetheless, significantly prolonged by means of actuators. This is as a outcome of they enable the fully 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 parts embody a central management system, with an optionally available 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 in order that the electrical drive may have no interference with the proportioner’s functionality within the case of a fire. This means, some nice advantages of the mechanical proportioning principle are preserved.
How does the distant 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 always within the proportioning position. Upon initiation of an automated testing process, regardless of if after a defined time interval, upon request via a cloud answer or from the fire extinguishing system/a local 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 foam agent isn’t mixed into the extinguishing water however 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 entire proportioner at its start-up move rate. The start-up move rate is the lowest working point 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 circulate through 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 due to this fact not influenced when the proportioner is examined.
As the extinguishing water flow price simulated by the exterior drive can also be identified as a result of recognized ratio of the water motor’s number of revolutions and the water flow rate, just the froth agent flow price should be decided to allow the following calculation of the proportioning fee. This is done by a volumetric flow meter between the proportioning pump’s outlet and the ball valve, which switches between returning and proportioning mode. This permits dedication of the froth agent circulate fee, both in testing mode and while proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning price is determined according to the formula as required within the standards and laws EN 13565-1, NFPA 11, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 technique.
Foam agent flow fee [l/min]
(Extinguishing water circulate rate x 100 = proportioning rate %+ foam agent circulate 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 know-how installed as an additional choice or inside the electrical drive allows acquiring further information and conclusions about the state and condition of the respective unit. It is checked, for instance, whether or not the ball valves are of their right positions or enough oil is within the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the strain values on the pump inlet/outlet and the stress on the water motor are recorded. Finally, measuring the complete system’s torque and the circulate rate inside the bypass line allows checking the overall situation of the proportioner.
The data can be displayed regionally or by way of a cloud answer. Controlling the maintenance operation is also possible by way of each interfaces.
What if there may be an alarm during a testing process?
An important query is: Does the proportioner work with none limitations and as usual if there’s an alarm? The reply is: Yes!
The remote testing system is designed in such a method that extinguishing water can circulate by way of the water motor and start it up at any time, even when the electrical drive is working at the same time. In addition, a unique, absolutely 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 so 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 features not essential at that moment and all ball valves to be set to their right position.
Therefore, in case of an alarm during testing operation, the ball valves change to their correct position absolutely automatically and the electric drive is switched off. Even if the electrical drive is still working or coming to a stop, the extinguishing water can circulate by way of 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 benefits does a distant testing system provide?
Compared with standard proportioners and people equipped with a remote monitoring system, a distant testing system offers various benefits. They feature 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 price testing: Regular proportioning rate testing ensures optimum functioning of the proportioner in case of a fireplace. If the proportioning rate is simply too low, the extinguishing success could be compromised. Overdosing causes the froth agent to be consumed faster than meant, resulting in the untimely ending of the froth operation.
Increasing useful and failure safety because of elevated testing intervals: An increased test interval causes the proportioner to be tested absolutely routinely 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 in the proportioner or elements of the extinguishing system, immediately affecting the proportioner’s functionality, could be recognized at an early stage of time. This contains, for instance, stress variations in the extinguishing water line or a jammed suction line.
Inclusion of all features and advantages of the remote monitoring system: All functions and advantages of the remote monitoring system are also current in the remote testing system, i.e. all related working parameters are recorded and processed repeatedly and accurately as properly as documented in a log file. In addition, all data are displayed by a visualization.
เกจ์วัดแรงดันแก๊ส of prices: Regular useful testing makes it possible to detect faults even earlier. This method, upkeep and repairs can take place earlier than any extra serious harm occurs. The elevated functionality and fault safety of the proportioner ensures that the service life of the proportioners is maximized and the likelihood of a failure is minimized. As a result, decreased service and operating workforce on-site cut back costs considerably, particularly if the proportioner is situated in a distant place. In addition, practical testing of the proportioner permits early identification, evaluation and possibly limiting a fault remotely. This makes service visits extra environment friendly and subsequently cheaper.
Summary and prospect
The distant monitoring system already supplies various advantages and helps cut back costs, nevertheless it can not reduce 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 remote testing system allows decreasing the workforce required on-site to a minimal, 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 additional maintenance by personnel on-site is important, other than an oil change. The oil change may be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, easily and with none deeper data of the operating precept of proportioners. If a service go to or repair ought to nonetheless turn into essential, remote monitoring and early fault detection will make the planning and completion of such work more environment friendly.
Like the distant monitoring system, the distant testing system is an optimum symbiosis of mechanical proportioners and an clever electronic upgrade. Thus, the advantages from each expertise fields are mixed with out compromising the performance of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For more info, go to www.firedos.com
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