Regular testing and upkeep guarantee a most service life and practical and failure-related safety of technical home equipment. The similar applies to foam-based hearth 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, pressure gauge 2.5 นิ้ว will be simpler and extra cost-efficient for extinguishing system operators if this was attainable in a fully computerized and remote-controlled manner. For example, this is able to also make common upkeep personnel journey to remotely situated proportioners redundant. In addition, this may be certain that requirements by the producer, standards and sets of regulations are observed without any practical deviations and unsuitable time intervals.
The distant testing system inside the ‘Smart Proportioner’ growth framework has been created only for this function. It is an advancement of the distant monitoring system.
Brief overview of the distant monitoring system
The distant monitoring system is used for proportioner monitoring in testing mode during maintenance and stay firefighting operations.
In the course of remote monitoring, the proportioning price and different working 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, together with an optional local display unit (HMI) if relevant, and sensor expertise. The sensor technology contains, at least, the possibility to determine the water motor’s number of revolutions and to determine the foam agent move rate. These values are used to calculate the proportioning fee. 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 supports the operating and service personnel on-site. It can additionally be suitable for distant monitoring of the foam proportioner.
However, it is a basic fact that personnel are at all times necessary to carry out the maintenance work or the proportioning price testing on-site as the system performs a monitoring position solely. It doesn’t actively interact with the functioning of the proportioner.
In the course of distant monitoring, the proportioning price and different working parameters are decided, displayed and forwarded. Images provided by Author / Contributor
Evolution – from remote monitoring to distant testing
The query is tips on how to additional reduce the maintenance effort on foam proportioners.
The solution lies in the distant testing system, the following step of the intelligent FireDos proportioners. The remote testing system allows monitoring of the proportioner and individual upkeep, including proportioning price testing.
The condition of the proportioner can be checked without having to start up the fireplace extinguishing system. No personnel are required on-site. Proportioners in a distant place or which are solely rarely inspected by personnel on-site may be checked with out upkeep workers and associated expenses, such as travel expenditure. In particular, growing the testing interval is possible without further efforts. The instruction handbook for FireDos proportioners requires common starting-up, using the service crank manually at the least. This is meant to prevent deposits contained in the equipment, impairing its ease of motion and thus conserving the proportioner’s performance. The distant testing system can undertake these common actions and test the proportioning price, growing the service life and useful security of the proportioner.
What is the design of a remote testing system?
The remote testing system is mostly based upon the distant monitoring system. It is, however, significantly prolonged by means of actuators. This is as a end result of they permit the utterly impartial operation of the distant testing system; i.e., the proportioning rate of the proportioner is examined with out activating the water pumps of the hearth extinguishing system.
The core parts include a central management system, with an elective HMI, sensor know-how, electrical ball valve drives, an electrical drive for the proportioner and a bypass line previous 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 method, some nice advantages of the mechanical proportioning principle are preserved.
How does the remote testing system work, and the way can the proportioning fee be checked without activating the water pumps?
If in ready-to-operate mode, the proportioner is all the time in the proportioning position. Upon initiation of an computerized testing process, no matter if after an outlined time interval, upon request by way of a cloud solution or from the hearth 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 just isn’t blended 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 complete proportioner at its start-up move fee. The start-up flow fee 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 pressure within the extinguishing water line. The fireplace extinguishing system is due to this fact not influenced when the proportioner is tested.
As the extinguishing water flow price simulated by the exterior drive is also identified due to the identified ratio of the water motor’s variety of revolutions and the water flow fee, simply the foam agent circulate fee have to be decided to permit the following calculation of the proportioning price. 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 permits willpower of the froth agent flow fee, each in testing mode and while proportioning in case of an alarm.
The proportioning fee is decided in accordance with the formulation as required within the requirements and rules EN 13565-1, NFPA 11, FM 4-12, and the Nordtest NT Fire 042 methodology.
Foam agent circulate rate [l/min]
(Extinguishing water move price x one hundred = proportioning price %+ foam agent circulate rate) [l/min]
After completion of the testing process, 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 additional choice or inside the electric drive allows acquiring additional info and conclusions about the state and condition of the respective unit. It is checked, for example, whether the ball valves are of their right positions or adequate oil is in the crankshaft housing of the proportioning pump. In addition, the strain values at the pump inlet/outlet and the strain at the water motor are recorded. Finally, measuring the whole system’s torque and the move rate contained in the bypass line allows checking the overall situation of the proportioner.
The information may be displayed regionally or via a cloud resolution. Controlling the maintenance operation can additionally be potential via both interfaces.
What if there might be an alarm during a testing process?
An important query is: Does the proportioner work without any limitations and as ordinary if there is an alarm? The answer is: Yes!
The distant testing system is designed in such a means that extinguishing water can move through the water motor and start it up at any time, even when the electrical drive is working on the same time. In addition, a singular, fully automatic and purely mechanical decoupling mechanism ensures that the electrical drive does not intervene with the proportioner’s functioning and readiness to function.
In case of an alarm, the ball valves in 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 control system is put into alarm mode in this case. This alarm mode causes the disabling of all capabilities not needed 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 swap to their right place fully routinely and the electric drive is switched off. Even if the electrical drive remains to be running or coming to a cease, the extinguishing water can flow via the water motor and drive the proportioning pump without limitations. The alarm mode of the management system prevents re-activation of the electrical drive or any unintended ball valve switching.
What benefits does a distant testing system provide?
Compared with normal proportioners and people outfitted with a distant monitoring system, a remote testing system offers varied benefits. They function the following:
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 fee testing: Regular proportioning rate testing ensures optimum functioning of the proportioner in case of a fireplace. If the proportioning price is merely too low, the extinguishing success may be compromised. Overdosing causes the froth agent to be consumed quicker than intended, leading to the untimely ending of the froth operation.
Increasing practical and failure security because of increased testing intervals: An elevated take a look at interval causes the proportioner to be tested absolutely automatically at shorter intervals of time. This notably reduces the danger of a failure remaining undetected for a longer period of time. In addition, more 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 performance, can be identified at an early stage of time. This includes, for example, stress variations within the extinguishing water line or a jammed suction line.
Inclusion of all features and advantages of the distant monitoring system: All capabilities and advantages of the distant monitoring system are additionally present in the distant testing system, i.e. all related working parameters are recorded and processed continuously and accurately in addition to documented in a log file. In addition, all knowledge are displayed by a visualization.
Reduction of prices: Regular functional testing makes it possible to detect faults even earlier. This way, upkeep and repairs can take place before any extra severe damage occurs. The elevated functionality and fault safety of the proportioner ensures that the service lifetime of the proportioners is maximized and the likelihood of a failure is minimized. As a outcome, decreased service and operating workforce on-site cut back prices significantly, significantly if the proportioner is situated in a distant place. In addition, practical testing of the proportioner allows early identification, analysis and probably limiting a fault remotely. This makes service visits more efficient and therefore more cost-effective.
Summary and prospect
The distant monitoring system already offers varied benefits and helps scale back costs, but it can’t cut back the workforce required on-site.
The remote testing system is a solution for lowering maintenance necessities. It is the following evolution in the center of creating intelligent FireDos proportioners.
The remote testing system permits reducing the workforce required on-site to a minimal, together with shorter testing intervals and increased 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, other than an oil change. The oil change can be carried out by the operator’s personnel, too, easily and without any deeper data of the working precept of proportioners. If a service visit or repair ought to still become essential, distant monitoring and early fault detection will make the planning and completion of such work more efficient.
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 each expertise fields are mixed without compromising the functionality of mechanical FireDos proportioners.
For extra info, go to www.firedos.com
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