Automatic fire extinguishing system for locomotive converter

Abstract

The invention belongs to the field of electric locomotive traction converters, and relates to a fire extinguishing technology, in particular to an automatic fire extinguishing system for a locomotive converter. Comprising a converter cabinet body, a first shaft traction area, a second shaft traction area, an auxiliary area and a cooling area are arranged in the converter cabinet body according to functions, the auxiliary area is located between the first shaft traction area and the second shaft traction area and is communicated with the first shaft traction area and the second shaft traction area, and the cooling area is independently located on the right side of the second shaft traction area; a fire-fighting steel cylinder is arranged outside the left side of the first shaft traction area, an in-cabinet pipeline is laid in the converter cabinet body, the in-cabinet pipeline is divided into an upper pipeline and a lower pipeline, and the upper pipeline and the lower pipeline are converged and then are communicated with the fire-fighting steel cylinder through an out-cabinet pipeline; a plurality of nozzles are mounted on the upper pipeline and the lower pipeline; the upper parts of the first shaft traction area and the second shaft traction area are respectively provided with a particle smoke-sensing and temperature-sensing detector, and the bottoms are respectively provided with an infrared thermal imaging camera; and a fire extinguishing controller is arranged below the external low-pressure interface area of the cooling area. The method is reasonable in design and has good practical application value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of electric locomotive traction converters and relates to fire extinguishing technology, specifically an automatic fire extinguishing system for locomotive converters. Background Technology

[0002] The high-power traction converter of rail transit locomotives is an important component of modern locomotives. It is responsible for converting electrical energy into mechanical energy to drive the train.

[0003] The locomotive traction converter comprises a traction four-quadrant circuit, an intermediate DC circuit, and a traction inverter circuit. Its main high-voltage components include a pre-charge contactor, a pre-charge resistor, a four-quadrant power module, an intermediate DC support capacitor, a chopper discharge resistor, a slow discharge resistor, a grounding detection resistor, an inverter power module, and related detection components. Due to the high-temperature and high-pressure operating environment of its internal components, there is a fire risk during operation. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic fire extinguishing system for locomotive converters, which solves the problems of timeliness and accuracy of fire detection and alarm, as well as the lack of automatic fire extinguishing function in the converter.

[0005] This invention is achieved using the following technical solution: An automatic fire suppression system for a locomotive converter includes a converter cabinet. The converter cabinet is functionally arranged into a traction zone for axle 1, a traction zone for axle 2, an auxiliary zone, and a cooling zone. The auxiliary zone is located between and interconnected with the traction zones for axle 1 and axle 2. The cooling zone is independently located on the right side of the traction zone for axle 2. A fire cylinder is located on the outer left side of the traction zone for axle 1. Internal piping is laid within the converter cabinet, and this internal piping is divided into upper and lower pipes. The upper and lower pipes converge and connect to the fire cylinder via an external piping. Multiple nozzles are installed on the upper and lower pipes. A particle smoke and heat detector is installed at the top of each of the traction zones for axle 1 and axle 2, and an infrared thermal imaging camera is installed at the bottom of each. A fire suppression controller is located below the external low-pressure interface area of ​​the cooling zone.

[0006] More preferably, the lower middle part of the shaft-1 traction zone, shaft-2 traction zone and auxiliary zone is a high-voltage component, which includes a four-quadrant power module, an inverter power module, an auxiliary power module, a main contactor and an intermediate support capacitor.

[0007] More preferably, the extinguishing agent in the fire cylinder is perfluorohexanone.

[0008] In a further preferred embodiment, the surface temperature of the heat source detected by the infrared thermal imaging camera and the smoke and temperature detected by the particle smoke and temperature detector are both transmitted to the fire extinguishing controller, and the fire extinguishing controller outputs a signal to the 6A system. The 6A system transmits a drive command to the fire extinguishing controller, and the fire extinguishing controller controls the solenoid valve of the fire cylinder to close, thus initiating fire extinguishing.

[0009] More preferably, the number of nozzles is 6, with 4 located above and behind the power module and 2 located in the high-pressure interface area.

[0010] More preferably, the nozzle sprays horizontally forward, and there are no components obstructing its front.

[0011] More preferably, the infrared thermal imaging camera is provided with 3 cameras: 1 camera is located at the bottom high-voltage interface area of ​​the first shaft traction zone, and the other 2 cameras are located at the bottom high-voltage interface area of ​​the second shaft traction zone and the copper busbar dense area above the high-voltage interface inside the cabinet of the second shaft traction zone, respectively.

[0012] More preferably, the infrared thermal imaging camera is installed at a 30° tilt angle.

[0013] Preferably, the pipes inside the cabinet are equipped with welded screw seats, which are installed inside the cabinet by means of a fixed bracket.

[0014] Preferably, both particle smoke and temperature detectors are located at the top of the converter cabinet.

[0015] Components of an automatic fire suppression system: 1. Control System: The control system is mainly a fire extinguishing controller for the fire prevention and control system. This device is designed with functions such as fire extinguishing, fire alarm, and data recording. It can receive thermal imaging, temperature and smoke sensing data, and perform fire alarm logic judgment. If a fire alarm occurs, the fire extinguishing controller sends a fire alarm signal to the 6A main unit; when fire extinguishing is required, the 6A main unit sends a signal to the fire extinguishing controller to drive the solenoid valve to close and start fire extinguishing.

[0016] 2. Detection System: The converter cabinet uses a combination of particle smoke and heat detectors and infrared thermal imaging cameras for detection. The infrared thermal imaging camera has a wide field of view for temperature measurement, providing a wide detection range and high temperature sensitivity. When combined with particle smoke and heat detectors, it can provide an alarm for fires in the very early stages or even before a fire occurs, greatly reducing the risk of converter fires.

[0017] The particle smoke and heat detector consists of a high-sensitivity smoke and temperature fire detector and a base. The particle smoke and heat detector transmits the fire alarm information collected on-site to the fire suppression controller, which then transmits the collected data to the 6A main unit. The particle smoke and heat detector is installed on top of the converter cabinet to detect the gas inside the cabinet.

[0018] The infrared thermal imaging camera is equipped with both a visible light and an infrared camera lens module. It can transmit real-time images from inside the power converter cabinet to the fire suppression controller, displaying both normal video recordings and thermal images. The thermal images can identify high-temperature heat sources in the captured area for fire detection. The visible light image, combined with image recognition technology, enables flame detection. By combining these two fire detection logics, early-stage fires can be accurately identified. During installation, the infrared thermal imaging camera must be placed in a high-risk area inside the power converter cabinet.

[0019] Infrared thermal imaging cameras monitor the surface temperature of heat sources, enabling more timely detection of fires and improving detection response speed. Furthermore, their testing range is a cubic area within their field of view, providing a wider detection range. Based on these two advantages, and considering the phenomenon of copper busbars heating up before a converter fire, infrared thermal imaging cameras are particularly suitable for detecting temperature changes in the copper busbars of converter cabinets.

[0020] Actuation Unit: The actuation unit consists of a fire cylinder (including a solenoid valve), fire extinguishing piping, and sprinkler heads. The main function of the actuation system is to respond quickly to fire prevention actions upon receiving control commands from the fire extinguishing controller and to feed back the fire prevention release signal to the fire extinguishing controller. Additionally, the solenoid valve on the fire cylinder is equipped with a mechanical emergency start device, which can be used to activate the fire cylinder and release the extinguishing agent in an emergency.

[0021] The automatic fire suppression system works as follows: The fire suppression controller inside the traction converter communicates with the vehicle's 6A (Automatic Fire Protection) system via Ethernet. The 6A system forwards warning and alarm information to the vehicle network, and the driver can view fire information on the driver's display screen. When a fire occurs, the infrared thermal imaging camera and particle smoke and heat detectors detect abnormal temperatures and smoke within the converter and transmit signals to the fire suppression controller. After communicating with the 6A fire monitoring subsystem, the fire suppression controller outputs a fire suppression command. The solenoid valve on the fire extinguishing cylinder closes, and the extinguishing agent inside the cylinder is sprayed into the converter through nozzles, achieving automatic fire suppression. The number and arrangement of the particle smoke and heat detectors, infrared thermal imaging camera, and nozzles are related to the converter's layout and structure, while the amount of extinguishing agent stored in the fire extinguishing cylinder is related to the internal volume of the converter.

[0022] This invention is reasonably designed and has good practical application value. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates the configuration of an automatic fire suppression system for a traction converter.

[0024] Figure 2 This diagram illustrates the automatic fire suppression system within the functional area of ​​the traction converter.

[0025] Figure 3This represents the automatic workflow diagram of the control system.

[0026] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a fire prevention and control system.

[0027] Figure 5 This diagram shows the layout of the fire suppression controller.

[0028] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram showing the layout of fire extinguishing pipelines.

[0029] Figure 7 This diagram illustrates the installation of an infrared thermal imaging camera.

[0030] In the diagram, 1-Converter cabinet, 2-Axis 1 traction area, 3-Axis 2 traction area, 4-Auxiliary area, 5-Cooling area, 6-Fire cylinder, 7-Internal piping, 8-External piping, 9-Sprinkler head, 10-Smoke and heat detector, 11-Fire extinguishing controller, 12-Infrared thermal imaging camera, 701-Upper piping, 702-Lower piping. Detailed Implementation

[0031] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the present invention will be further described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0032] An automatic fire suppression system for a locomotive converter includes a converter cabinet, such as Figure 1 , 2 As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the converter cabinet 1 is functionally arranged into a shaft-1 traction area 2, a shaft-2 traction area 3, an auxiliary area 4, and a cooling area 5. The auxiliary area 4 is located between shaft-1 traction area 2 and shaft-2 traction area 3 and is interconnected with them. The cooling area 5 is independently located on the right side of shaft-2 traction area 3. A fire cylinder 6 is installed on the outside of the left side of shaft-1 traction area 2. The converter cabinet 1 is laid with internal piping 7, which is divided into an upper piping 701 and a lower piping 702. The upper piping 701 and the lower piping 702 converge and are connected to the fire cylinder 6 through an external piping 8. Multiple nozzles 9 are installed on the upper piping 701 and the lower piping 702. A particle smoke and heat detector 10 is installed on the upper part of shaft-1 traction area 2 and shaft-2 traction area 3, and an infrared thermal imaging camera 12 is installed on the bottom of each of them. A fire extinguishing controller 11 is installed below the external low-pressure interface area of ​​the cooling area 5.

[0033] like Figure 1 , 2As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the surface temperature of the heat source detected by the infrared thermal imaging camera 12 and the smoke and temperature detected by the particle smoke and temperature detector 10 are both transmitted to the fire extinguishing controller 11. The fire extinguishing controller 11 then outputs a signal to the 6A system, which transmits a drive command to the fire extinguishing controller 11. The fire extinguishing controller 11 controls the solenoid valve of the fire cylinder to close, initiating fire extinguishing. There are six sprinkler heads 9: four are located above and behind the power modules in the first traction zone 2, the second traction zone 3, and the auxiliary zone 4; and two are located at the high-pressure interface. The nozzles of the sprinkler heads 9 are horizontally facing forward, with no obstructions directly in front of them. There are three infrared thermal imaging cameras 12: one is located at the bottom of the high-pressure interface area in the first traction zone 2, and the other two are located at the bottom of the high-pressure interface area in the second traction zone 3 and above the copper busbar area inside the cabinet, respectively.

[0034] During assembly, the fire cylinder 6 is fixedly installed outside the cabinet on the left side of the shaft-one traction zone 2. The internal pipeline 7 is installed inside the converter cabinet 1 through the provided welding screw seat and fixing bracket. The fire cylinder 6 is connected to the internal pipeline 7 through the external pipeline 8. The nozzle 9 is installed on the internal pipeline 7. Then, the smoke and heat detector 10 is installed on the top of the converter cabinet 1 above the shaft-one traction zone 2 and the shaft-two traction zone 3. Finally, two infrared thermal imaging cameras 12 are installed in the copper busbar dense area and the bottom high-voltage interface area below the shaft-two traction zone 3, respectively. One infrared thermal imaging camera 12 is installed in the bottom high-voltage interface area of ​​the shaft-one traction zone 2.

[0035] In practical applications, such as Figure 3As shown, the automatic fire suppression system is first tested to ensure it functions correctly. If the 6A system displays an error message after power is supplied, the system needs to be restarted and tested again until it functions normally. When the 6A system displays normally after power is supplied, two smoke and heat detectors 10 installed at the top of the converter cabinet 1 in the traction area 2 of shaft 1 and the traction area 3 of shaft 2, and an infrared thermal imaging camera 12 located below the converter, monitor the smoke and temperature inside the converter cabinet in real time and transmit the detected data to the fire suppression controller 11. The fire suppression controller 11 performs logical judgment on the received data and determines that the fire situation inside the converter cabinet must simultaneously meet at least two of the following three conditions: First, the high-sensitivity smoke detector of the smoke and heat detector 10 alarms and detects that the smoke temperature rises by more than 10°C within one minute; second, the temperature detector of the smoke and heat detector 10 detects a temperature greater than 90°C for two seconds; third, the temperature detected by the infrared thermal imaging camera 12 is greater than 130°C for more than two seconds. When a fire occurs, the fire suppression controller 11 determines the fire situation information inside the converter cabinet through logical judgment and communicates with the 6A fire prevention monitoring subsystem before outputting a fire suppression command. At this time, the solenoid valve on fire cylinder 6 closes, and the extinguishing agent inside fire cylinder 6 flows into the internal pipeline 7 through the external pipeline 8. It is then sprayed into the converter by the nozzles 9 installed on branch pipelines 701 and 702, achieving automatic fire extinguishing. Simultaneously, fire cylinder 6 sends discharge feedback to the fire extinguishing controller 11 to monitor the operation of the fire extinguishing system in real time. After the fire is extinguished, simply refill fire cylinder 6 with extinguishing agent.

[0036] In addition, automatic fire extinguishing systems have two activation methods: mechanical emergency activation and manual activation.

[0037] Mechanical emergency start: In the event of a fire, if personnel are in the fire scene and close to the fire cylinder 6, they can directly pull out the safety pin on the container valve of the fire cylinder 6 and press the mechanical start device to directly release the extinguishing agent and realize the fire extinguishing function inside the converter cabinet.

[0038] Manual Fire Extinguishing Initiation: Fire detection is performed using smoke and heat detectors 10 and infrared thermal imaging camera 12, based on smoke detection, temperature threshold judgment, and thermal imaging. The detected data is then transmitted to the fire extinguishing controller 11. The fire extinguishing controller 11 performs logical judgment on the received data, determining that the fire inside the converter cabinet must meet at least one of the following three conditions: First, the high-sensitivity smoke detector of the smoke and heat detector 10 alarms for more than two minutes; second, the temperature detector of the smoke and heat detector 10 detects a temperature greater than 75°C for two seconds; third, the temperature detected by the infrared thermal imaging camera 12 is greater than 100°C for more than two seconds. Upon detection of a fire, a pop-up window appears on the 6A display screen, accompanied by an audio alarm. The pop-up window includes "Reset" and "Emergency Start" soft switches. The driver operates according to the situation. Clicking "Reset" removes the alarm, and the smoke and heat detectors 10 and infrared thermal imaging camera 12 re-detect. If a fire is detected again, the pop-up window reappears. Clicking "Emergency Start" closes the solenoid valve on the fire cylinder to extinguish the fire.

[0039] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement the present invention. Although detailed descriptions have been provided with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments, and they should all be covered within the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An automatic fire extinguishing system for a locomotive converter, comprising a converter cabinet (1), characterized in that: The converter cabinet (1) is arranged according to function as a shaft-1 traction area (2), a shaft-2 traction area (3), an auxiliary area (4) and a cooling area (5). The auxiliary area (4) is located between the shaft-1 traction area (2) and the shaft-2 traction area (3) and is interconnected. The cooling area (5) is located independently to the right of the shaft-2 traction area (3). Fire cylinder (6) is provided on the outside of the left side of the traction area (2) of the shaft. The converter cabinet (1) is equipped with internal pipe (7). The internal pipe (7) is divided into an upper pipe (701) and a lower pipe (702). The upper pipe (701) and the lower pipe (702) converge and are connected to the fire cylinder (6) through the external pipe (8). Multiple nozzles (9) are installed on the upper pipe (701) and the lower pipe (702). A particle smoke and temperature detector (10) is installed on the upper part of the first traction zone (2) and the second traction zone (3), and an infrared thermal imaging camera (12) is installed on the bottom of each. A fire extinguishing controller (11) is installed below the external low-pressure interface area of ​​the cooling zone (4).

2. The automatic fire extinguishing system for a locomotive converter according to claim 1, characterized in that: High-voltage components are installed in the lower middle part of the shaft-1 traction zone (2), shaft-2 traction zone (3) and auxiliary zone (4), including a four-quadrant power module, an inverter power module, an auxiliary power module, a main contactor and an intermediate support capacitor.

3. The automatic fire extinguishing system for a locomotive converter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The extinguishing agent in the fire cylinder (6) is perfluorohexanone.

4. The automatic fire extinguishing system for a locomotive converter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pipes (7) inside the cabinet are equipped with welded screw seats, which are installed inside the converter cabinet (1) by a fixed bracket.

5. The automatic fire extinguishing system for a locomotive converter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface temperature of the heat source detected by the infrared thermal imaging camera (12) and the smoke and temperature detected by the particle smoke and temperature detector (10) are transmitted to the fire extinguishing controller (11), and the fire extinguishing controller (11) outputs a signal to the 6A system. The 6A system transmits the drive command to the fire extinguishing controller (11), and the fire extinguishing controller (11) controls the solenoid valve of the fire cylinder (6) to close, and starts the fire extinguishing.

6. An automatic fire extinguishing system for a locomotive converter according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The number of nozzles (9) is 6, with 4 located above and behind the power modules in the first traction zone (2), the second traction zone (3), and the auxiliary zone (4), and 2 located at the interface of the high-pressure components.

7. The automatic fire extinguishing system for a locomotive converter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The nozzle (9) sprays horizontally forward, and there are no parts obstructing its front.

8. The automatic fire extinguishing system for a locomotive converter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The infrared thermal imaging camera (12) is provided in three locations: one is located in the high-voltage interface area at the bottom of the first traction zone (2), and the other two are located in the high-voltage interface area at the bottom of the second traction zone and the copper busbar area above the high-voltage interface inside the cabinet.

9. The automatic fire extinguishing system for a locomotive converter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The infrared thermal imaging camera (12) is installed at a 30° tilt angle.

10. The automatic fire extinguishing system for a locomotive converter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two particle smoke and heat detectors (10) are both located at the top of the converter cabinet (1).

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