sprinkler system

Abstract

To provide a sprinkler system capable of dissolving an inert gas in a fire cistern of the sprinkler system with a simple configuration, enhancing a fire-extinguishing effect by discharging fire-extinguishing water in which the inert gas is dissolved when a fire occurs, expelling the dissolved oxygen by increasing the concentration of the dissolved inert gas, and suppressing the occurrence of rust in piping.SOLUTION: In a sprinkler system 10 having a fire cistern 12 for storing fire-extinguishing water 13 and a water feed pump 14 for discharging the fire-extinguishing water 13 stored in the fire cistern 12 from a sprinkler head 28 when a fire occurs, a nitrogen gas generating device 18 for dissolving nitrogen gas in the fire-extinguishing water 13 stored in the fire cistern 12 is provided in the fire cistern 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sprinkler system, and more particularly to a sprinkler system that extinguishes a fire by spraying fire-extinguishing water stored in a fire-extinguishing water tank from a sprinkler head in the event of a fire. [Background technology]

[0002] A sprinkler system consists of a primary piping that rises vertically from the fire water tank to spray fire water stored in the fire water tank from the sprinkler head, and secondary piping that runs from this primary piping to the sprinkler heads on each floor. Sprinkler systems are divided into wet sprinkler systems and dry sprinkler systems depending on whether the secondary piping is normally filled with water or not. They are also divided into vacuum sprinkler systems and pressure sprinkler systems depending on whether the secondary piping is normally under negative or pressurized pressure.

[0003] Therefore, a sprinkler system in which the secondary piping is normally filled with water and the secondary piping is under negative pressure is called a vacuum wet sprinkler system.

[0004] As such, there are various types of sprinkler systems, but in order to extinguish a fire that has occurred, it is necessary to use a water pump to spray fire water stored in a fire water tank from sprinkler heads whose tips have been melted by the heat of the fire.

[0005] Fire water tanks are often installed, for example, in the basement of a building, and the water used for fire fighting is often exposed to the air. As a result, oxygen from the air is dissolved in the water stored in the fire water tank. Specifically, at a temperature of 25°C and a pressure of 1 atmosphere, the dissolved oxygen concentration (amount of saturated dissolved oxygen) is 8.26 mg / L. The lower the temperature and the higher the atmospheric pressure, the higher the amount of saturated dissolved oxygen.

[0006] The presence of oxygen dissolved in fire extinguishing water tanks causes various problems. For example, in a typical sprinkler system, pressurized water is filled into the secondary piping in preparation for the discharge of water in the event of a fire. Furthermore, when installing piping inside the ceiling, sloped or arched piping may be used. Air pockets in these areas are compressed by the pressurized water and dissolve into the water, further increasing the amount of dissolved oxygen. As a result, pinholes and corrosion occur in the piping walls due to the formation of rust caused by oxygen.

[0007] Furthermore, it cannot be denied that the fire-extinguishing effect is reduced when dissolved oxygen is contained in the fire-extinguishing water.

[0008] In Patent Document 1, in order to increase the fire extinguishing effect without increasing the equipment cost, a microbubble generator is installed in a fire extinguishing water tank, a nitrogen cylinder is connected to the microbubble generator, and microbubbles containing nitrogen gas are generated in the fire extinguishing water tank.

[0009] With this configuration, in the event of a fire, fire-extinguishing water containing microbubbles filled with nitrogen gas, an inert gas, is discharged, thereby improving the fire-extinguishing effect. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0010] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-268186 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0011] In the fire extinguishing equipment of Patent Document 1, fire extinguishing water containing microbubbles filled with nitrogen gas is released when a fire breaks out, which is thought to enhance the fire extinguishing effect. However, since a microbubble generator is used to fill the nitrogen gas, the configuration of the entire equipment becomes more complex due to the need for a microbubble generator.

[0012] Furthermore, because a nitrogen cylinder is used, the nitrogen cylinder must be replaced when the nitrogen gas runs out. Also, generating microbubbles requires hydrodynamic shearing of a gas-liquid two-phase flow and rapid or intense mixing of the gas and liquid using a special method, so the device for efficient microbubble generation inevitably becomes large-scale.

[0013] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a sprinkler system that has a simple configuration and can dissolve an inert gas in the fire extinguishing water in the fire extinguishing water tank of the sprinkler system, thereby improving the fire extinguishing effect in the event of a fire, and can also expel dissolved oxygen and suppress the occurrence of rust in the piping. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] To achieve the above objectives, According to one embodiment of the present invention The sprinkler system is a fire water tank for storing water for fire extinguishing; a piping structure installed between the fire extinguishing water tank and each sprinkler head; a fire pump that supplies fire extinguishing water stored in the fire extinguishing water tank through the piping structure to the sprinkler head so that the water can be discharged, The fire extinguishing water tank is characterized by the provision of an inert gas generating and supplying device that generates an inert gas and supplies the generated inert gas to the fire extinguishing water stored in the fire extinguishing water tank to dissolve the inert gas.

[0015] With this configuration, inert gas is dissolved in the fire extinguishing water tank of the sprinkler system, and fire extinguishing water with dissolved inert gas can be released in the event of a fire, thereby improving the fire extinguishing effect and suppressing the formation of pinholes and rust in the piping.

[0016] Moreover, according to one embodiment of the present invention The sprinkler system is The aforementioned In sprinkler systems, The inert gas generating and supplying device includes: The nitrogen gas generator generates nitrogen gas as the inert gas, and is characterized in that it separates and extracts nitrogen gas from the air and supplies it to the fire extinguishing water in the fire extinguishing water tank.

[0017] This configuration allows for the construction of a sprinkler system at low cost by using a nitrogen gas generator that can separate and extract nitrogen gas, which is abundant in the air. In other words, because nitrogen gas present in the air is used, there is no need to replace nitrogen cylinders as in Patent Document 1, and there is no need to generate microbubbles. The extracted nitrogen gas can be easily dissolved by supplying it to a fire-extinguishing water tank. Furthermore, by supplying nitrogen gas to the fire-extinguishing water tank, the oxygen gas previously dissolved therein is replaced by nitrogen gas and expelled into the atmosphere.

[0018] Moreover, according to one embodiment of the present invention The sprinkler system is The aforementioned In sprinkler systems, The fire-fighting water tank is characterized in that it is equipped with a cooling device for cooling the stored fire-fighting water.

[0019] With this configuration, the amount of inert gas dissolved in the fire extinguishing water tank increases as the temperature is lowered, so the amount of inert gas dissolved in the fire extinguishing water tank can be increased, improving the fire extinguishing effect and more effectively suppressing the occurrence of pinholes and rust in the piping.

[0020] Moreover, according to one embodiment of the present invention The sprinkler system is The aforementioned In sprinkler systems, The nitrogen gas generator is The nitrogen gas generator is installed on a different floor from the fire-extinguishing water tank, and an oxygen concentration meter is also installed on the floor where the nitrogen gas generator is installed.

[0021] This configuration makes it possible to prevent problems caused by an increase in the oxygen concentration in the space where the nitrogen gas generator is installed. In other words, by measuring the increase in oxygen concentration with an oxygen concentration meter, it is possible to prevent the outbreak of a fire. [Effects of the Invention]

[0022] The sprinkler system of the present invention has a simple configuration that allows inert gas to be easily dissolved in the fire-extinguishing water tank, thereby improving the fire-extinguishing effect and suppressing the occurrence of rust and pinholes in the piping, thereby providing a sprinkler system that is highly reliable over a long period of time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 is a partial schematic configuration diagram of a sprinkler system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a partial schematic configuration diagram of a sprinkler system according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a partial schematic diagram of a sprinkler system 10 of the present invention. In Figure 1, secondary piping 22, sprinkler heads 28, etc. are only shown up to the second floor, but they are actually installed on each floor.

[0025] In the sprinkler system 10, fire extinguishing water 13 stored in the fire extinguishing water tank 12 is sprayed via the water pump 14, the primary piping 20, the flow detection device 24, the secondary piping 22, the drop-down piping 30, and the sprinkler head 28. In other words, the piping structure between the fire extinguishing water tank 12 and the sprinkler head 28 is mainly composed of the primary piping 20, the secondary piping 22, and the drop-down piping 30.

[0026] The primary piping 20 rises from the fire water tank 12 to the upper floors via a water pump 14, and the secondary piping 22 branches off from the primary piping 20 on each floor and runs via down piping 30 to a sprinkler head 28 for spraying water. A terminal test valve 26 is attached to the end of the secondary piping 22 on each floor.

[0027] The terminal test valve 26 is provided to open the secondary piping 26 after a test flow of fire water 13 into the secondary piping 22, or after the sprinkler system 10 malfunctions and fire water 13 flows into the secondary piping 22. In addition, when repairing or replacing the sprinkler head 28, the terminal test valve 26 is also used to close the flow detection device 24 and open the terminal test valve 26 to drain the fire water 13 from the secondary piping 22.

[0028] The flow detection devices 24 are installed at the base ends of the secondary pipes 26 on each floor that branch off from the primary pipes 20, and are configured to sound an alarm when a certain amount of flowing water is detected. This alarm makes it possible to recognize that a fire has occurred and that firefighting efforts are underway.

[0029] When a fire breaks out, the sprinkler heads 28 near the fire site melt due to heat, causing the sprinkler heads 28 to release the fire-fighting water 13 in the secondary piping 22, lowering the pressure in the secondary piping 22. When a pressure switch (not shown) detects this pressure drop, the water pump 14 is activated, enabling continuous water supply.

[0030] In this embodiment, the fire water tank 12 is installed in the basement (B) of the building, and as a characteristic configuration of the present invention, a nitrogen gas generator 18 is installed in the fire water tank 12 in the basement (B) of the building. This nitrogen gas generator 18, for example, sends compressed air to a gas separation membrane (hollow fiber membrane), and moisture, oxygen, etc. that easily permeate the hollow fiber membrane pass through the hollow fiber membrane and are purged to the outside of the membrane, and nitrogen that did not permeate the hollow fiber membrane can be extracted.

[0031] The extracted nitrogen gas is supplied to the fire extinguishing water tank 12 using a compressor or the like. The supplied nitrogen gas is dissolved in the fire extinguishing water 13 in the fire extinguishing water tank 12 until it becomes saturated, depending on the temperature and pressure of the water.

[0032] With this configuration, nitrogen gas is dissolved in the fire extinguishing water 13 in the fire extinguishing water tank 12 of the sprinkler system 10, and when a fire breaks out, the fire extinguishing water 13 with dissolved nitrogen gas is discharged, enhancing the fire extinguishing effect due to the inactivation effect of the nitrogen. This makes it possible to suppress the occurrence of pinholes and rust in the secondary piping 22.

[0033] In this embodiment, nitrogen gas generator 18 employs a membrane separation system that utilizes the difference in permeability between oxygen and nitrogen through a hollow fiber membrane. The extracted nitrogen gas can be easily dissolved by supplying it to fire water 13 in fire water tank 12. By supplying nitrogen gas to fire water 13, the oxygen gas that was previously dissolved therein is replaced by nitrogen gas and expelled from fire water 13.

[0034] A PSA system can also be used for the nitrogen gas generator 18. The PAS (Pressure Swing Adsorption) system separates nitrogen gas from air by utilizing the difference in adsorption speed between oxygen and nitrogen in CMS (Carbon Molecular Sieving).

[0035] Therefore, by using nitrogen gas generator 18 that can separate and extract nitrogen that is abundant in the air, sprinkler system 10 according to this embodiment can be constructed inexpensively. In other words, because nitrogen that exists in the air is used, there is no need to replace nitrogen cylinders as in Patent Document 1, and there is also no need to generate microbubbles.

[0036] In this embodiment, a cold water generator 16 is installed near the fire water tank 12 to cool the fire water 13 in the fire water tank 12. This cools the fire water 13 in the fire water tank 12, lowering the temperature of the fire water and increasing the amount of saturated nitrogen gas dissolved therein, thereby improving fire extinguishing efficiency.

[0037] 2 is a partial schematic diagram of a sprinkler system 10 according to another embodiment of the sprinkler system of the present invention. This embodiment differs from the above-described embodiment in that the nitrogen gas generator 18 is installed on a floor (B1) separate from the floor on which the fire-extinguishing water tank 12 is installed, and an oxygen concentration meter 32 is also installed on the floor (B1) on which the nitrogen gas generator 18 is installed.

[0038] In other words, when nitrogen gas is generated from air by the nitrogen gas generator 18, the oxygen gas concentration rises on the floor where the nitrogen gas generator 18 is installed. Naturally, if the oxygen concentration on the floor rises, the risk of fire increases. In order to detect this risk, an oxygen concentration meter 32 is installed on the floor.

[0039] With this configuration, if the oxygen concentration in the space on the floor where the nitrogen gas generator 18 is installed increases, this can be detected quickly, and problems caused by the increase in oxygen concentration can be prevented. Specifically, since nitrogen gas is generated using hollow fiber membranes, the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere will increase, but by constantly detecting this and taking measures such as sounding an alarm if an increase occurs, the outbreak of a fire can be prevented appropriately.

[0040] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, although the sprinkler system 10 has been described as a normal wet sprinkler system, it is of course applicable to various sprinkler systems, such as a vacuum wet sprinkler system and a vacuum dry sprinkler system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 10. Sprinkler System 12 Firefighting water tank 13 Fire-fighting water 14 Water pump 16 Cold water generator 18 Nitrogen gas generator 20 Primary side piping 22 Secondary piping 24 Flowing water detection device 26 Terminal test valve 28 sprinkler head 30 Downstream piping 32 Oxygen concentration meter

Claims

1. a fire water tank for storing water for fire extinguishing; a piping structure installed between the fire extinguishing water tank and each sprinkler head; a fire pump that supplies fire extinguishing water stored in the fire extinguishing water tank through the piping structure to the sprinkler head so that the water can be discharged, an inert gas generating and supplying device is provided which generates an inert gas and supplies the generated inert gas to the fire extinguishing water stored in the fire extinguishing water tank to dissolve the inert gas; The inert gas generating and supplying device is a nitrogen gas generating device that generates nitrogen gas as the inert gas, separates and extracts nitrogen gas from the air, and supplies the nitrogen gas to the fire extinguishing water in the fire extinguishing water tank, A sprinkler system characterized in that the fire extinguishing water tank is equipped with a cooling device for cooling the stored fire extinguishing water.

2. a fire water tank for storing water for fire extinguishing; a piping structure installed between the fire extinguishing water tank and each sprinkler head; a fire pump that supplies fire extinguishing water stored in the fire extinguishing water tank through the piping structure to the sprinkler head so that the water can be discharged, an inert gas generating and supplying device is provided which generates an inert gas and supplies the generated inert gas to the fire extinguishing water stored in the fire extinguishing water tank to dissolve the inert gas; The inert gas generating and supplying device is a nitrogen gas generating device that generates nitrogen gas as the inert gas, separates and extracts nitrogen gas from the air, and supplies the nitrogen gas to the fire extinguishing water in the fire extinguishing water tank, A sprinkler system characterized in that the nitrogen gas generator is installed on a different floor from the fire extinguishing water tank, and an oxygen concentration meter is installed on the floor on which the nitrogen gas generator is installed.

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