Fire mitigation system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated building operational systems in agricultural facilities can contribute to the spread of fires while also compromising animal care during false alarms, as shutting them down can harm the animals.
Innovation Solution
An automated thermal event controller that remotely switches the systems between normal and safety modes, deactivating devices during a potential fire and reverting to normal mode if no confirmation is received within a predetermined time, to mitigate fire spread and ensure animal safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If automated building operational systems are deactivated during a thermal event, then fire spread is mitigated, but animal care and wellbeing are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically transitions between operational modes (normal mode and safety mode) based on thermal event detection. In normal mode, building systems operate to maintain animal wellbeing. Upon thermal event detection, the system switches to safety mode to mitigate fire spread, then automatically reverts after a predetermined time interval if no confirmation of thermal event is received, thereby dynamically balancing fire safety and animal care requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameter of building systems from active (normal mode) to deactivated (safety mode) based on thermal event conditions. This parameter change allows the system to respond to thermal events by shutting down potentially fire-spreading equipment while maintaining the ability to restore normal operations automatically, thus managing the trade-off between fire mitigation and animal care
2Reliability
If automated building operational systems remain active during a thermal event, then animal care is maintained, but fire spread is accelerated
Solution Approach 1:
The system takes preliminary action by automatically deactivating building operational systems upon detection of a thermal event, before the fire can spread significantly. This preliminary safety action prevents equipment from accelerating fire spread, while the predetermined time interval mechanism ensures that if the thermal event is false, systems will be restored to maintain animal care
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback through automatic monitoring and confirmation mechanisms. When a thermal event is detected, the system activates safety mode and waits for confirmation within a predetermined time interval. If no confirmation is received, the system feedback indicates that the thermal event may have been false, triggering automatic restoration of building systems to maintain animal care while having already prevented potential fire spread acceleration
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling an agricultural facility for housing a plurality of animals includes the step of regulating the environment within the agricultural facility with an automated building operational system. An automated thermal event controller is operationally coupled with the automated building operational system and generates a thermal event signal in response to a thermal event in progress, whereby the automated thermal event controller, upon receipt of the thermal event signal indicating that the thermal event is in progress, activates an alarm state. In the alarm state, the automated thermal event controller: sends an alarm signal to a system administrator; places the automated building operational system in a safety-mode condition for a first predetermined time interval; and places the automated building operational system in a normal-mode operational condition after the first predetermined time interval and if a confirmatory signal is not yet then received from the system administrator.