Integrated Fire Suppression Cabinet for Faster Certified Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fire suppression systems in environments like the nuclear industry face significant installation delays, high costs, and complex certification processes due to component-based designs, which require separate installation, maintenance, and inspection of each component, especially for Class A, B, C, and D fires, including nuclear and combustible metals, necessitating multiple teams and extensive oversight.
Innovation Solution
An integrated fire suppression system with a single control panel and compartmentalized cabinet that allows for pre-certification and assembly at a manufacturing site, reducing on-site installation time and simplifying maintenance, while using a hybrid media of inert gas and atomized water droplets to extinguish fires by removing two legs of the fire triangle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a component-based fire suppression system is used, then the system can meet specific fire suppression requirements for different classes of fires, but the installation time and complexity increase significantly due to separate installation of each component
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple fire suppression components (tanks, control panels, piping, nozzles) into a single pre-assembled integrated unit that can be installed as one component, thereby reducing installation time while maintaining the versatility to suppress different classes of fires through properly configured sub-components
2Reliability
If each component is separately certified and inspected, then the system meets safety and quality standards, but the certification process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The integrated unit allows certification authorities to inspect and certify the entire fire suppression system as a single entity rather than requiring separate certification of multiple individual components, thereby maintaining reliability standards while simplifying the certification process
3Reliability
If multiple teams are deployed for installation and maintenance of component-based systems, then comprehensive coverage is achieved, but labor costs and coordination complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
By consolidating all fire suppression components into a single integrated unit, the system can be installed and maintained by a single team rather than requiring multiple specialized teams, thereby maintaining comprehensive coverage while significantly reducing coordination complexity and labor costs
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The integrated system reduces installation time and costs by allowing pre-certification and assembly, and enhances fire suppression efficacy through simultaneous oxygen reduction and cooling using a hybrid media of inert gas and atomized water droplets, meeting or exceeding industry standards like NFPA and NQA-1.
Implementation Method 1
rely upon a water mist, which emitted in large volumes sufficient to cool a fire thereby removing heat
Implementation Method 2
rely upon displacing oxygen with one or more gas or liquids in addition to or in place of the water
Data Source
AI summary
A method of using an integrated fire suppression system can include providing a cabinet comprising a plurality of environmentally isolated compartments, a plurality of fire suppression control systems mounted in the cabinet and comprising electrical components and controls for at least one of water and gas solenoids, and at least one of fluid storage and high pressure inert gas components mounted in the cabinet; detecting a fire; and emitting a hybrid media with an emitter to extinguish the fire by operating the plurality of fire suppression control systems in response to detecting the fire, wherein the hybrid media comprises an inert gas and fluid mist comprising a predetermined droplet size.