Flexible Dry Sprinkler Differential Pressure Control for Freezing Conditions
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dry sprinklers face challenges in areas exposed to freezing conditions due to rigid tubes requiring precise alignment and installation, and they lack effective mechanisms to prevent fluid leakage and maintain pressure in flexible environments.
Innovation Solution
A flexible tube section filled with a freeze-resistant fluid, coupled with a differential pressure controller to maintain a 3:1 pressure ratio, ensuring the flexible tube remains sealed until an elevated temperature triggers the release of the seal, allowing fluid distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid tube is used in conventional dry sprinklers, then the structural integrity and pressure containment are improved, but the installation complexity and alignment precision requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the rigid tube with a flexible hose that can be filled with pressurized gas or liquid. The flexible hose maintains pressure containment while allowing easy installation around obstructions and without precise alignment requirements. The hose can be inflated or filled with pressurized fluid to maintain its structural integrity during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a static rigid tube to a dynamic flexible hose that can adapt its shape and position. The flexible hose can be installed in various configurations and will maintain its form when pressurized, allowing it to respond to installation conditions while maintaining functional integrity.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid tube is used in conventional dry sprinklers, then the pressure stability is improved, but the adaptability to different installation environments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible hose provides adaptability to various installation environments while maintaining pressure stability when pressurized. The hose can be routed around obstructions and installed in confined spaces where rigid tubes cannot go, yet once pressurized it maintains stable pressure containment similar to rigid tubes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes its physical state by introducing pressurized gas or liquid into the flexible hose, transforming it from a floppy state to a pressurized stable state. This parameter change (pressure level) allows the flexible hose to achieve both adaptability during installation and pressure stability during operation.
3Ease of manufacture
If the tube is vented to the atmosphere for condensate drainage, then the condensation management is improved, but the risk of fluid leakage and pressure loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the atmospheric vent opening from the flexible hose system. Instead of having an open vent to the atmosphere, the system uses sealed flexible connections that prevent fluid leakage while still allowing for condensate management through alternative means that do not compromise system sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible hose acts as an intermediary that can accommodate condensate drainage needs while maintaining system sealing. The flexibility allows for drainage pathways to be incorporated without creating open vents to the atmosphere, thus preventing fluid leakage while managing condensation.
4Reliability
If a seal is positioned at the inlet end separated from the thermally responsive element, then the sealing reliability in freezing conditions is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the seal and thermally responsive element into an integrated assembly within the flexible hose system. This merging maintains sealing reliability in freezing conditions while reducing device complexity by eliminating the need for separate sealed compartments and multiple connection points required by rigid tube systems.
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 flexible design facilitates easy installation around obstructions and maintains pressure integrity, preventing fluid ingress and ensuring reliable fire protection in freezing conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a differential pressure controller configured to supply the pressurized fluid to the flexible tube section in order to maintain a ratio between a pressure of the pressurized fluid in the flexible tube section and a pressure of the supply fluid in the supply line
Implementation Method 2
The first seal is maintained in a sealed position by a pressure of the pressurized fluid so as to seal the opening at the first end of the supply line connection
Implementation Method 3
The thermally responsive element is configured to switch from the non-responsive state to a responsive state to release the second seal in response to an elevated temperature condition
Data Source
AI summary
A dry fire protection sprinkler in which, when a ratio of a pressure P1 of a pressurized fluid in a flexible tube to a pressure P3 of the fluid in a fluid supply line is less than a predetermined ratio of at least 3 to 1, a differential pressure controller sends a signal to a control valve to open, in order to allow the pressurized fluid in a pressurized fluid source at a pressure of P2 to enter the flexible tube, and, when the ratio of the pressure P1 of the pressurized fluid in the flexible tube to the pressure P3 of the fluid in the fluid supply line equals the predetermined ratio, the differential pressure controller sends a signal to the control valve to close.