Introduction
- FM-200® gas is one of the representatives of “clear extinguishing agents” in the Polish market.
- Our company is the distributor of extinguishing devices from the leading European manufacturers.
Our assets
- Each project is prepared comprehensively, including:
- measurement of the area;
- designing;
- assembly;
- final reception;
- further servicing and maintenance.
Advantages of FM200 gas
- Clear extinguishing agents consist of two characteristic features:
- they are not electrically conductive
- they do not leave any pollution after discharging
- Therefore, they are widely used at protecting areas with electronic equipment and other electrifying devices and at every place, where a high-value property is kept.
- Their use is recommended in case of areas with inflammable liquids and gases, what is more they are excellent not only to extinguish fire, but also to neutralize the atmosphere, what should prevent the fire outbreak and the explosion.
- It is safe for people, if at applied concentration.
- FM200 extinguishing foam is qualified as greenhouse gas, it has global warming rate 2900 (according to extinguishing agent’s producer). Defined by the producer average time of living in the atmosphere is 31-42 years.
- Action of the FM200 ® gas consists of reclaiming the energy from the burning process via chemical and physical impact.
- FM-200® as opposed to other extinguishing agents is easy to distill at low pressure, thus it occupies small storage area (even 10 times smaller than other leading extinguishing gases). There is no need to individualise separate area for bottles.
- In comparison with other systems for inert gases, FM-200®, due to small amount of bottles freely placed at the area, it has considerably smaller costs of installation, service and maintenance.
- During extinguishing of electrical systems, high threshold of agent’s evaporation, does not cause thermal shock for electronics that can appear by using other extinguishing agents (e.g. carbon dioxide).
Description of FM200 – HFC 227 system
- Systems based on HFC 227 gas are successfully used all over the world for more than 40 years.
- Extinguishing system HFC 227, offered by our company, bases on low pressure systems with tanks at which working pressure is not more than 25bar. So built system allows effectively protect areas at minimum costs of adjusting requirements.
- At some usings, the equivalent of HFC 227 extinguishing agent is FE-25, which we also possess.
- System consists of:
- extinguishing agent’s tanks;
- valves;
- extinguishing nozzles;
- control panel of fixed extinguishing systems.
- FM200 ® gas tanks are produced in variety of sizes (from 2,7 to 390litres).
- Wide range of tanks allows offering tanks optimally matched to exactly calculated amount of extinguishing agent.
- Operating gas dropping the extinguishing agent from the tanks is, safe for people and environment, nitrogen at the pressure of 25 bar.
- Special valves and nozzles, chosen individually via computer calculating programme for each protected area, including particular requirements of the extinguishing agent, e.g. particular activation time ≤10 sec. was designed for the system
- System may be used to fire extinguishing at following objects and areas:
- computer rooms;
- switching stations;
- archives;
- monuments;
- valuable works of art;
- control room of technological processess;
- unique medical equipment;
- telecommunication apparatus;
- gas turbines;
- engine test bench;
- inflammable substances’ storage hall (petrol, oil, paint, lacquers) and many others.
Concept of protecting the area
- At the protected area there are fixed extinguishing systems (FM200) designed.
- Tank’s capacity is selected in accordance with extinguishing agent requirement.
Fire extinguishing system is activated in 4 various ways:
- by activating working in the coincidence smoke detectors placed in the protected area;
- by switching on the manual button of launching extinguishing;
- by switching the manual trigger (running the system via the manual trigger causes immediate outflow of extinguishing agent);
- via START button placed at the extinguishing control panel (it is service button).
Extinguishing procedure
- Starting the extinguishing procedure, in case of fire detection, will be preceded by first and second stage alarm.
- Then time delay and activation of fire extinguishing appears.
- Alarming signal, dependent on current alarm in the fire alarm panel, is passed to the special room in which there is personel constantly:
- intermittent signal – I stage alarm;
- continuous signal – II stage alarm and activating.
- From the time of triggering extinguishing agent, regardless of the activating procedure, it is impossible to stop extinguishing and the bottle will be entirely emptied.
- Triggering the extinguishing agent lasts maximum 10 sec.
- Effectiveness of extinguishing depends on the retention time, i.e. period at which specified extinguishing concentration will be held in the protected area. In order to provide effective extinguishing, retention time should be minimum 10min.
- System triggers specified amount of gas at specified time through wires and nozzles to the protected area.
- Fire alarm panel controlling fixed extinguishing systems passes following signals to the SAP system:
- I stage alarm, (activating any detector);
- II stage alarm (activating two detectors at different lines);
- Triggering the extinguishing agent;
- General damage.
Design calculations of the amount of gas
- Temperature of protected areas is not less than 20o
- Entire area is extinguished.
- Space of protected areas is tightly closed and will not increase or leak.
- For FM-200 gas NOAEL value (the biggest concentration at which no negative toxic or physiological influence was observed) is 9%vol., wynosi 9% objand LOAEL value (the smallest concentration at which negative toxic or physiological influence was observed) is 10,5%vol.
Requirements regarding protected areas
- Protected area is separated fire and extinguishing zone.
- That zone should be prepared, so that reaching and then keeping the extinguishing concentration of FM-200® gas is possible for at least 10 minutes.
Basic components of fixed extinguishing system FM200 ®
- Fixed extinguishing system for FM-200 gas is built from following components:
- tanks: bottles;
- extinguishing agent FM200 ®;
- extinguishing nozzles 360° i 180°;
- set of electromagnetic and manual trigger;
- manometer with pressure switches of tanks and extinguishing agent;
- pressure switch of extinguishing agent’s triggering;
- pipelines;
- hydraulic fittings with 70 bar resistance;
- fire alarm panel steering fixed extinguishing systems;
- universal optic smoke sensor and outlet;
- START button (starting the extinguishing), STOP (pausing the extinguishing);
- acoustic indicator;
- informing indicators: internal and external;
- wiring;
- marking the extinguishing system, manuals.
- Tanks
- FM200 ® extinguishing agent is kept at the tanks equipped with fast activating valve.
- Tanks and wires create hydraulic system.
- Tanks are attached to the wall by steel braces.
- FM200 ® extinguishing agent
- Extinguishing system used at the area is based on FM-200® extinguishing agent, that is halogen derivative of hydrocarbon.
- It is one of the most popular substitutes of the halon included in clear extinguishing agents.
- During extinguishing period, particles absorb heat generated at the combustion process (they recieve power), so that the temperature of the flame falls below the temperature of ignition and the fire is extinguished.
- Fire extinguishing effect is achieved due to regularly distributed agent at the area for 6-10 seconds.
- FM200 ® agent is not dangerous to people if used at the proper concentration.
- Low concentration of the agent decreases the reduction of oxygen content so it does not cause difficulties in breathing.
- Extinguishing nozzles
- Nozzles are the last element of gas flow.
- The are always installed in the pendant position.
- They cannot be painted.
- Manometer with pressure switch of tanks and foaming agents
- It is the manometer having contact switch additionally.
- It is installed directly in the bottle valve (it passes the signal about decreasing the pressure to the fire alarm panel).
- Tank valve
- Tank with the extinguishing agent is equipped with vent valve.
- There is a manometer in the valve that indicates current pressure in the tank.
- Set of electromagnetic and manual trigger
- Electromagnetic trigger is the part of system responsible for triggering the extinguishing agent from the tank.
- It is equipped with electrovalve that, after receiving signal from the panel, causes opening the valve and activating the extinguishing.
- Pressure switch of extinguishing agent
- It is the part of the system signalling trigering extinguishing agent from the bottle.
- Pipelines
- Gas flows through the pipeline from the pressure tank to the nozzles.
- Proper gas distribution depends on pipes configuration.
- Hydraulic fittings
- Hydraulic fittings have increased resistance for the pressure.
- Fire alarm panel steering fixed extinguishing systems
- Panel of automatic extinguishing is designed to detect the fire and steer entire extinguishing equipment.
- Panel cooperates with conventional fire sensors.
- Panel is adapted for service of one or more fire zones.
- The process of automatic extinguishing has two stages:
- stage WARNING – designed for evacuating people from extinguished zone.
- stage FIREFIGHTING – designed for fire extinguishing as a result of passing the steering signals from the controlling panel to the set of electromagnetic and manual trigger opening the bottle with the extinguishing agent.
- Universal optic smoke detector
- Optic smoke detector is designed to detect visible smoke arising in the flameless fire stadium, when the material starts to smoulder, that means generally before appearance of the opened flames and noticeable temperature increase.
- Acoustic indicator
- Indicator generates the sound and alarming light signals.
- Internal and external informing indicators
- Indicators are designed to optic and acoustic informing people being in the area about starting the extinguishing procedure.
- They are also designed to warn against getting into the area in which the extinguishing agent was released.
- Marking the extinguishing system, manuals
- Area designed to gas protection should be equipped with set of marks designed to inform people about basic system’s functions and the way of working in the emergencies.
- Manual of the central panel is next to the central panel.
- SAP fire detecting system
- SAP system recieves following sgnals from each central panel: przyjmuje z każdej centrali gaszenia następujące sygnały monitorowania stanu pracy każdej z central gaszenia:
- I stage alarm (activating the sensor at each line),
- II stage alarm (activating one sensor per different lines or pressing START buton),
- Releasing the extinguishing agent,
- General damage of the central panel.
- SAP system recieves following sgnals from each central panel: przyjmuje z każdej centrali gaszenia następujące sygnały monitorowania stanu pracy każdej z central gaszenia:
- Information for the user or the Fire Department
- Extinguishing zone shoul stay closed for at least 10 minutes from the moment of releasing the gas to protected area.
- After 10 minutes, one can enter the protected area and verify the extinguishing effects.
- Information about activating the extinguishing system should be passed to the company maintaining the system in order to refill the tank and restart the extinguishing system.
Notes – for the User
- Training
- Executor of the constant extinguishing gas device is obliged to train workers using the area in the scope of basic informations about the system, as well as the basic everyday use of the system.
- The temperature range of system’s work
- Temperature in the area should be between (0°C) and +50°C.
- Given temperature range are acceptable but it is adviced to be between 18°C and 27°C.
Service and maintenance
- General data
- Warning:
- Constant ability of effective extinguishing system’s work consisting of entire and proper performing tests with, if possible, periodic tests.
- Installator should equip the user with the service book in which details of services and inspections will be written.
- Warning:
- General data
- Inspection programme done by the user
- Installator should present to the user the programme of component’s inspection.
- User’s inspection programme leads to detect damages at the early stage, before the need of starting the system appears.
- The proper programme consists of:
- weekly actions;
- monthly actions.
- Service’s schedule
- Schedule of services should consist of requireing periodic inspection and the entire system’s inspection, including pressure tanks.
- Proper procedure’s system verification is presented below:
- operations done half-yearly;
- yearly operations;
- according to the date of the next tank’s analysis.