KR102672487B1 - Fire extinguishing device using liquefied gas - Google Patents

Abstract

In a fire suppression device using liquefied gas installed in a storage room where at least one energy storage system (ESS, Energy Storage System) is stored according to an embodiment of the present invention, a power supply unit that supplies the power necessary for the fire suppression device ; A storage unit where liquefied gas is stored therein; A refrigerator coupled to the storage unit and receiving power from the power supply unit to liquefy the high-pressure gas or maintain the liquefied gas in a liquefied state; A spray unit connected to the storage unit and emitting liquefied gas to the outside when a fire is detected; And it may include a control unit that controls the operation of the refrigerator and the spray unit.

Description

Fire suppression device using liquefied gas {FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE USING LIQUEFIED GAS}

The present invention relates to a fire suppression device using liquefied gas.

In general, an energy storage system (ESS) refers to a device that improves energy efficiency by storing power generated at a power plant and supplying it to homes, factories, buildings, etc. when power is needed.

In particular, energy storage devices are essential to stably supply new and renewable energy, such as wind power generation and solar power generation, which are greatly affected by the weather.

As numerous fires continue to occur in these energy storage devices, the dissemination and technological development of energy storage devices is hindered, and concerns about fire safety continue to increase.

Meanwhile, fires in energy storage devices usually occur due to certain reasons, such as damage to the separator inside the battery, violent reaction inside, and a reverse runaway phenomenon that causes an explosion or fire.

As the heat generated in the process is transferred to the adjacent battery, the fire is continuously transferred to the adjacent battery, causing the fire to grow rapidly.

In addition, when a fire occurs, it causes a chemical reaction due to moisture reaction of alkaline metal and structural damage, making it difficult to extinguish easily with general powder fire extinguishing agents.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2020-0112461 (published on October 5, 2022)

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems. A refrigerator is coupled to the storage unit where the liquefied gas is stored inside, and as the liquefied gas is cooled, the liquefied gas is discharged to the outside through the injection unit when a fire occurrence is detected. The aim is to provide a fire suppression device using liquefied gas.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

A fire suppression device using liquefied gas according to an embodiment of the present invention is a fire suppression device using liquefied gas installed in a storage room where at least one energy storage device (ESS) is stored, and the power required for the fire suppression device is provided. a power supply unit that supplies; A storage unit where liquefied gas is stored therein; A refrigerator coupled to the storage unit and receiving power from the power supply unit to liquefy the high-pressure gas or maintain the liquefied gas in a liquefied state; A spray unit connected to the storage unit and emitting liquefied gas to the outside when a fire is detected; And it may include a control unit that controls the operation of the refrigerator and the spray unit.

The power supply unit may supply power stored in the energy storage device to the fire suppression device when the energy storage device reaches a preset capacity.

The fire suppression device may further include a self-generating device.

A fire suppression device using liquefied gas may further include an auxiliary storage unit connected to the storage unit and supplying the high-pressure gas or the liquefied gas.

The auxiliary storage unit may be connected to storage units of a fire suppression device installed in a plurality of storage units.

The storage unit includes a level gauge that monitors the level of the liquefied gas; And it may include a pressure sensor that monitors the pressure of the storage unit.

The controller may operate the refrigerator when the level of the liquefied gas is below a preset level through the level gauge or when the pressure of the storage unit exceeds a preset first pressure value through the pressure sensor.

The control unit may send an alarm to the outside through the pressure sensor when the pressure of the storage unit exceeds a preset second pressure value.

A fire suppression device using liquefied gas according to an embodiment of the present invention is equipped with a refrigerator coupled to a storage unit in which the liquefied gas is stored to cool the liquefied gas, and when a fire is detected, the cryogenic liquefied gas is sent through the injection unit. A fire occurring in an energy storage system (ESS) can be extinguished by emitting .

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing a fire suppression device using liquefied gas according to an embodiment of the present invention installed in a storage facility.
Figure 2 is a diagram showing a fire suppression device using liquefied gas according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a detailed view showing a fire suppression device using liquefied gas installed in a storage room according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a diagram showing the installation of the auxiliary storage unit of a fire suppression device using liquefied gas according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Below, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present invention. However, the present invention may be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In order to clearly explain the present invention in the drawings, parts unrelated to the description are omitted, and similar parts are given similar reference numerals throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to “include” a certain element, this means that it may further include other elements rather than excluding other elements, unless specifically stated to the contrary. In addition, when a part is said to be "connected" to another part throughout the specification, this means not only when it is directly connected, but also when it is connected through another member in the middle, or electrically between other elements in the middle. This also includes cases where they are connected. Furthermore, throughout the specification of the present application, when a member is said to be located “on” another member, this includes not only the case where a member is in contact with another member, but also the case where another member exists between the two members. Additionally, expressions such as “first,” “second,” and the like used in this specification may modify various components regardless of order and/or importance, and may be used to distinguish one component from another component. It is only used and does not limit the corresponding components, and does not necessarily mean other components. For example, 'first direction' and 'second direction' may mean the same direction or different directions.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing a fire suppression device 10 using liquefied gas according to an embodiment of the present invention installed in a storage 20, and Figure 2 is a diagram showing a fire using liquefied gas according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a drawing showing the suppression device 10, and FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing the fire suppression device 10 using liquefied gas according to an embodiment of the present invention installed in the storage 20.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a fire suppression device 10 using liquefied gas according to an embodiment of the present invention can be installed in a storage 20 where at least one energy storage device 21 is stored. .

The fire suppression device 10 using liquefied gas may include a power supply unit 100, a storage unit 200, a refrigerator 300, an injection unit 400, and a control unit (not shown).

Here, the power supply unit 100 may supply power necessary for the fire suppression device 10.

When the energy storage device 21 reaches a preset capacity, the power supply unit 100 may supply power stored in the energy storage device 21 to the fire suppression device 10.

For example, if the power generation device that supplies power to the energy storage device 21 is a solar power generation device, the amount of power generation changes depending on the amount of solar radiation. Therefore, when the amount of solar radiation is high, the energy storage device 21 is fully charged and the power is transferred to the power system. It can be provided at a relatively cheap price.

In the present invention, power stored in the energy storage device can be supplied to the fire suppression device 10 to use power efficiently.

Meanwhile, the fire suppression device 10 may further include a self-generating device 110.

For example, the self-generating device 110 may operate when a fire occurs in the energy storage device 21 and the power supply unit 100 is damaged due to the fire, thereby preventing power from being supplied through the power supply unit 100. You can.

Meanwhile, liquefied gas may be stored inside the storage unit 200.

The storage unit can receive high-pressure gas from the outside, liquefy the high-pressure gas through a refrigerator, and store it as liquefied gas. Alternatively, the storage unit may receive liquefied gas from the outside and store the liquefied gas in a liquefied state through a refrigerator.

The liquefied gas stored inside the storage unit 200 may consist of liquefied nitrogen (LN2), but is not limited thereto, and may include liquefied helium (LHe), liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2), liquefied air, liquefied natural gas (LNG), etc. It can be composed of:

In particular, helium is mainly used as a refrigerant in ultra-low temperature refrigerators 300, and has the characteristic of not freezing even at an absolute temperature of 0K at 1 atmosphere, and has the lowest boiling point among existing substances at -269°C or lower. have

In addition, helium is the closest gas to an ideal gas, is environmentally friendly, is safe as it is a non-reactive inert gas, and has the characteristics of being non-toxic, non-flammable, and producing no by-products during the cooling process, making it the liquid nitrogen. Liquid helium (LHe) may be used instead of (LN2).

An insulating member may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the storage unit 200 to block heat exchange with the outside.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the auxiliary storage unit 210 of the fire suppression device 10 using liquefied gas according to an embodiment of the present invention installed.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fire suppression device 10 may further include an auxiliary storage unit 210 that is connected to the storage unit 200 and supplies high-pressure gas or liquefied gas.

As a leak or fire of the liquefied gas stored in the storage unit 200 occurs and the high-pressure gas and liquefied gas are released to the outside, the auxiliary storage unit 210 is stored in an amount greater than the amount of liquefied gas initially stored inside the storage unit 200. If there is a small amount, high-pressure gas or liquefied gas can be supplied to the storage unit 200.

The auxiliary storage unit 210 may be installed in a location where high-pressure gas or liquefied gas can be supplied to the storage units 200 of the plurality of fire suppression devices 10 installed in the plurality of storage units 20. For example, the auxiliary storage unit 210 may be installed in the center of the plurality of storage units 20.

Although not shown, the auxiliary storage unit 210 is equipped with a refrigerator, and the refrigerator can liquefy the high-pressure gas in the auxiliary storage unit 210 or maintain the liquefied gas in a liquefied state. That is, the auxiliary storage unit 210 may function as a pre-cooling tank for pre-cooling the liquefied gas.

Meanwhile, the storage unit 200 may include a level gauge (not shown) that monitors the level of the liquefied gas and a pressure sensor (not shown) that monitors the pressure of the storage unit 200.

Here, the level gauge (not shown) can check the level of the liquefied gas stored in the storage unit 200 in a liquefied state, and the pressure sensor (not shown) can check the internal pressure of the storage unit 200.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the refrigerator 300 is coupled to the storage unit 200 and receives power from the power supply unit 100 to liquefy high-pressure gas or maintain the liquefied gas in a liquefied state. You can. In the present application, the refrigerator 300 (including the refrigerator of the auxiliary storage unit 210) may be a one-stage or two-stage GM refrigerator that generates cooling capacity by the GM (Gifford-McMahon) cycle using helium gas as the working fluid. there is.

For example, when the liquefied gas stored inside the storage unit 200 is nitrogen, the refrigerator 300 maintains the temperature inside the storage unit 200 below -196°C, which corresponds to the boiling point of nitrogen, to can be maintained in a liquefied state.

For another example, when liquefied helium is used instead of liquefied nitrogen, the refrigerator 300 maintains the temperature inside the storage unit 200 below -269°C, which corresponds to the boiling point of helium, to maintain the liquefied gas in a liquefied state. You can.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the injection unit 400 is connected to the storage unit 200 and can emit liquefied gas to the outside when a fire is detected.

Since it is preferable that the injection unit 400 discharges the liquefied gas toward a single energy storage device 21 or a plurality of energy storage devices 21, a plurality of holes are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the injection unit 400 to spread the liquefied gas in all directions. It may be formed in a structure in which the liquefied gas hits the reflector and is emitted to the outside, but is not limited to this. For example, like the structure of the sprinkler head, a judge plate is formed in the spray unit 400. You can.

The control unit (not shown) may control the operation of the refrigerator 300 and the spray unit 400.

The operation of the refrigerator 300 can be controlled through a control unit (not shown), or in the event of a fire, the spray unit 400 can be operated to release the liquefied gas to the outside.

The control unit (not shown) detects when the level of the liquefied gas is below a preset level through a level gauge (not shown) or when the pressure of the storage unit 200 exceeds the preset first pressure value through a pressure sensor (not shown). The refrigerator 300 can be operated.

For example, when the liquefied gas in a liquefied state is naturally vaporized, the amount of liquefied gas in the liquefied state decreases and the level of the liquefied gas becomes less than a preset level. At this time, the refrigerator 300 It can work.

In addition, when liquefied gas existing in a liquefied state is naturally vaporized, as the amount of gas existing in a gaseous state increases, the pressure of the storage unit 200 exceeds the preset first pressure value. In this case, The refrigerator 300 may be operated.

The control unit (not shown) may send an alarm to the outside through a pressure sensor (not shown) when the pressure of the storage unit 200 exceeds the preset second pressure value.

For example, due to a failure of the refrigerator 300, the liquefied gas existing in a liquefied state stored in the storage unit 200 decreases, and as the amount of gas existing in a gaseous state increases, the pressure in the storage unit 200 increases. When the preset second pressure value is exceeded, an alarm can be sent to notify the outside of the malfunction of the refrigerator 300.

Additionally, the control unit (not shown) may operate the injection unit 400 to reduce the pressure of the storage unit 200 and discharge the liquefied gas to the outside.

In this way, when the pressure of the storage unit 200 exceeds the preset second pressure value through a pressure sensor (not shown), an alarm is sent to the outside, so the pressure of the storage unit 200 increases and the resulting Safety accidents can be prevented in advance.

As described above, according to the fire suppression device using liquefied gas according to an embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerator 300 is coupled to the storage unit 200 in which the liquefied gas is stored, and the liquefied gas is cooled, When a fire is detected, cryogenic liquefied gas is released through the injection unit 400 to extinguish the fire occurring in the energy storage device 21 (ESS).

In addition, when the energy storage device 21 reaches a preset capacity, the power supply unit 100 supplies the power stored in the energy storage device 21 to the fire suppression device 10 to efficiently use power. In addition, it operates even when power is not supplied through the power supply unit 100 due to a fire occurring in the energy storage device 21, including the self-generating device 110, and the power supply unit 100 is damaged due to the fire. It can be.

In addition, it is connected to the storage unit 200 and further includes an auxiliary storage unit 210 that supplies liquefied gas, and is connected to the storage units 200 of the fire suppression device 10 installed in the plurality of storage units 20. Accordingly, when the amount of liquefied gas initially stored inside the storage unit 200 is less than the amount, high-pressure gas or liquefied gas is supplied through the auxiliary storage unit 210 to effectively extinguish the fire even when a large fire occurs.

In addition, the control unit (not shown) detects that the level of the liquefied gas is lower than the preset level through a level gauge (not shown) or the pressure of the storage unit 200 exceeds the preset first pressure value through a pressure sensor (not shown). In this case, the power consumption required to use the refrigerator 300 can be reduced by operating the refrigerator 300, and the pressure of the storage unit 200 exceeds the preset second pressure value through a pressure sensor (not shown). In this case, as the alarm is transmitted to the outside, the pressure in the storage unit 200 increases, making it possible to prevent safety accidents resulting from this.

The description of the present invention described above is for illustrative purposes, and those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can understand that it can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical idea or essential features of the present invention. There will be. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. For example, each component described as single may be implemented in a distributed manner, and similarly, components described as distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

In addition, the scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims described below rather than the detailed description above, and all changes or modified forms derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention. do.

10: Fire suppression device
20: Storage
21: Energy storage device
100: Power supply unit
110: self-generating device
200: storage unit
210: auxiliary storage unit
300: Freezer
400: injection unit

Claims (8)

In a fire suppression device using liquefied gas installed in a storage room where at least one energy storage system (ESS, Energy Storage System) is stored,
A power supply unit that supplies power required for fire suppression devices;
A storage unit where liquefied gas is stored therein;
A cryogenic refrigerator coupled to the storage unit and receiving power from the power supply unit to liquefy the high-pressure gas or maintain the liquefied gas in a liquefied state;
A spray unit connected to the storage unit and emitting liquefied gas to the outside when a fire is detected; and
It includes a control unit that controls the operation of the refrigerator and the spray unit,
The cryogenic refrigerator is a two-stage GM refrigerator that generates cooling capacity by the GM (Gifford-McMahon) cycle using helium gas as the working fluid,
The liquefied gas is nitrogen,
The two-stage GM refrigerator is a fire suppression device using liquefied gas that maintains the inside of the storage unit at a temperature corresponding to the boiling point of nitrogen.
According to claim 1,
The power supply unit supplies power stored in the energy storage device to the fire suppression device when the energy storage device reaches a preset capacity.
According to claim 1,
A fire suppression device using liquefied gas, wherein the fire suppression device further includes a self-generating device.
According to claim 1,
A fire suppression device using liquefied gas, which further includes an auxiliary storage unit connected to the storage unit and supplying the high-pressure gas or the liquefied gas.
According to claim 4,
A fire suppression device using liquefied gas, wherein the auxiliary storage unit is connected to storage units of a fire suppression device installed in a plurality of storage units.
According to claim 1,
The storage unit,
A level gauge for monitoring the level of the liquefied gas; and
A fire suppression device using liquefied gas, comprising a pressure sensor that monitors the pressure of the storage unit.
According to claim 6,
The control unit,
Fire using liquefied gas, which operates the refrigerator when the level of the liquefied gas is lower than the preset level through the level gauge or when the pressure of the storage unit exceeds the preset first pressure value through the pressure sensor suppressor.
According to claim 6,
The control unit transmits an alarm to the outside through the pressure sensor when the pressure of the storage unit exceeds a preset second pressure value.

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