NO345922B1

NO345922B1 - High energy fire fighting system

Info

Publication number: NO345922B1
Application number: NO20200516A
Authority: NO
Inventors: Jens Olav Myklebust
Original assignee: Powerfog As
Priority date: 2020-04-30
Filing date: 2020-04-30
Publication date: 2021-10-25
Also published as: NO20200516A1

Description

HIGH ENERGY FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM

Technical Field

The invention relates to a fire-fighting arrangement and particularly a firefighting arrangement for arrangement arranged on a vehicle adapted to supply a small amount of water at a high pressure through a water feeding arrangement in order to put out or fire.

Background Art and Objective of the invention

EP1846110 relates to a fire-fighting system. The invention is particularly related to a fire-fighting system that is adapted to be arranged on a fire fighting vehicle and provides water at a pressure to put out the fire. The fire-fighting system further comprises a handheld device to manually put out the fire. The pressure is disclosed to be around 100 bar to deliver water through the handheld device.

US5211245 relates to an aerial lift for use with a vehicle for positioning the nozzle with respect to a fire.

US2017216644 relates to a fire control system with and unmanned aerial vehicle to be positioned in front of a burning structure.

US2010218960 relates to a fire-fighting system using pressurized air and dust to reduce the temperature of a fire.

The publications fail to disclose a fire-fighting system that is both effective, have a simpler and that is safe in operation and do not require to use a specially designed nozzles to produce a water fog.

An object of the present invention is to provide an energy effective firefighting system. It further provides fire-fighting system that is safe and simple in use, and that also provides a minimum of energy loss.

Other and further objects, features and advantages will appear from the following description of preferred embodiments of invention.

Summary of invention

The invention relates to a fire-fighting system comprising a water feeder arrangement and a supply arrangement for delivery of high-pressure water to the water feeder arrangement. The invention being distinctive in that

-said water feeder arrangement comprises a fire hose, a pipe connection and a nozzle, said pipe connection being arranged between the hose and the nozzle, said water feeder arrangement further comprises a heat shield, said nozzle comprises straight holes without any obstructions to allow the water to flow freely from the water feeder arrangement to the fire,

- said water feeder arrangement comprises a rack for receiving the fire hose, -said supply arrangement is configured to supply water to the water feeder arrangement at a pressure of at least 400 bar and with an amount of at least 75 l/min, in order to produce a storm of waterfog by high energy turbulence of small droplets and large droplets of water with a minimum of energy loss.

The combined high pressure and flow creates a perfect water fog for firefighting without the need of a complex fog nozzle. A nozzle with straight holes will, due to the high pressure create a perfect fog with a minimum of energy loss, and bring the fog forward creating a very efficient high energy turbulence of small and larger water droplets.

A perfect water fog for firefighting is defined as a combination of very small droplets to be evaporated and expand by 1700 times into water steam, and larger droplets to apply moisture to the burning surface. The water steam will choke the flames, and the moisture will cool and prevent further burning.

Preferable embodiments are set out in the accompanying dependent claims.

Preferably, the supply arrangement is configured to supply water to the water feeder arrangement at a pressure of approximately 1000 bar.

Preferably, the supply arrangement is configured to supply water at an amount of 150 L/min or more through the water feeder arrangement. More preferably the supply arrangement is configured to supply water at an amount of 200 L/min or more through the water feeder arrangement. The amount of water of 150 L/min or 200 L/min could both be combined with the pressure of 1000 bar.

Preferably, the mobile device having a rotary table adapted to rotate the water feed arrangement.

Preferably, said hanger having support legs adapted to be lowered to the grounds in order to prevent the hanger from tilting.

Preferably, the actuator being a hydraulic piston arrangement or a torque actuator arrangement to move the arms in the first embodiment

Preferably, the actuator being a rack and pinion arrangement or hydraulic cylinders to move the telescopic parts in the second embodiment.

Brief description of drawings

The invention will now be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a fire-fighting system according to a first embodiment of the invention,

Figure 2 shows a fire-fighting system according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

Figure 1 is illustrating a fire-fighting system 10 according to a first embodiment of the invention. The system 10 comprises a water feeder arrangement 1 and a supply arrangement 2 for supply of water to the water feeder arrangement 1. The water feeder arrangement 1 comprises a fire hose 3 and a nozzle 4 coupled to the fire hose 3. The fire hose 3 may be a thin tube, similar to a garden hose. The outer diameter of the fire hose 3 may preferably be between 20-30 mm. Due to the relatively low water flow and high pressure it is not needed a larger hose. This makes the system easier in operation as a thin hose will be far easier to handle than conventional fire hose.

However, other diameters above or below the mentioned range is possible.

The nozzle 4 may be connected to a pipe connection or nozzle tube 11 that is arranged between the nozzle 4 and the fire hose 3. The nozzle 4 may also be arranged directly a free end 3a of the fire hose 3. The nozzle 4 is to be arranged near the fire and is adapted to supply water to put out the fire in for instance a building 31. The water creates a fog 5 of water when it leaves the nozzle 4.

The nozzle 4 Is a simple or plain nozzle. The nozzle 4 may for instance constitute straight holes without any obstructions arranged in the nozzle 4 to allow the water to flow freely from the water feeder arrangement 2 to the fire. More specifically the water flows from the fire hose 3 of the water feeder arrangement 2 through the nozzle 4.

This provides an effective firefighting as the fog 5 creates a high energy turbulent storm of water fog 5 surrounding the fire to the put out with a maximum energy utilization. The water fog 5 produced by this is a combination of very small droplet and larger droplet of water to create an optimal condition for the fire fighting. This is also described further in general above under the summary.

The opposite free end 3b of the fire hose 3 is coupled to the supply arrangement 2.

The feeder arrangement 1 further comprises a rack 6 where the fire hose 3 is supported. The rack 6 may be designed in different way, with the rack 6 as illustrated in the embodiment as one preferred alternative.

The rack 6 is divided into a plurality of arms 7. The arms 7 being hingedly attached to each other forming an elongated, upwardly extended rack 6. A hinged connection 9 is connecting two arms 7 together at respective free ends 7a, 7b of two interconnected arms 7.

The hingedly attached arms 7 provides a flexibility so that the arms 8 can be moved in the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction. The rack 6 shown in the embodiment have four interconnected arms 7. However, this is only for illustrating purposes. The number of arms used in the rack 6 may be less than 4 or more than 4 depending on the use and required height of the device to be operated by the firefighting system 10. The rack 6 further comprises one or more actuators 8.

The arms 7 may independently or dependently be operated by a control panel. The control panel may be a radio control panel, a hydraulic control panel, or an electric control panel which is per se known (not shown).

The figure 1 shows actuators 8 in the form of a piston arrangement 8 extending between two interconnected arms 7. The piston arrangement 8 is connected to the arms 7 some distance from the hinged connection. The arms 7 are thus able to move with respect to each other both vertically and/or horizontally to position the nozzle 4 in an optimal position for firefighting. The actuator may for instance be a hydraulic piston arrangement or a torque actuator arrangement etc.

The pipe connection 11 with the nozzle 4 is arranged at the top of the rack 6 and may be hingedly connected to the uppermost arm 7. There may also be arranged an actuator 8 between the uppermost arm 7 and the pipe connection 11 to position the nozzle towards the fire when the fire fighting system 10 is in use.

There is also arranged a heating shield 12 to protect the system 10 against the heat and/or explosion when in use.

The rack 6 is at the lower end hingedly attached to a fire fighting vehicle 50 or a separately arranged hanger (not shown) of the fire-fighting vehicle 50. The rack 6 may be further attached to a rotatory table 13 on the vehicle 50 or hanger adapted to rotate the feeder arrangement 1 in the horizontal direction.

The supply arrangement 2 comprises a pump 15 and an engine 16 for operating the pump 15. The engine may for instance be a diesel engine. The supply arrangement 2 may also comprise a water tank 17 for storing of water to be fed to the water feeder arrangement 1. There may also be a fitting in the tank 17 for attachment of a water tube for continuous supply of water to the tank 17. The supply arrangement 2 must however be designed to be able to feed water to the water feeder arrangement 1 at a pressure above 400 bar. The amount of water supplied must also be above 75 l/min.

Preferably the supply arrangement is designed to supply water at a pressure of approximately 1000 bar. The amount of water supplied is also preferably 150 l/min or 200 l/min. When the pressure that of the water is so high, the water that is supplied through the nozzle 4 will create a fog of water. This results in a very energy-effective firefighting system to put out the fire as discussed above.

However, with this high pressure, there is also a requirement to have a rack 6 to support the fire hose 3 with nozzle 4 for safety measures.

The first embodiment is particularly effective to be used in burning buildings 31 or similar. The fire fighting vehicle 40 may than be positioned near the burning building 31. The water feeder arrangement 1 is adapted to be moved towards the fire 30 by moving the arms 7 towards a maximum length or optimal length for firefighting. The fire fighting vehicle 40 may thus be positioned a distance from the fire. When the operation is finished, the arms 7 may be retracted to obtain a minimum length of the rack 6. It is then easier to facilitate the movement of the fire fighting vehicle 40 away from the building 31.

Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the fire-fighting system according to the invention. For the simplicity, same features in the first and second embodiment have the same reference number. The description of the first embodiment related to these features are thus also applicable for the second embodiment.

In this second embodiment there are a water feeder arrangement 51 with a similar fire hose 3, nozzle 4 and pipe connection 11 as disclosed in the first embodiment. The water feeder arrangement 51 further comprises a rack 55. The rack 55 further comprises parts 54 that are telescopically connected. The parts 54 thus forms a rack 55 that is configured to be extracted towards an outer end position and retracted towards an inner end position.

The fire hose 3 may in this embodiment be arranged on a reel 56. This makes it easier to extend and retract the length required of the fire hose 3 in all positions of the rack 55.

The pipe connection 11 may be hingedly attached to the free end of the rack 55 as disclosed in the figure. This is similar as the first embodiment. The nozzle 4 may be connected to the pipe connection 11 or directly at the end of the fire hose 3 as described in the first embodiment. The pipe connection 11 may be hingedly moved by an actuator (not shown). The telescopic parts 54 may be independently or dependently operated by a control panel. The control panel may be a radio control panel, a hydraulic control panel, or an electric -control panel which is per se known (not shown).

The telescopic parts 54 may for instance be moved to an extended or a retracted position by an actuator, such as a rack and pinion arrangement or hydraulic cylinder (s). (not shown)

In addition, the water feeder arrangement 12 may comprise a heat shield 12 to protect the system 50 from the fire.

The firefighting system 50 further comprises the same supply arrangement 2 as described in relation to embodiment 10. The supply arrangement 2 with components and requirements as described above is thus also incorporated in this embodiment.

The second embodiment is particularly effective to be used in a tunnel 72 when for instance a vehicle 71 is burning. The water feeder arrangement 51 is adapted to move towards the fire 30 in substantially the horizontal direction by the moving the telescopic parts 54 away from each to obtain a maximum length of the water feeder arrangement 51. The fire fighting vehicle 53 may thus be operated distance from the fire 30. When the operation is finished, the telescopic parts 54 may be retracted to obtain a minimum length of the rack 55. It is then easier to move of the fire fighting vehicle 53 out of the tunnel 72 or to a new location to be operated.

The present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment and some drawings for the sake of understanding only and it should be clear to persons skilled in the art that the present invention includes all legitimate modifications within the ambit of what has been described hereinbefore and claimed in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A fire-fighting system comprising a water feeder arrangement (1, 51) and a supply arrangement (2) for delivery of high pressure water to the water feeder arrangement (1, 51), characterised in that -said water feeder arrangement (1, 51) comprises a fire hose (3), a pipe connection (11) and a nozzle (4), said pipe connection (11) being arranged between the hose (3) and the nozzle (4), said water feeder arrangement further comprises a heat shield (12), said nozzle (4) comprises straight holes without any obstructions to allow the water to flow freely from the water feeder arrangement (2) to the fire, -said water feeder arrangement (1, 51) comprises a rack (6, 55) for receiving the fire hose (3),

-said supply arrangement (2) is configured to supply water to the water feeder arrangement (1, 51) at a pressure of at least 400 bar and with an amount of at least 75 l/min, in order to produce a storm of waterfog by high energy turbulence of small droplets and large droplets of water with a minimum of energy loss.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle (4) comprises straight holes adapted to allow water to freely flow through the nozzle (4).

3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rack (6) comprises a plurality of arms (7), said arms (7) being hingedly attached to each other forming an elongated rack (6), said rack (6) is adapted to be operated by a control panel.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of arms (7) respectively being interconnected by an actuator (8) adapted to move the arms (7) in the vertical direction and/or horizontal direction.

5. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rack (55) comprises a plurality of telescopic parts (54) adapted to extend or retract the rack (55) in a substantially horizontal direction.

6. The system according to any of the claims 1-5, wherein the heating shield (12) arranged at the end free end of the water feeder arrangement (1, 51) for heat and explosion protection of the system (10, 50).

7. The system according to any one of the claims 1-6, wherein the supply arrangement (2) comprises a pump (15), an engine (16) for operating the pump (15) and a water tank (17) for storing of water to be feed to the water feeder arrangement (1, 51).

8. The system according to any one of the claims 1-7, wherein the supply arrangement (2) is arranged one a mobile device (40, 53), such as a fire-fighting vehicle (40, 53).

9. The system according to any one of the claims 1-8, wherein the water feeder arrangement (2, 51) is attached to the mobile device (40, 53) or in operational connection to the mobile device (40, 53) through a separate hanger (not shown).

10. A method for quenching a fire using a fire-fighting system according to any one of the claim 1-9, wherein said method comprising the method of

-pointing the nozzle (4) of the water feeder arrangement (1, 51) towards the fire to be put out while

delivering water by at a pressure above 400 bar through the nozzle (4) and with an amount of at least 75 l/min.