See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/280039463

Design and Fabrication of an Automatic Sprinkler Fire Fighting System

Conference Paper  in  Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences · March 2015

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-17527-0_5

CITATIONS READS

0 1,298

3 authors, including:

Abdulgani Albagul
College Of Electronics Technology
46 PUBLICATIONS   192 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Performance comparison between PI and MRAC for Coupled-Tank System View project

modeling and control design of continuous stirred tank reactor system View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Abdulgani Albagul on 10 March 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Design and Fabrication of an Automatic
Sprinkler Fire Fighting System

Abdalsalam Ahmed, Abdulsalam Mansor, and Abdulgani Albagul

Faculty of Electronic Technology Baniwald, Tripoli Road, Baniwalid, Libya

{abci7854,abci1987ncir}@gmail.com, albagoul@yahoo.com

Abstract. This paper attempts to integrate microcontrollers into smoke detector

circuitry and other components for safety purpose. This can be achieved by plac-
ing some sensors and devices in the building. In the proposed system, a smoke
detector upon senses smoke activates its alarm, sends a low voltage signal to mi-
crocontrollers. The microcontroller will activate the relays which are connected to
other components to alert residents that one of the smoke detectors has sensed
smoke by means of voice and flashing lights. At the same time, it will send signals
to valves, air suckers and the water pump. The solenoid valve will operate the wa-
ter pump which delivers water to the room through pipes installed inside the build-
ing to attack the fire. Meanwhile, the air sucker will suck the smoke from the
room to prevent suffocation. The proposed design is aiming to have cost efficient
system, compact design, easily expandable, simple to install and replaceable com-
ponents.

Keywords: safety systems, smoke detection, microcontrollers, mechatronics system.

1 Introduction
Fire is a phenomenon which is familiar to everyone, It is used daily to cook our
meals and heat our homes during the cold season, when harnessed, the power and
energy from fire serve us as well. Meanwhile when it is uncontrolled, a fire can
quickly consume and destroy whatever lies in its path. Fires are classified into four
classes; Class A which involves solid material, such as wood, clothes, papers, rub-
bers and plastics. Class B involves inflammable liquids, oil, tars and flammable
gases. Class C involves gases. Class D involves metals. Class K fires involve
combustible cooking media such as oils and grease commonly found in commer-
cial kitchens (Ted Boothroyd et al. 2005). All fire classes produce dangerous
smokes which is a visible suspension of carbon or other particles in the air which
emitted from a burning substance. Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death
in victims of indoor fires. Thus, awareness and consciousness of the importance of
smoke detection system must be planted on people mind. In addition, fires are
more dangerous at night. Therefore, smoke detector must be placed at the major

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 41

M. Chouchane et al. (eds.), Design and Modeling of Mechanical Systems - II,
Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-17527-0_5
42 A. Ahmed, A. Mansor, and A. Albagul

area inclusive every rooms. It is very important issue to take suitable measures and
steps to prevent the fire from spreading and keep it under control until it is extin-
guished completely. There are two ways to fight fire; manually and automatically
by different approaches. A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protec-
tion measure, consisting of a water supply system, providing adequate pressure
and flow rate to a water distribution piping system, onto which fire sprinklers are
connected. Although historically only used in factories and large commercial
buildings, systems for homes and small buildings. Fire sprinkler systems are ex-
tensively used worldwide, with over 40 million sprinkler heads fitted each year. In
buildings completely protected by fire sprinkler systems, over 99% of fires were
controlled by fire sprinklers alone (Puchovsky, M 2003). This paper is devoted to
design and implant an automatic way to extinguishing fire using water for class A

2 Related Work
Many works have been conducted in the area of fire fighting over years. There are
many ways to fight fires ranging from conventional manual methods to more so-
phisticated ones. The cost of sophisticate system is very high but effective. Am-
brose Godfrey created the first successful automated sprinkler system in 1723. He
used gunpowder to release a tank of extinguishing fluid (Ted Boothroyd et al.
2005). In 1812, the first modern recognizable sprinkler system was installed in
the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the United Kingdom. The system which was de-
signed by William Congreve consisted of a cylindrical airtight fed by a (250 mm)
water main which branched to all parts of the theatre. A series of smaller pipes fed
from the distribution pipe were pierced with a series of (13 mm) holes which pour
water in the event of a fire (Gelb, Michael J 1989). From 1852 to 1885, perforated
pipe systems were used in textile mills throughout New England as a means of fire
protection. However, they were not automatic systems; a person had to operate the
system. Inventors first began experimenting with automatic sprinklers around
1860. The first automatic sprinkler system was patented by Philip W. Pratt in
1872. Henry S. Parmalee of New Haven, Connecticut is considered the inventor of
the first automatic sprinkler head. Parmalee improved upon the Pratt patent and
created a better sprinkler system (Bryan 1990). Bryan states that an Automatic
sprinkler system is a system of pipes, tubes, or conduits provided with sprinklers
or nozzles, which is automatically activated and (in some types) deactivated, uti-
lizing the sensing of fire-induced stimuli consisting of light, heat, visible or invisi-
ble combustion products, and pressure generation, to distribute water and
water-base extinguishing agents in the fire area. In 1874, he installed his fire
sprinkler system into the piano factory that he owned. Frederick Grin-
nell improved Parmalee's design and in 1881 patented the automatic sprinkler that
bears his name. He continued to improve the device and in 1890 invented the glass
disc sprinkler, essentially the same as that in use today. Until the 1940s, sprinklers
were installed almost exclusively for the protection of commercial buildings. Over
the years, fire sprinklers have become mandatory safety equipment in some parts
of North America, in certain occupancies, including, but not limited to newly con-
structed hospitals, schools, hotels and other public buildings, subject to the local
Design and Fabrication of an Automatic Sprinkler Fire Fighting System 43

building codes and enforcement. Sprinkler systems are a reliable way to protect
property from fire damage. Since their invention in the late 19th century, they
have served as a method of managing fires until firefighters arrive at the scene
(C.L. Beyler 1977). The earliest sprinkler systems consisted of steel pipe networks
with drilled holes or perforations provided along the length of pipe. The concept
of employing a heat-actuated device dates back to approximately 1860 (Puchovsk
2003). Automatic sprinkler systems are thermosensitive devices designed to react
at predetermined temperatures by automatically releasing a stream of water and
distributing it in specified patterns and quantities over designated areas (Z.G. Liu
and A.K. Kim 2000).

3 Types of Sprinkler Systems

Sprinkler systems are a reliable way to protect property from fire damage. Since
their invention in the late 19th century, they have served as a method of managing
fires until firefighters arrive at the scene. The earliest sprinkler systems consisted
of steel pipe networks with drilled holes or perforations provided along the length
of pipe. Today, there are different types of sprinkler styles which serve many
different purposes. The four most common styles of sprinkler systems are a stan-
dard spray upright, standard spray pendent, sidewall sprinkler, and the extended
coverage sprinkler.

3.1 Wet Pipe System

It consists of some pipes containing water under pressure. It is used in normal am-
bient conditions and the sprinkler pipes are always filled with water. The sprin-
klers on this system are heat sensitive and will only activate after reaching a des-
ignated temperature. With this system, each individual sprinkler can react to heat
from a fire, operating to distribute water over the source of that heat (Fleming
2003). The heat from the fire will break a glass bulb, fusible link, or chemical pel-
let that is under pressure, releasing a spring which allows water to dispense out of
the sprinkler (Wieder and Smith 1998). In 2007, 89% of reported fires involved
only one or two sprinklers when wet pipe sprinklers operated (Hall 2010).

3.2 Dry Pipe System

It uses heat sensitive sprinklers. It is commonly found in colder environments
where there is the possibility of the wet pipe system freezing. Rather than being
filled with water like the wet pipe system, this system is filled with air and is un-
der pressure. When the heat sensitive sprinkler activates, the air is released and
water flows to the open sprinkler where it is dispersed. Similar to the wet pipe sys-
tem, only the sprinkler that reaches the designated temperature will discharge
water. The water is held back in piping at a climate controlled environment to pre-
vent freezing. According to (Gagnon 1997), this should take no longer than sixty
44 A. Ahmed, A. Mansor, and A. Albagul

seconds, in accordance with NFPA 13. In 2007 when dry pipe sprinklers operated,
74% reported fires involved only one or two sprinklers (Hall 2010).

3.3 Preaction System

It is a type of dry system that employs a deluge-type valve, fire detection devices,
and closed sprinklers. This system only discharges water into the piping in re-
sponse to a signal from the detection system. Once the detection system signals
the preaction system, water will be discharged into the piping system like a wet
pipe sprinkler system. The system will not disperse water onto the fire until each
sprinkler head is activated. Preaction systems are typically found in spaces con-
taining computer or communications equipment, museums, and other facilities
where inadvertent water leakage from system piping is of major concern and it is
critical that there are not accidental discharges of water in these areas (Puchovsky
2003).

3.4 Deluge System

It is also like the dry pipe sprinkler system, but is equipped with open sprinklers
and a deluge valve. This has all open sprinklers and allows the flow of water to be
evenly spread throughout all of the sprinklers. This is activated by an alarm sys-
tem that triggers the system and disperses the water. A concern of businesses
looking into installing sprinkler systems is the fear that they will discharge acci-
dentally, causing unnecessary water damage. However, sprinkler systems are
designed in such a way that this accidental discharge rarely occurs. Sprinkler
systems that accidentally discharge have typically been exposed to extreme heat or
have been damaged (Tremblay and McCarthy 2002).

3.5 Foam Water System

It is a special application system, discharging a mixture of water and low expan-
sion foam concentrate, resulting in a foam spray from the sprinkler. These systems
are usually used with special hazards occupancies associated with high challenge
fires, such as flammable liquids, and airport hangars. Operation is as described
above, depending on the system type into which the foam is injected.

3.6 Water Spray System

It is operationally identical to a deluge system, but the piping and discharge nozzle
spray patterns are designed to protect a uniquely configured hazard, usually being
three-dimensional components or equipment (i.e., as opposed to a deluge system,
which is designed to cover the horizontal floor area of a room). The nozzles used
may not be listed fire sprinklers, and are usually selected for a specific spray pat-
tern to conform to the three-dimensional nature of the hazard (e.g., typical spray
Design and Fabrication of an Automatic Sprinkler Fire Fighting System 45

patterns being oval, fan, full circle, narrow jet). Examples of hazards protected by
water spray systems are electrical transformers containing oil for cooling or turbo-
generator bearings. Water spray systems can also be used externally on the surfac-
es of tanks containing flammable liquids or gases (such as hydrogen). Here the
water spray is intended to cool the tank and its contents to prevent tank r
upture/explosion (BLEVE) and fire spread.

3.7 Water Spray System

It is used for special applications in which it is decided that creating a heat absor-
bent vapor is the primary objective. This type of system is typically used where
water damage may be a concern, or where water supplies are limited. Water mist
is defined as a water spray with a droplet size of less than 1000 microns at the
minimum operation pressure of the discharge nozzle. The droplet size can be con-
trolled by the adjusting discharge pressure through a nozzle of a fixed orifice size.
By creating a mist, and equal volume of water will create a larger total surface
area exposed to the fire. The larger total surface area better facilitates the transfer
of heat, thus allowing more water droplets to turn to steam more quickly. A water
mist, which absorbs more heat than water per unit time, will more effectively cool
the room, thus reducing the temperature of the flame. Water mist systems can op-
erate with the same functionality as deluge, wet pipe, dry pipe, or pre-action
systems. The difference is that a water mist system uses a compressed gas as an
atomizing medium, which is pumped through the sprinkler pipe.

4 Sprinkler System Design and Components

A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection measure, consisting of a water
supply system, providing adequate pressure and flow rate to a water distribution
piping system, onto which fire sprinklers are connected. In this paper the system is
designed for a small prototype for pilot scale building. The system consists of
hardware and software systems.

4.1 Hardware Design and Construction

The hardware system consists of a small home with three rooms where smoke and
heat sensors, fans and sprinkler nozzle are installed in each room as shown in
figure 1. The sensors and other components are connected to the microcontroller
through some circuitry as shown in figure 2.
46 A. Ahmed, A. Mansor, and A. Albagul

Fig. 1 The prototype of a small home

Fig. 2 The circuit diagram for the system

The overall system consists of a PIC microcontroller, LM35 series are precision
integrated circuit temperature sensors, relays, light-emitting diodes, booster pump,
solenoid valve, smoke detectors, air fans, push buttons, sprinkler nozzles and an
emergency key.
Design and Fabrication of an Automatic Sprinkler Fire Fighting System 47

4.2 The Operation Procedures

The system starts by reading the status of heat and smoke sensors. If anyone the
smoke detectors is triggered or heat sensors provided a reading above 60˚ C, then
the microcontrollers will send signals to turn on room lamp, triggers the alarm,
flashing light and on the air fans to suck smokes outside the building. The system
then will take some time delay for few seconds before it triggers the pump and so-
lenoid valve to pump the water to fight the fire through the sprinkler nozzle. Once
the smoking alarm goes off and temperature goes dawn, the system will take delay
fore few seconds before it switches off the water pump and the alarm. Figure 3
shows the flowchart of the proposed technique.

Fig. 3 The flowchart of the proposed technique

48 A. Ahmed, A. Mansor, and A. Albagul

5 Conclusion

The automatic window cleaning robot has been successfully designed and fabri-
cated. The system works automatically and manually. However, if the sensor
didn't work or was late in reaction, the manual emergency switch which is usually
installed inside the building and is used to operate the fire system manually. The
system consists of a number of devices, which are interconnected to perform the
required task. The components used in this work are simple and cheap. The soft-
ware programming is simple and can be modified and implemented easily. The
automatic sprinkler system is an effective means to control fires in enclosed areas.
In general the system works adequately as anticipated in the design process. The
idea of mechatronics engineering can be seen where some of engineering display
were encompassed in the system

References
Boothroyd, T., Ruane, T., Murnane, L.: Fire Detection and Suppression Systems, 3rd edn.
Paperback (2005)
Puchovsky, M.: Automatic sprinklers. In: Cote, A. (ed.) Fire Protection Handbook, 19th
edn., vol. 2, Section 10, pp. 185–212. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy
(2003)
Mawhinney, J.R., Solomon, R.: Water mist fire suppression systems. In: Fire Protection
Handbook. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy (1997)
Gelb, M.J.: How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. Dell Publishing, New York (1998)
Bryan, J.: Automatic sprinkler and standpipe systems, 2nd edn. National Fire Protection
Association, Quincy (1990)
Beyler, C.L.: The Interaction of Fire and Sprinklers, NBS GCR 77-105. National Bureau of
Standards, Washington, DC (1977)
Liu, Z.G., Kim, A.K.: A review of water mist fire suppression systems - Fundamental stu-
dies. Journal of Fire Protection Engineering 10(3), 32–50 (2000)
Hall Jr., J.R.: U.S. Experience with sprinklers and other automatic fire extinguishing
equipment. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy (2010)
Chow, W.K.: On the Evaporation Effect of a Sprinkler Water Spray. Fire Tech., pp. 364–
373 (1989)
Evans, D.D.: Sprinkler Fire Suppression Algorithm for HAZARD, NISTIR 5254. National
Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg (1993)
Fleming, R.: Principles of automatic sprinkler system performance. In: Cote, A. (ed.) Fire
Protection Handbook, 19th edn., vol. 2, Section 10, pp. 159–170. National Fire Protec-
tion Association, Quincy (2003)
Bukowski, R.: Household fire warning equipment. In: Cote, A. (ed.) Fire Protection Hand-
book, 19th edn., vol. 2, Section 9, pp. 79–88. National Fire Protection Association,
Quincy (2003)
Gagnon, R.: Design of water-based fire protection systems. Delmar Publishers, Boston
(1997)
Roberts, J.: Automatic fire detectors. In: Cote, A. (ed.) Fire Protection Handbook, 19th
edn., vol. 2, Section 9, pp. 17–34. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy (2003)
 Design and Fabrication of an Automatic Sprinkler Fire Fighting System 49

Hall Jr., J.R.: An analysis of automatic sprinkler system reliability using current data. Na-
tional Fire Protection Association, Quincy (2006)
Grant, G., Brenton, J., Drysdale, D.: Fire Supression by Water Sprays. Progress in Energy
and Combustion Science (2000)
Liu, Z., Kim, A.K.: A Review of water mist fire suppression systems fundamental studies.
Journal of fire Protection Engineering 10(3), 32–50 (2000)
Wigus, R.: Engineering relations for water mist fire suppression systems. In: Proceedings of
Halon Options Technical Working Conference, Albuquerque, NM, pp. 397–409 (1995)
Verle, M.: PIC Microcontrollers, 1st edn. mikroElektronika (2008)
Bates, M.: PIC Microcontrollers: An Introduction to Microelectronics, 3rd edn. Newnes
(2011)
Boothroyd, T., Ruane, T., Murnane, L.: Fire Detection and Suppression Systems, 3rd edn.
Paperback (2005)

View publication stats