Career Episode 3

Microcontroller Based Fire Detection and Water Sprinkler System

1.1 Introduction

 Project Name: Microcontroller based fire detection and water sprinkler system.
 Chronology:
 Organization Name:
 Location:
 Position:
 Project Supervisor:
1.2 Background
1.2.1
Fire accident is a common activity that occurs in factories, buildings, markets, etc. and it is
causes destruction of property of life annually. Fire incident is being more destructive as there
is no proper fire detection and fire protection system in the places of risk. This problem can be
solved by designing a system that is capable of detecting the fire with higher precision and a
proper extinguisher system to stop the spread of fire. Also, GSM module can be added in this
type of system to inform the user about the fire instantly if not present in the exact location of
the fire. The extinguisher system feasible and cost-effective for most of the cases is water. So,
by the use of pipes and controller system water can be sprinkled to the fire instantly to reduce
the destruction caused by fire.
In this project a fire extinguisher system was built by the combination of water sprinkler, fan,
siren to control the fire caused in different places. Different sensors were deployed in the fire
risk environment to detect the fire and its output was provided to the microcontroller. All the
data processing task was performed in the microcontroller and control information was
displayed in the LCD display. Similarly, a extinguisher system was built with the combination of
siren, water sprinkler, strobe, fan and heater. For the purpose of sending data and alerting the
remote users and a GSM module was used to send the SMS. All the systems were simulated in
the Proteus software and possible output was obtained. After obtaining the desired output a
hardware model was realized combining all the components. By doing so, a reliable and
efficient fire detection and water sprinkler system was built.
The main objective of this project was to design and simulate a microcontroller-based fire
detection and water sprinkler system. Other aims of the project were:

 To ensure the safety and security of lives and property caused by the fire in different
places.
 To alert the users by providing the information about fire in the forms of SMS and sound
alert.
1.2.2 Duties

 To research and understand about the different fire detection and control mechanism.
 To build block diagram and to select appropriate components.
 To prepare a flow chat for the step-wise implementation the system.
 To simulate the system in Proteus software by connecting all the selected components.
 To design and realize the hardware system according to the software simulation and to
perform the necessary tests.
1.3.1 PEA
1.3.1
First, I started by studying the various mechanism used in detecting and controlling the fire. I
searched about the various types of sensors that are used in detecting the fire. Then I learned
about the types of fire extinguisher systems and the method of preparing foam by the
combination of water, air and other agent in extinguishing fire very rapidly. Furthermore, I
studied in different research papers, web articles and books about the valve-based water
sprinkler system. I also learned about the relay-based control mechanism for turning on
different devices on detecting fire. Furthermore, I learned about the details of LCD display
system used in displaying the message to the user. I also studied about the alarm system and its
configuration with the microcontroller. Then I learned about configuring the microcontroller in
detecting the input events and providing the output according to the detected events. Then I
learned to configure the GSM module to the microcontroller. On doing so, I also learned about
the GSM based communication mechanism.
1.3.2
After conducting the literature survey, I began to prepare block diagram of the system. I built
the block diagram centralizing in the microcontroller. In the microcontroller, I used a power
supply block to power up the microcontroller. Similarly, I used heat sensor, flame sensor and
smoke sensor block to provide input to the microcontroller. On the output side I used LCD
display block to display message to the user. Similarly, I used relay block to control the state of
various fire controller system. Finally, I used GSM module block to alert the user far from the
spot. After building block diagram, I began selecting the components for the system. First I
selected PIC16F877A microcontroller 368KB RAM, 8K program memory and 0-20Hz
microcontroller.
1.3.3.
1.3.4
1.3.5
1.3.6 Problems
On the analysis phase of the system, I encountered two problems. They are explained below:

 The first problem was in the circuit of the system, In the circuit after I pushed the push
button appropriate PWM waves were not generated and the speed of motor remained
constant throughout. This created a problem of not getting the desired rotation
eventually leading to the failure of the overall system. After encountering this problem, I
began to search about the possible solutions consulting various research papers, web
 articles and books. After various literature study I found that push button required
200mA current to work properly and that was above the limit of microcontroller, I also
learned that use of separate voltage source is able to solve the problem. So, I took the
5V constant voltage supply and supplied it to the push button. After that I conducted
the measurement survey and got the enough current level. Finally, I checked the system
again and was able to generate the required PWM pulses after pushing the button.
 Similarly, next problem I encountered was in the Simulink block of the simulation model.
The desired response I had for the speed waveform was an inverted exponential that
must saturate at 1000rpm. But on simulating the result, a random linear signal was
obtained at almost every time period. On encountering the problem, I consulted with
my supervisors about the possible solution. After the various rounds of consultation
with the supervisor I found that firefly block was not able to compare the input speed
waveform and replace with the best matched speed according to the algorithm. My
supervisor also advised me to set the line data and bus data parameter in the firefly
control block for matching the speed. According to the suggestions provided by my
supervisor I set line data and bus data parameters to the firefly control block and
checked the result again. After the retested of the system, I was able to generate the
inverted exponential signal and the problem was solved.
1.3.7 Creative Work
In the process of doing this project I was able to apply store and forward logic in programming
of the microcontroller, it helped to reduce the loops involved in programming and helped to
yield results faster. Similarly, I was able to integrate the several Simulink blocks to one
subsystem which helped to reduce the complexity of the model.
1.3.8 Team Management
I divided the overall work based on the specialization and separated it with the members with
specific specialization. I conducted progress meetings with the teammates in order to avoid
repetition of the work. I also consulted with the supervisors in case of any hardship faced while
doing the project. I coordinated with the faculty department in order to gather all the available
resources required for doing the project. I also prepared the Gantt chart and ensured all the
work is carried out by the team according to the prepared plan.
I used IEEE standard in building the design of the system and I followed IC 61408 standard to
build the design in the Simulink software.
1.4. Summary
From the design and simulation of all the system, a model for controlling the speed of induction
motor was built following a firefly algorithm. First, the literature review was performed in order
to thoroughly understand the overall induction motor system. Then according to the literature
review flow chat was created to implement firefly algorithm and block diagram was built to
implement the whole system. In accordance to the flow chart and block diagram components
were selected for the circuit simulation and necessary blocks were selected for the Simulink
simulation. Then the algorithm and block diagram were implemented to develop the overall
circuit and Simulink system. Necessary subsystem was built to reduce the complexity and the
tests were performed to obtain the different graphs for different cases. This project was able to
promote the automation of the industry by building the microcontroller-based speed control
mechanism for an industry. Also, this project was able to increase the efficiency and
performance of the industry by controlling the speed of the motor as per the requirement of
industry.