Predicting the Fire Source Location by Using the Pipe Hole Network in Aspirating Smoke Detection System

Abstract

The aspirating smoke detector (ASD) is one of the most critical pieces of equipment for detecting smoke in a protected area when a fire occurs. It has more advantages than a conventional smoke detector because it can be used in extreme conditions, such as cold storage facilities or hot aisle containment areas. ASD uses a fan to draw air from the protected area into the pipe network system via pipe holes. The sucked air is transported into the sensing chamber to detect smoke. If the obscuration in the sensing chamber is greater than the setpoint, the ASD will sound an alarm so that people realize there is a fire. For this reason, investigating the effect of the pipe hole network on obscuration in the ASD is critical. In this study, a Pipe Hole Network Program was developed to consider the pipe flow parameter. A numerical study based on the program and an experimental study was performed. The results showed that the numerical results had the same trend as the experimental study. The further the location of the fire source was, the lower the obscuration was. In addition, the correlation between the obscuration parameter and the fire source distance was also derived. It could be used to predict the fire source location in the aspirating smoke detection system. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.