Modeling and Control of Testing Machine for Fire Sprinkler K - Factor Evaluation

During the period of demographic transition, when the demand for accommodation increases, the role of the fire protection system becomes more important than ever. Among these, the most popular fire protection component is the fire sprinkler. To ensure the safety requirements, this paper introduces the evaluation <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$K$</tex> -factor machine (EKFM) to test fire sprinklers according to the ISO 6182–1: 2004 standard. Overall, the EKFM comprises a water pump whose speed is adjusted by a variable frequency drive (VFD) to control pipeline flow and sensor system, including flow and pressure sensor to provide feedback on the value measure. Additionally, according to the ISO 6182–1: 2004 standard, the operation of the EKFM needs to create an initial pressure of 0.5 bar in the pipeline, increase by 1 bar per pressure set point until reaching 6. 5 bar, and then decrease back to 0.5 bar. Based on the properties of EKFM, the paper proposes model identification of the EKFM and designs the P controller to ensure the steady-state error is within 5 % of the setpoint for each pressure step. Specifically, the EKFM is modeled identification using a data-driven approach, comprising group one data for identification and another for validation. Besides, simulation scenarios are conducted following the ISO 6182–1: 2004 standard test procedure to find the suitable value for proportional (P) control and compare the simulation result with controller evaluation criteria. Furthermore, experimental data indicate that the EKFM can maintain an error of within 5 % error for pressures less than 3 bar and 2 % for pressures greater than 3 bar. As a result, the EKFM can evaluate the quality of the fire sprinkler before it is applied in the market.