Precisely to give a safe and quality response to the needs of particular sites, a new generation of beam detectors has been developed and is increasingly being used in these areas.
These models of beam detectors have the characteristic of being able to detect two phenomena: the presence of smoke in the initial phase of a fire or the overheating of the environment to be protected due to the presence of a start of fire with the development of heat even in the absence of visible smoke.
This technology guarantees prompt detection even when in the environment to be protected there are materials of different types that may behave in a totally different way from each other in the initial phase of a fire.
In fact, the greatest difficulty for normal operation in these places is to ensure constant disclosure in different conditions and to allow maintenance intervals that do not lead to excessive downtime with consequent costs for end users or the interruption of the fire-protection coverage of the system itself. In the meantime, the ‘wall-to-wall’ installation allows for simple maintenance without interference in the plant during this operation.
A dedicated remote control panel enables all programming, check and test operations to be carried out in a safe area.
If there are problems due to the presence of vapours or acid substances, mostly in the storage systems of special and/or toxic materials, it is possible to enclose the detectors in appropriate protective enclosures that preserve their integrity without causing a decrease in the useful optical range or the settable sensitivity, both for smoke and fire.
These beam detectors are also able to signal a decrease in IR power due to the deposit of dirt or dust, sending a dedicated maintenance request, which allows accurate management of maintenance. In this phase, the detector remains active anyway and the signalling of any alarm always has priority over that of the maintenance request. The maintenance intervals are greater than for any other detection system, guaranteeing a saving on plant management costs.
Furthermore these new lines of beam detectors are equipped with special tools and accessories to satisfy the different needs from plant to plant.
All these models of beam detector are certified by EN standard, ATEX classification, SIL2 and 3 and with protection rate IP66.
For more information, go to www.setronicverona.com
About the Author
Paolo Borloni joined Setronic in 2003 after 20 years’ experience in fire and security. He is responsible for research and development and the certification of detectors, and assists the project engineer in the choice and correct installation of the beam detectors. He is also a member of Standard Italian organization and CEN TC72.
