International Conference of Electrical, Automation and Mechanical Engineering (EAME 2015)

The Pressure Loss Calculation Method and

Application of Portable Fire Extinguishing Equipment
for Power System
J.Z. Lu, T.J. Zhou, B. Li, C.P.Wu, Y. Liu
Power transmission and distribution equipment anti-icing & reducing disaster technology key lab of state grid in China
China

Abstract — Wildfire nearby transmission has posed a serious Water-series extinguisheris piped tohigh pressure water
threat on power system. Research on portable fire extinguishing mist nozzleby the high pressure piston pumpof portable fire
equipment hasimportantsignificance to massive wildfire extinguishing equipmentfor power system(referred to in this
emergency handling. Structure of the water transfer system of article portable fire extinguishing equipment).Security of
the portable fire extinguishing equipmentis analysed. Pressure firefighting crews will be threatenedand anti-fire efficiencyis
lossforms of the equipment are elaborated. Basing onactual weakif the location of fires may beyond the range
instance of the water transfer system, a calculation method of oftransportation distance and head. So, transportation distance
pressure loss for long-distance and high-lift transmission is and head are the important parameters of portable fire
proposed.With the result of the test and CFD simulation, the extinguishing equipment.The pressure loss of water-series
efficiency and the practicability of the method is verified. A extinguisher in the pipelinesaffectedthose two
conclusionthat transportation distance reaches close to 3000
parametersmarkedly. A study on the calculation methods of
meterswhilehead reaches 500 meters is drawn. Finally,the
application of the portable fire extinguishing equipment in fire
pressure loss is significant in improving the science and
prevention of power transmission line results show thatmassive correctness of firefighting workeffectively.
wildfires can be extinguished quickly.By using the equipment,
II. PRESSURE LOSS FORMS OF PORTABLE FIRE
electric power company’s ability of resisting wildfires has gained
EXTINGUISHING EQUIPMENT
remarkable improvement.
The water conveyance system of portable fire
Keywords-wildfire;portable fire extinguishing equipment; extinguishing equipmentincludeshigh pressure piston pump,
pressure loss;transportation distance;head connecting pipe, pressure regulating valve, pressure relief
valve, fire hose,elbows, and high pressure water mist nozzle,
I. INTRODUCTION as shown in figure 1.
With complex climatic conditions, influenced by human
interference activities such as spring ploughing, Chinese New
Year celebrations, ceremonies during Ching Ming festival and
autumn harvest, frequent occurrences of fires disasters near
transmission in recent years have caused major property losses
in the China’s grid company.Wildfires near transmission not
only harm the electric equipment, but also threaten stability of
the power system. Trips caused by wildfire at the same time or
in successionmay cause large area power cuttingor breakdown
FIGURE I. STRUCTURE SKETCH OF PORTABLE FIRE
of power network. Control the fire as quickly as possible can EXTINGUISHING EQUIPMENT.
stop the fire spreading to transmission.
Currently,the development and improvementof fire- 1-water tank; 2-high pressure piston pump; 3-piezometer; 4-
fighting equipment have been paid widely attention to by safety valve; 5-pressure regulating valve; 6- truck-
researchers at home and abroad.This research results have mountedconnecting pipe; 7-fire hose; 8-lance; 9-high pressure
provided effective methods for fire control[1-4]. As the water mist nozzle
wildfires disperse in many spotsand quite wide By applying the Bernoulli equation, which is shown as
areas,combined that ashes are easy to reburnin the wild, the formula (1),pressure loss of portable fire extinguishing
control of wildfires near transmission is carried into effect equipmentincludesthe route loss and the local loss.
difficultly.In areas deficient of water, portablefire-fighting
equipmentshould not be used for massive fires.Although fire
(1)
trucks could carry plenty of water, they are not is unsuitable
for wildfires near transmission, due to the traffic
inconvenience and low outlet pressure. From formula (1) and figure 1, the pressure loss forms of
the equipment can be drawn, as shown in figure 2.

© 2015. The authors - Published by Atlantis Press 27

 λ ∑ (2) Simulate the waterdelivery system of portable fire
extinguishing equipment based on Fluent6.3.26, use periodic
boundary conditions[5], calculate the pressure loss of unit
Where, L is the length of fire hose, d is internal diameter of length of water pipe under a certain flow, then, we can get the
fire hose, λis the friction factor, ς islocal drag coefficient and frictional pressure loss of 3000m pipe. Aiming to the Reynolds
vdenotes a mean velocity of the fluid in the conduit. number Re of fluid flowing in the pipe, calculate by using
Spalsrt-Allmaras model and κ−ε model[6,7] respectively, and
III. PRESSURE LOSS CALCULATION AND SIMULATION OF compare the result of numerical modelling with that of
PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHING EQUIPMENT
calculation following Nikuradse experience curve method.
A. Flow Analysis ofWater-series Extinguisher
Reynolds number is an important parameter reflecting the
fluid flow characteristics in the pipe.When the Reynolds
number is small, viscous forces plays host tothe force between
liquid particles and a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no
disruption between the layers.While if the Reynolds number is
large, the flowing liquid is in a turbulence state,
thusinertiaforces plays host tothe force between liquid FIGURE II. VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION THROUGH ANALOG
particles. CALCULATION BY USING S-A MODEL AND κ−ε MODEL.
The sectional areaand velocityequals everywherealong the
TABLE I. PRESSURE LOSS UNDER DIFFERENT TURBULENCE MODEL.
fire hose.Formula 3is commonly used for calculationof
velocity of flow. calculation model Pressure Lose Error
Nikuradse Curve 6.21MPa
Spalsrt-Allmaras Model 7.20MPa 15.9%
v (3)
κ−ε Model 8.40MPa 35.26%
RNGκ−ε Model 7.25MPa 16.7%
So, if the average flow of fire hose is 20.3 litres per
minute and the diameterof pipeline is 16mm, thenvelocity
of water-series extinguisher is 1.659m/s. Table 1 indicates that Spalsrt-Allmaras Model is more
accurate to simulate the pressure loss of the portable fire
At 20℃, the dynamic viscosity of water-series extinguishing equipment than others, whose calculation
extinguisheris 1.005 10 · .According to the formula accuracy could satisfy the requirement of design and
of calculationof Reynolds number,it can be deduced thatthe application of portable fire extinguishing equipment. The
Reynolds number is 26411 and the flowing liquid is in a reason is that Spalsrt-Allmaras Model is effective to simulate
turbulence state, low Reynolds number flow, and its’ demand on grid partition
is not high. According to Fig3, the velocitygradient near wall
B. Calculation of the Route Loss in Spalsrt-Allmaras Model is smaller than that in κ−ε Model.
The inner surface roughness of the fire Turbulent fluctuation contributes to dramatic power exchange
hosemeasures0.010mm and the relative roughness is among the particle of fire extinguishing agent and uniform
0.000625.Thicknessviscous sub-layer is calculated using semi- distribution of velocity, which better meets the velocity
empirical correlation, as shown in formula4. distribution formula 6 of fluid in the core of turbulence in
hydraulically smooth region.
.
δ R . 7.39 10 Δ 0.010mm(4) ·
2.5 5.5 (6)
ν
This shows that the fire hose is hydraulic smooth pipe at
this condition. So, the water-series extinguisher flow C. Local Loss Analysis
conditioncorresponds tothe third interval of Nicholas' The local loss is due to the change of the water hose
curve.Iterative method was used to calculate the friction sectional area, which causes the change of flow direction, the
factorin Prandtl-Schlichtingformula which is shown in formula redistribution of velocity and the loss resulting from the
5. momentum exchange among mass points by collision. The
local loss of the water delivery system of mobile fire-fighting
.
2.01g (5) platform includes 5 forms, among which are sudden expansion,
√λ R √λ
sudden contraction, bend, folded hose and sluice valve.
Take the Reynolds number Re into (5) perform iterative
calculation, then get that λ=0.0241.
Using formula (2) gains that the frictional head loss of
3000m pipe is 621m(water column height) , that is the
frictional head loss of 3000m pipe is 6.21MPa.

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 200mandtheverticalliftis500m,thepressurecannotcompletelyato
mizeextinguishingagent.Extinguishingwaterdropletsparticlesis
TABLE II. LOCAL LOSS CALCULATION OF PORTABLE FIRE affectedlittlebyairresistance,itsrangereaches18m.Whenusing8.
EXTINGUISHING EQUIPMENT.
0MPaand9.0MPatotransmitwater,theresidualpressurewhoselift
No. form of Loss Local loss coefficient local pressure loss reaches201mand325mcompletelyatomizedextinguishing.Influe
A 1 ncedbyair resistance,itsrange decreasesinstead.
1
Diameter ς1 =（1- 1 ）2 h1 =ς 1 × × v12
expanding A2 2g
V. APPLICATION OF PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHING
Diameter 1 1 EQUIPMENT IN POWER SYSTEMS
2
reduction
ς 2 = （1-A2 / A1） h 2 =ς 2 × × v2 2
2 2g
1
According to the history statistics of wildfires,
θ 1
Pipe bending ς 3 = ⎢⎡ 0.131 + 0.163( ) 2 ⎥⎤ ⎛⎜ ⎞⎟ h 3 =ς 3 ×
2
d 7 × v2 massivemountain fires often occurred during the period of
3
⎣ R ⎦ ⎝ 90 ⎠ 2g Tomb-sweeping Day all around China, which resulted in the
trips of transmission lines and the severe threat to the safe
According to the values of the coefficients of local loss in operation of the grid[8]. During the period of Tomb-sweeping
Table 2 and combined with the calculating expression (2) for Day in 2014, State Grid Hunan Electric Power Company
route loss and local loss, the local pressure loss of mobile fire- deployed fiveportable fire extinguishing equipment, and the
fighting platform is negligible compared with the route total area of extinguished open fires was 3,500m2 in April 4-5.
pressure loss. While dealing with the urgency of transmission The lines of 110kV and above of the Hunan grid did not suffer
line mountain fire, the safety and rapidity of mobile fire- from the accidents of mountain fire trip, which set a record
fighting platforms can be fulfilled by only calculating the route that there was no trip occurring in the Hunan grid during a no-
pressure loss. rain Tomb-sweeping Day, marking a great breakthrough of the
technology against wildfires of the grid, and ensured a strong
IV. PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHING EQUIPMENT FIELD TEST support for the safe and stable operation of the large power
grid. The application of the portable fire extinguishing
A. Test Condition equipment means that the characteristics of the
Thelocationofthetestis in the equipmentincludes safe drive, long water-delivery distance,
Xiaoshajiangtown,Longhuicountry,HunanProvince,locatedinth high lift and good performance for fire-fighting, which can
enorthwestofLonghui, in the solve the problems of the bad traffic at the sites of
middleeastoftheXuefengmountain.Themovingfireplatformtests transmission line mountain fire and the tough access to water,
tartingpointischosenatthefootofthemountainofthePufotemple,th and fill up the gap of equipmentfor transmission line mountain
ealtitudeofwhichis1123metersabovesealevelmeasuredbyGAR firefighting in China.
MINGPS60.Theendofthetestisatthetopofthemountain,neartheP
ufotemple.Thealtitudeis1623metersabovesealevel.Andthediffer
enceofthealtitudeofthetestis500meters.Measurementofthegunh
eadoutletatomizationstateandpressureofdifferentaltitudecanbec
ompletedinthemovingfireplatformunderdifferentoutputpressure.
B. Test Data and Analysis
FIGURE III. WILDFIRES EXTINGUISHING NEARBY TRANSMISSION
LINES.
TABLE III. TEST DATA OF PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHING EQUIPMENT
WATER PRESSURE LOSS.
VI. CONCLUSION
rotational
head Water delivery Flow(L/ speed of water Pressure of water Water gun Aiming at the existing problem that forest firenear
(m) distance(m) min) pump pump(MPa) range(m) transmission line, water delivery distance and lift, this paper
（r/min） analyzes the pressure loss of portable fire extinguishing
500 3200 20.12 628.8 10.0 12 equipment through the combination of theoretical calculation,
wild field test and numerical simulation, which effectively
325 2400 32.74 525.1 9.0 15
guides the design and field application of portable fire
201 800 37.93 474.7 8.0 12
extinguishing equipment and has made the conclusion that the
0-5 30 20.29 418.8 6.0 18
water delivery distance of portable fire extinguishing
equipment can reach 3000m and the vertical lift of that can
Table3datashowsthatwhenmobileplatformfirepumpoutletpr reach 500m at the same time. The practical application
essureis10.0MPa,theconveyancedistancereaches3200m,vertica ofportable fire extinguishing equipment in power system
lliftreaches500mandtipsexporthassomeatomizationpressure.Th indicates that the equipment possesses several advantages
us,themethodofmobileplatformfirepressurelosscalculationthatt including safety driving and user-friendly control, which has
hispaperusedis- settled the problem that it is difficult for us to get water in the
consistentwiththeresultsofthefieldtest,hasaccuracycalculation,a process of handling forest fire near transmission lines. At the
ndcanmeettheneedsofplatformdesignandtest,andbeabletoguidet meantime, it dramatically reduces the number of trip caused
hemobileplatforminthepracticalapplicationoffirefightingfires.T by forest fire related about transmission lines and has
hispapersaidmobileplatformusesatomizationtipstoimprovefiree obviously enhanced the ability to defending forest fire, which
xtinguishingeffect,whenusing10MPapressurewatertotransmit3 has a broad application and dissemination value.

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