FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEMS IN POWER STATIONS

Why, Where and How in a Power Station

Basics of Combustion Process

Fire Tetrahedron

Oxygen Fuel Heat of Ignition Chain Reaction to Sustain Fire

Sources Of Ignition
Electricity

Smoking
Incendiarism (strike, sabotage) Cutting & Welding Friction

Classification of Occupancies by TAC

Light Hazard

Ordinary Hazard
High Hazard

Electric Generating Station

Major Fires in Fire Stations

Obra Thermal Power Station

Koradi Thermal Power Station

HVDC Transmission System of Rihand Dadri

Line.

Resources of Designer
CODES- National Fire Protection Association

(NFPA), Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC), Beuro Of Indian Standards (BIS). Insurance Agency Feed Back From Operating Stn. Latest Development in the Field.

Inert Gas System Addressable Detection System Multisensor Detectors

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Fire Risk Areas

Fuel Oil Storage & Handling System.

Coal Storage And Handling System

Cable Galleries Steam Generator /WHRB Transformers

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Fire Risk Areas- contd.

Lub Oil System

Generators
Control Room & CER Air Pre-heaters Gas Turbines Gas Pressure Reducing Station

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Type Of Detectors
Heat Detectors

Smoke Detectors
Flame Detectors

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Heat Detectors +/ Heat Detectors

Advantages

Simplest Least Expensive Reliable Lowest False Alarm Rate Slowest to Respond

Disadvantages

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Heat Detectors in Power Station

Typical Heat Detectors are:

Quartzoid Bulb Detector Spot Type Heat Detector Linear Heat Sensing Cables Infrared Heat Detector

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LHSC & Infra-red detectors

LHSC Heat sensing cable comprises of

two conductors encased in heat sensitive material Infra-red Detects moving fires
Responds to Infra-Red Band of Electromagnetic radiation - Provided on conveyors coming from coal stockyard - going to coal bunkers.
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Use Of Heat Detectors

Used For Detection Of Fires In

Transformers Coal Handling Plant Fuel Oil Storage And Handling Plants Boiler Burner Fronts Lub Oil Storage Facilities Battery Rooms

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Smoke Detectors +/-_

Smoke Detectors

Advantages

Fast Detection

Disadvantages

More Costly Require More Maintenance Higher False Alarm Rate

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Other Details of Smoke Detectors

Types Are Ionisation Photoelectric Multisensor Used In Control Rooms Control Equipment Rooms Office Areas MCC/Switch Gears Rooms Cable Galleries

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Smoke Detectors
Ionisation type Smoke Detector is more

snsitive as compared to Photoelectric type Detector.

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Smoke Detectors
Ionisation

type Detector

It is Responsive to both Visible and Invisible products of Combustion with very early response to Fires in the Incipient Stage It can Detect Smoke Particles in the 0.01 to 10 Microne range .

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Ionization Detectors
Detector consists of ionizing chamber with

radio-active source Smoke/Fire changes current in the ionization chamber Used for general office application To avoid the use of radioactive element, these detectors have now been replaced with MultiSensor type detectors.

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Smoke Detectors
Optical/

Photoelectric

It is responsive to visible smoke It can detect smoke particles in the range of 0.5 to 10 microne It is useful where an ionisation sensor is too sensitive

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Photo-electric detector
Sensing element is an optical chamber
On fire/smoke, the light scattered in the

optical chamber varies Smolder fires (Suitable for PVC fire)

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History of smoke detection

Early version of smoke detector 1896

Involved two birds in a cage When overcome by fumes, would fall into a funnel at the bottom of their cage. The weight of their bodies would activate a circuit and register an alarm. Two birds were used so that in the event one died of natural cause; the detector would not be triggered. This was the earliest form of false alarm protection

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The cross-zoning principle was designed to avoid pouring expensive extinguishing chemicals into the room in a false fire scenario.

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Addressable Analog Detection System-1

Microprocessor based

Smart & intelligent

Any kind of Detector or Alarm may be

incorporated Detectors are monitored every 3 seconds including their status, sensitivity etc.

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Addressable Analog Detection System-2

Based on above programmed action can be

taken by panel e.g.

Transmit Alarm Closing Doors Suppression System Printing records

Can Analyse & Adjust Sensitivity of Detector

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Components of Fire Alarm System

Detection
Protection Annunciation

Central Fire Control Panel

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Fire Protection
Agents

Should be most effective Safest Least damaging to particular operation or equipment

Pre-Planned Equipment in Place

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Classification of Fires
Class-A

ORDINARY COMBUSTIBLES e.G. Wood, Paper, Cloth& Plastics Requires Cooling & Quenching
Flammable liquid e.g. Gasoline, Oil, Paints Etc. Requires Blanketing,Smothering Or Chemical Inhibition.
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Class-B

Classification of fires-contd.
Class - C

Electrical fires Requires non conducting extinguishing agent with cooling, smothering or chemical inhibition characteristics

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Classification of Fires-contd
Class - D

Combustible Metal Fires e.g. Mg., Al, Na, K ETC. Requires special Dry Powder which Blankets the Fire and Exclude the Oxygen.

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Common Extinguishing Agents

Water

Oldest Most Common Abundant In-expensive Readily Available Excellent Fire Extinguishing Properties

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Common Extinguishing Agents-contd.

Easily Transported or Moved. Has Sufficient Surface Tension to allow it to applied as a

Consolidated Stream Discrete Water Droplets Fog or Spray

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Automatic Sprinklers & Electrical Fires

Characteristics of water spray pattern

Little danger of the transmission of hazardous current Unlikely that personnel will be in the water discharge area when sprinkler activates.

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Design aspects
Hydrant works as the back bone

Spray/sprinkler system provided for automatic

protection of transformers, coal handling plant, cable galleries, fuel oil and transfer areas. Foam protection system for fuel oil tanks, Total flooding inert gas system for electronic areas.

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JP- JOCKEY PUMP

HP- HYDRANT PUMP.

TO HYDRANT SYSTEM

SP- SPRAY PUMP MD- MOTOR DRIVEN. DD- DIESEL ENGINE DRIVEN

TO SPRAY SYSTEM

JP

HPMD

HPMD

HPDD

SPMD

SPDD

FIRE WATER STORAGE TANKS

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MVW SPRAY SYSTEM

Provided to protect

Cable galleries/cable vault of

Main plant ESP/ VFD building CHP control room Switchyard control room Cable galleries provided in any other area

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MVW SPRAY SYSTEM-Contd.

Coal conveyors Transfer points and crusher houses Fuel oil tanks (NAPHTHA/NGL/HSD) Fuel oil pump house eqpts. Steam turbine bearing housing

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HVW SPRAY SYSTEM

Turbine oil tanks,coolers and purifiers

Turbine lube oil pipes

Boiler burner fronts All transformers in transformer yard and

transformers of 10MVA and above in other areas in the plant. Oil canals

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General comments
Hydrant system is kept pressurised using Hydro

pneumatic tank, air compressors and jockey pumps. Hydro-pneumatic tank works as a surge tank. Air compressor helps in maintaining adequate pressure in the system. Jockey pump helps in meeting minor losses. Above system would work, if hydrant system is not used for any other purpose. It is observed that at site hydrant system is used for cleaning and floor washing.

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 Such a practice is very dangerous May result in inadequate pressure at place of fire in emergency situation. To overcome this problem Independent service water system with pumps and piping network is being provided. Jockey pump of higher capacity is being provided. ( earlier it was 20 to 30 Cum./Hr. now it is about 75 Cum./hr.)

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FIRE PROTECTION OF CONTROL ROOMS AND CONTROL EQUIPMENT ROOMS

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BACKGROUND
-Devastating fire at OBRA TPS IN OCTOBER 1983 -C.E.A. Circulated the measures to be adopted in fire fighting system in power stations. -Recommendations-use Halon-1301 in control room areas by total flooding system.

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BASIC REQUIREMENT
These are electronic areas Agent requirements
High efficiency
Non-toxic Non-damaging to equipment Non-conductor of electricity
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INTRODUCTION IN NTPC
HALON 1301- Meet all the above

Used as a total flooding agent

OBRA FIRE IN 1983

Cause for introduction of agent in NTPC

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-HALON-1301, an excellent fire extinguishing agent,

- For total flooding application - Safe for use in manned areas - Harmless to equipment. -Accordingly, HALON-1301 gas was introduced in NTPC For protection of CONTROL EQUIPMENT ROOM (C.E.R.) and UNIT CONTRL ROOM (U.C.R.) in 1984. Subsequently all NTPC Projects at that time were provided with HALON-1301.
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
In 1991 due to adverse environmental impact

- further use of HALON was discontinued.

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HALON PHASE OUT

In view of environmental considerations, its use was reviwed in NTPC in 1991 and it was decided not to specify HALON System for ongoing and future projects.

Accordingly, only portable extingushers were provided for control room and modular CO2 Injection system was to be explored for individual panels in CONTROL EQUIPMENT ROOM (C.E.R.)
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 CO2 Injection system was not found suitable because of objection raised by panel manufacturers. Hence this system has not been provided in any NTPC Projects for U.C.R. AND C.E.R.

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The issue of fire protection system in control rooms and control equipment rooms was once again reviewed in NTPC in 1999

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CLEAN AGENTS NOW AVAILABLE

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) USA has published a code NFPA-2001. This code covers clean agent fire extinguishing system as an alternative to HALON.

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NFPA-2001
NFPA-2001,1996 MADE AVAILABLE FOR

CLEAN AGENT SYSTEMS

CLEAN AGENTS

HALOCARBONS

INERT GASES

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COMPARISON OF CLEAN AGENTS

HALOCARBONS
Physical charact-eristics

INERT GAS
Physical charact-eristics

CHEMICAL

SPEED OF EXTING-

INERT GAS

UISHING

SPEED OF EXTING-

Fast since total agent discharge is in 10 sec.

UISHING

Relatively slower since total gas discharge time is about 60 sec.

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COMPARISON OF CLEAN AGENTS

HALOCARBONS Design concen-tration to extinguish fire 7% INERT GAS Concentration required to extinguish fire 34%

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COMPARISON OF CLEAN AGENTS

HALOCARBONS CYLINDER STORAGE

INERT GAS CYLINDER STORAGE

4 TIMES MORE THAN HALON

10 TIMES MORE THAN HALON

CYLINDER

CYLINDER

PRESSURE

PRESSURE

25 TO 40 BAR

150 TO 300 BAR

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COMPARISON OF CLEAN AGENTS

HALOCARBONS GAS DISCHARGE PRESSURE

INERT GAS GAS DISCHARGE PRESSURE

5 BAR
NOT SIGNIFICANT

25 BAR

VENTING DESIGN

SPECIAL CARE IS TO BE

TAKEN IN ENCLOSURE DESIGN WITH RESPECT TO VENTING

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COMPARISON OF CLEAN AGENTS

HALOCARBONS Location of cylinder: should not be more than 20m away from the risk INERT GAS Can be loacted 150m away from the risk

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COMPARISON OF CLEAN AGENTS

HALOCARBONS No. of cylinder banks each bank can serve only one fire risk INERT GAS One bank can serve a number of fire risks using directional valve Refill cost cheap

Refill cost very high

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COMPARISON OF CLEAN AGENTS

HALOCARBONS Undergoes thermal and chemical decomposition while extinguishing fire INERT GAS Not subject to any decomposition.

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Halocarbon is a chemical agent. Hence, possibility of its use being banned or restricted in future can not be ruled out.

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INERT GASES
Normal level of oxygen -21% in atmosphere To extinguish fire oxygen concentration should be less

than 15%
Oxygen concentration less than 12% is not safe for

human occupancy.
Inert gas reduces oxygen concentration ( to less than

15% but more than 12% and extinguish fire.

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HALOCARBONS-1
FM-200 - GREATLAKE CHEMICALS, USA NAF-SIII- NORTH AMERICAN FIRE GUARDIAN , CANADA, ITALY FE-13 - Du PONT CEA-410

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INERT GASES-1
INERGEN(N2-52%, ARGON -40%, CO2-8%)

ARGONITE (N2-50%, ARGON -50%)

ARGOTEC ( ARGON -100%) NITROGEN (N2-100%)

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INERT GASES-1
These are mixture of freely available gases in

atmosphere System design is proprietary Refilling is cheaper Requires more cylinders Directional valves can be used.

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INERT GASES-3
INERGEN - AVAILABLE FROM TYCO USA,

ANSUL USA, WORMOLD AUSTRALIA. ARGONITE - GINGE-KERR, DENMARK. ARGOTEC - MINIMAX, GERMANY NITROGEN - NOHMI BOSAI, JAPAN

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MONTREAL PROTOCOL
For India - eliminate HALON Consumption

completely by developing safer alternatives by 2010.

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THANK YOU

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