Ultrasonic Measuring Technology for Water Mist Systems

Since the Montreal Protocol banned the use of Halon agents in new systems, combined with the gradual phasing out in existing products, engineers tasked with fire protection have been looking at new ways to protect critical assets.

One of the key concerns when specifying a fixed fire suppression system has been water damage, particularly in environments such as the engine room of a ship or a data center for example.

Water Mist technology is not new. It has been around since the 1930s. However with the implementation of the Montreal protocol its application as a fire protection solution has increased substantially. 

With the growth in the use of water mist solutions, one of the issues that is gaining increasing exposure is the maintenance of the cylinder points. This is no different to other types of suppression systems where an increasing awareness of accidental discharge and leakage is being acted upon.

Historically, in order to check the liquid level of an individual cylinder within water mist systems a spring balance system is used and will shift when over 10% of the agent has leaked or been discharged.

Much like with systems that use gaseous suppressant agents companies are increasingly looking at how new technology can more effectively help them monitor the liquid level of cylinder points.

Existing ultrasonic technology that is used to monitor gaseous suppressant agents can additionally be applied to water based systems such as Water Mist. Products such as Portalevel™MAX and Permalevel™ Multiplex are typically used in industry verticals such as Oil & Gas, Marine and Shipping and Data Centers.

Coltraco Ultrasonics are looking to bring their market leading products for the maintenance of gaseous fixed fire suppression systems to the Water Mist sector and have been contacted by stakeholders within this field.

To find out more about how we can help monitor your water mist system in real time with accuracy of +/-0.5mm as opposed to 10% please contact us for a demonstration [email protected].