Monitoring the pump flow rate using KATflow 200 in a deck-integrated fire-extinguishing system on a yacht’s helicopter deck
Reliable fire-fighting foam flow measurements during the technical upgrade of a helicopter fire-fighting water system as part of a yacht refurbishment
KATflow 200 supports the commissioning of a helicopter landing deck fire-extinguishing system
KNAACK & JAHN Schiffbau GmbH, headquartered in Hamburg with further sites in Bremen and Kiel, is a reliable partner to its maritime clientele – comprising shipyards, shipping companies and suppliers both at home and abroad. The experienced specialists at KNAACK & JAHN Schiffbau GmbH design, install and refurbish sophisticated control systems on a project-by-project basis, such as thermal oil and fresh water systems, exhaust systems, complete engine rooms or pipework systems for ship decks and fire zones.
As part of a general overhaul of a yacht commissioned by a client, a fire safety retrofit of the existing helicopter landing pad fire-extinguishing system was to be carried out. So-called classification societies – technical inspection bodies that also act as insurance companies for ships – classify ship fire-fighting water systems into different categories ranging from H1 to H3. Prior to the ‘retrofit’, the yacht in question was fitted with a manually operated fire-extinguishing system with a fire nozzle, which was to be supplemented by a manually triggered, automated extinguishing system featuring so-called pop-up nozzles. The following technical specifications applied to the new system:
The pump capacity was to enable the foam supply required for firefighting to be delivered at a flow rate of 6 l/min/m² through a riser pipe across several decks to the firefighting location within 30 seconds.
The fire-extinguishing system should provide a total foam supply sufficient for five minutes of firefighting. The foam-water blanket applied is lighter than kerosene and smothers potential fires by forming a film between the air and the combustible material.
To verify the required pumping capacity of the new helicopter landing deckfire-extinguishing system and to measure the dosage of seawater mixed with the extinguishing foam, a portable KATflow 200 ultrasonic flow meter from Katronic was used during commissioning. This intuitive handheld device allows multiple measurement points to be measured and evaluated in a very short time. The clamp-on transducers can be removed within seconds and reattached externally to pipework at another location, enabling extensive pipework systems to be checked quickly, easily and comprehensively. The KATflow 200 was used on copper-nickel-iron (CuNiFe) pipework, both with and without an external paint coating, in the nominal diameter range between DN 40 and DN 100. For KNAACK & JAHN Schiffbau GmbH, the use of flow measurement technology offered “a straightforward and rapid method for checking the system parameters”, according to Mr Oliver Ehlers of the Fire Fighting Systems department at KNAACK & JAHN Schiffbau GmbH.
