Sense and sensibility

"It’s an entire fire monitoring solution, so we can monitor its size, spreading and its direction, and control the activation of fire suppression systems."

One of the up-and-coming technologies in the field of tunnel fire detection revolves around fiber-optic linear heat sensing. So what sets this technology apart from other methods? “First, the fiber itself is totally passive – there are
no active components in the tunnel area, just a single cable upon which there are thousands of detection points,” explains Clemens Pohl, managing director
of AP Sensing. “It’s an entire fire monitoring solution, so we are not only able to detect a fire, but monitor its size, spreading (width) and its direction, as well as control the activation of fire suppression systems.”

Admitting that video is great for visualization, Pohl says that in the majority of cases, within a very short time all an operator will see is smoke. Likewise, a smoke detector can only sense that there is smoke and sound the alarm. Electrical linear detectors also give an alarm, but in seconds their cable is broken so no further information can be sourced. “With fiber-optic, you’re in a position to go way beyond the traditional approach. You can control the escape lights, the ventilation, and give crucial information to fire services relating to how hot it is and in which direction it’s heading.”

An added-value of AP Sensing’s kit is that it’s capable of preventing potential fires. “Being able to detect a power cable running hot in a cable tray is extremely valuable,” Pohl says. “Our system allows operators to investigate a hot cable immediately and we even provide a pre-alarm ahead of the next maintenance cycle so that the system can be upgraded.” Another system benefit that should appeal to operators is that it is plug-and-play and can easily be integrated to the overall management system – usually a SCADA or similar.

This article can be found in June/July 2010 magazine of Traffic Technology Today http://www.traffictechnologytoday.com/magazine.php.