Methods of mathematical modeling of fire extinguishing systems and their implementation in the ISIGR software package

Abstract

The basis of fire protection of production, retail, warehouse, and other facilities are automatic fire extinguishing installations, internal fire fighting mains, and water curtains, which are an integral part of the water supply system. When designing such systems one shall perform the hydraulic analysis, the results of which allow selecting the required equipment mix, estimating performance of systems under different modes, and so on. The hydraulic analysis is usually performed either manually/with partial automation or using algorithms that implement numerical simulation methods. The latter requires readily available programs that greatly simplify making up the system of equations by forming an analytical model from the nodes and connecting branches. The software products currently available on the domestic market are either fail to deliver the expected benefits or have high cost and require user training. We present the conceptual and mathematical statement of the flow distribution problem with non-fixed nodal flows for an arbitrary pipeline system, including fire-fighting one, and the corresponding modification of the nodal pressure method that factors in the dependence of the flow through the nozzles (sprinkler, drencher) on the pressure (head) upstream. This and other problems lend themselves to solving with the help of the “ISIGR” online application package.