Electro-Optical

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• Electro-Optical
• Fire Detection
• A History

World Leader in Electro-Optical Flame Detection
Technology
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Electro-Optical Fire Detectors

• Used in many Industries
• Oil Gas Exploration and Production
• Gas Transmission
• Automotive
• Semiconductor
• Aviation
• All Types of Manufacturing

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Electro-Optical Fire Detectors

• Fires are detected by
• Smell
• Sound
• Sight
• Heat

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Electro-Optical Fire Detectors

• Different types of Fire Detection are
• Smoke Detectors
• Heat Detectors
• Fusible Links
• Manual Call Points
• Linear Heat Detectors
• Electro-Optical Fire Detectors

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Electro-Optical Fire Detectors

• A Typical Fire requires
• Source of Ignition
• Fuel
• Oxygen or an oxidant

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Electro-Optical Fire Detectors

• Hydrocarbon Fires produce
• Water and Carbon Dioxide
• Heat, (radiant infrared energy)
• Typical combustion of a hydrocarbon
• C3H8 5O2 3CO2 4H2O
• (propane oxygen carbon dioxide water)
• Incomplete combustion produces more Carbon
  Monoxide (CO)

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Electro-Optical Fire Detectors

• Advantages of Electro-Optical Fire Detectors
• Fast - detects fire in the early stages
• Area Coverage, not a point detector. Does not
  have to be located directly at the fire event
• Detects electro-optical radiant energy from the
  fire, (moves at the Speed of Light)

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Electro-Optical Fire Detectors

• Electro-Optical Energy includes
• Infrared (IR) radiant energy
• Ultraviolet (UV) energy
• Visible Light (VIS)
• Modern Electro-Optical Fire Detectors use all or
  a combination of these three light spectra to
  detect a fire

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Early Electro-Optical IR Fire Detectors

• Early Fire Detectors use IR sensors developed
  during WWII
• Designed to respond to near IR
• Some discrimination by using flicker amplifiers
• Could be fooled by non-fire events such as
  shimmering water, vibrating manifolds, etc.

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Early Electro-Optical UV Fire Detectors

• Alternative technology using UV Tubes
• Fast response
• Solar blind
• Could be fooled by non-fire events emitting short
  band UV energy, such as lightning, quartz halogen
  lights and arc welding
• Prone to physical damage due to tube design
• Expensive to maintain

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Early Electro-Optical UV/IR Fire Detectors

• UV Tubes combined with Narrow Band IR sensors
• IR sensors use Narrow Band Interference filters
  at 4.3 microns (CO2 Spike)
• Some discrimination by using flicker amplifiers
• Attempted to reduce alarms to non-fire events by
  using AND gates

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Early Electro-Optical UV/IR Fire Detectors
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Early Electro-Optical UV/IR Fire Detectors

• Disadvantages
• Will only respond to hydrocarbon fires
• CO2 spike is unpredictable
• Real world fires have incomplete combustion,
  producing more CO, less CO2
• Narrow Band IR sensor detects less than 1 of
  radiant IR energy from the fire
• Old Analog technology

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Modern Electro-OpticalMulti-Spectrum Fire
Detectors

• Developed from Military Missile Warning Systems
• Multi-sensor array using UV/WIR VIS
• Solid state, digital electronics
• Real time, digital signal processing
• Fire Event data storage for postulating the cause
  of a fire
• Responds to all types of fires

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Modern Electro-OpticalMulti-Spectrum Fire
Detectors

• Modern UV Tubes have
• Long glass to metal seal to prevent leakage and
  damage from vibration
• Machine-made to ensure constant high quality
• Anode Cathode made from steel to prevent
  vibration

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Modern Electro-OpticalMulti-Spectrum Fire
Detectors

• Wide Band Infrared (WIR) sensors
• Respond to IR between 0.7 3.5 microns and
  detect over 88 of a fires radiant energy
• Sees all types of fires
• Does not use optical interference filters
• Fast acting Quantum effect sensor, same as used
  in military applications
• Easier to detect a small fire track it as it
  grows and/or gets hotter

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Modern vs. Early Electro-Optical UV/IR Fire
Detectors
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Modern Electro-OpticalMulti-Spectrum Fire
Detectors
Blackbody Curve for a 2500K degree fire showing
Wide Band IR Coveragecompared to the Narrow Band
Spike at 4.3 microns
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Modern Electro-OpticalMulti-Spectrum Fire
Detectors
Percentage of Total Radiant Energy - Wide Band v.
Narrow Band
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Modern Electro-OpticalMulti-Spectrum Fire
Detectors
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Modern Electro-OpticalMulti-Spectrum Fire
Detectors
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Modern Electro-OpticalMulti-Spectrum Fire
Detectors

• Additional Features
• Visible Sensors, (Blue Yellow), reject non-fire
  radiant energy events such as lightning, quartz
  halogen lights and arc-welding
• Temperature Transducer and programmable software
  provide stable WIR sensor sensitivity baseline

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Modern Electro-OpticalMulti-Spectrum Fire
Detectors

• Solid State Digital Design
• Digital signal processing of Real Time data by
  sophisticated software algorithms
• Fire Event spectral data stored in non-volatile
  memory
• Real Time data available through PC software
• Digital communications allows for addressable,
  smart devices

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World Leader in Electro-Optical Flame Detection
Technology