Relay Pumping Going Digital?
Figure 4
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A proposed new type of hose has two separate fluid-carrying chambers (Fig. 4).
One chamber is used for transporting the fluid to the next pump, and the other chamber is used to create a water curtain by placing small holes along the length of the hose. The hose is designed to lie flat to ensure that the holes point upwards for a proper water curtain spray. The transport section of the hose can use a percolating design to protect the hose from fire.
The enabling of the water curtain flow in each segment is done by remote control from the system computer. A valve at each pump in the relay determines whether water will enter the water curtain section of hose.
The remote-controlled water curtain feature makes the system useful for surrounding a prescribed fire before ignition. The water curtain option can be selectively enabled in hose segments where the fire is nearing the hose. No water is wasted on sections that are not at risk of escape.
A GPS unit can measure the altitude of a vehicle location and be connected to the data network. If the terrain is hilly, the data network can be used to communicate the elevation of the vehicle as it travels. The vehicle might carry a variety of hose lengths on different reels. A program on the system computer could use topographic maps and the tractor location/elevation to determine the best hose length selection for the next leg of the relay. A shorter hose would be required if the next leg had a large increase in elevation.
Figure 5
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The hose data network can enhance crew safety by providing an alternate system for communication between the vehicles and the base. Radio communication can be lost because of obstacles to radio wave propagation.
Since vehicle crews and nearby firefighters have access to water from a hose relay, they might carry a protective shelter tent that can be filled with water from the hose. The water should give enhanced thermal protection to firefighters trapped in a burnover (Fig. 5).
A long relay might be used to fill a portable pool near a fire that could supply water to helicopters carrying buckets. The relay would then reduce the distance that the helicopters would have to fly to refill their buckets. In addition, if the tractor-based relay system reaches an obstacle it cannot go around, a helicopter could be used to continue the relay over the obstacle.
In other uses, a helicopter could carry one or more reels of hose, with each reel containing an electric pump at its center (visit www.electric-fluid-pipeline.com). The hose would be deployed as the helicopter flies over the ground. When a reel has deployed all of its hose, it would be lowered to the ground.
The electric pumps in the helicopter reels would be powered by wires that are embedded in the hose and connected to the data network for monitoring and control. The electric power would come from an electric generator on the last vehicle of the ground relay. The helicopter could be used to continuously spray water onto a fire.
Another version of the proposed relay system has large-diameter electric power wires embedded in all of the hoses. These wires would have high voltages and currents that power electric pumps. No diesel or gasoline pumps would be used. The advantage of an electric pump system is that there is no need to refuel the pumps. Once they are deployed, they can run unattended for days or weeks.
In all walks of life, digital data networks like Ethernet have become widely used. People have Ethernet and WiFi networks in their homes, and the devices are low in cost and high in performance. With further research, a similar data network might be added to a relay pumping system, providing many useful firefighting services at a modest cost.
Steve Shoap is a retired electrical engineer who has been working with digital data networks for a very long time. He has worked for Bell Telephone Labs, MIT Lincoln Lab, and Motorola Semiconductor; been a member of an NFPA technical committee for electronic devices; and spent many hours reading about fighting wildfires in the library of the NFPA headquarters near his home in the Boston area. You can contact him at steve.shoap@alum.mit.edu.
Note: The inventions in this article are protected by U.S. Patents 7,819,345, 7,942,350, and Australian Patent 2008-302-447. A Canadian patent is pending. Additionally, a PCT Patent Application has been filed.
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