DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates fluid spray systems and in particular, relates to an improved water spray system for petroleum storage tanks.

BACKGROUND

Generally, a water spray system is deployed in industries, such as petroleum industries, for prevention against any fire hazards. For instance, the water spray system may be deployed in the vicinity of petroleum storage tanks for extinguishing the fire in case of an emergency situation. The water spray system includes a nozzle with a specific K-factor adapted to spray water on a region affected by the fire. It is essential to spray the water at a desired rate through the nozzle in order to effectively extinguish the fire. At present, water spray systems lack any provision which allows selection of a rate of spray from among different rates of spray as per the requirement. Therefore, in order to achieve different rates of spray, multiple water spray systems are needed to be implemented which is undesirable, time-consuming, and cost-intensive.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved water spray system for petroleum storage tanks.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

In an embodiment, an improved water spray system for petroleum storage tanks is disclosed. The improved water spray system includes at least one circular conduit positioned in vicinity of a petroleum storage tank. Further, the improved water spray system includes a nozzle attached to the at least one circular conduit. The nozzle is adapted to spray water on the petroleum storage tank through the at least one circular conduit. The improved water spray system includes a primary conduit in communication with the at least one circular conduit. The primary conduit is adapted to supply water to the nozzle. The at least one control valve is attached to the primary conduit. The at least one control valve is adapted to control a flow of water in the primary conduit. Further, the improved water spray system includes a secondary conduit in fluid communication with the primary conduit. The secondary conduit is adapted to receive at least a portion of the flow of water from the primary conduit. An orifice plate is disposed in the secondary conduit and is adapted to reduce a pressure associated with at least the portion of the flow of water. The at least one control valve is selectively operable to allow at least the portion of the flow of water through the secondary conduit and to regulate a rate of spray of water through the nozzle.

To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a schematic view of an improved water spray system for petroleum storage tanks, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 illustrates an operation of the improved water spray system to spray fluid at a first rate of spray through a nozzle, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure; and

Figure 3 illustrates an operation of the improved water spray system to spray fluid at a second rate of spray through the nozzle, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.

Reference throughout this specification to “an aspect”, “another aspect” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment”, “in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a nonexclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or subsystems or elements or structures or components proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices or other sub-systems or other elements or other structures or other components or additional devices or additional sub-systems or additional elements or additional structures or additional components.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 illustrates a schematic view of an improved water spray system 100 for petroleum storage tanks, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the improved water spray system 100 may interchangeably be referred to as the spray system 100, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The spray system 100 may be employed for fire prevention and fire protection of the petroleum storage tanks. For instance, during a fire emergency, the spray system 100 may be adapted to spray water in order to extinguish a fire in the vicinity of the petroleum storage tanks or originating from the petroleum storage tanks.

In an embodiment, the spray system 100 may be adapted to spray water at different rates of spray. For instance, in one embodiment, the spray system 100 may be adapted to spray water at a rate of spray approximately equal to 1 Litre per minute per square meter (LPM/M2). In another embodiment, the spray system 100 may be adapted to spray water at the rate of spray approximately equal to 3 LPM/M2. Constructional and operational details of the spray system 100 are explained in detail in the subsequent sections of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure is explained with respect to the spray system 100 deployed for fire prevention and protection of the petroleum storage tanks. However, it should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that it should not be construed as limiting, and the present disclosure is equally applicable for the spray system 100 deployed at other locations for fire prevention and protection, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to Figure 1, the spray system 100 may include at least one circular conduit 102 positioned in the vicinity of a petroleum storage tank 104. The at least one circular conduit 102 may interchangeably be referred to as the circular conduit 102, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The circular conduit 102 may be in fluid communication with a primary conduit 106 adapted to supply water from a source to the circular conduit 102. Further, the spray system 100 may include a nozzle 108 attached to the circular conduit 102.

The nozzle 108 may be adapted to spray water on the petroleum storage tank 104 flowing through the circular conduit 102. In an embodiment, the spray system 100 may be adapted to spray water at different rates of spray through the nozzle 108. The rate of spray may be proportional to a K-factor associated with the nozzle 108 and a pressure associated with the water flowing through the nozzle 108. The spray system 100 may be adapted to achieve different rates of spray without altering the K-factor of the nozzle 108, which is explained in the subsequent sections of the present disclosure.

Further, the spray system 100 may include a primary conduit 106 in communication with the circular conduit 102. The primary conduit 106 may be adapted to supply water to the nozzle 108 attached to the circular conduit 102. As shown in Figure 1, in an embodiment, the primary conduit 106 may be in fluid communication with a supply conduit 110 adapted to supply water to the primary conduit 106. The supply conduit 110 may be in fluid communication with the source, interchangeably referred to as the reservoir, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The supply conduit 110 may be adapted to supply water from the reservoir to the primary conduit 106.

In an embodiment, the primary conduit 106 may include an inlet 106-1 and an outlet 106-2 distal to the inlet 106-1. The inlet 106-1 and the outlet 106-2 may be coupled to the supply conduit 110 and the circular conduit 102, respectively. The inlet 106-1 and the outlet 106-2 of the primary conduit 106 may interchangeably be referred to as the first inlet 106-1 and the first outlet 106-2, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Further, the primary conduit 106 may include a first coupling portion 112-1 and a second coupling portion 112-2 distal to the first coupling portion 112-1. Each of the first coupling portion 112-1 and the second coupling portion 112-2 may be positioned between the first inlet 106-1 and the first outlet 106-2 of the primary conduit 106. The spray system 100 may include at least one control valve 114 attached to the primary conduit 106. The at least one control valve 114 may be adapted to control a flow of water in the primary conduit 106. In an embodiment, the at least one control valve 114 may interchangeably be referred to as the control valve 114, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In the illustrated embodiment, the spray system 100 may include a first control valve 114-1 and a second control valve 114-2 attached to the primary conduit 106. Each of the first control valve 114-1 and the second control valve 114-2 may be operable between an open position and a closed position. In an embodiment, each of the first control valve 114-1 and the second control valve 114-2 may be embodied as one of a butterfly valve and a gate valve, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The first control valve 114-1 may be attached to the primary conduit 106 and disposed upstream to the first coupling portion 112-1 of the primary conduit 106. Further, the second control valve 114-2 may be attached to the primary conduit 106 and disposed between the first coupling portion 112-1 and the second coupling portion 112-2 of the primary conduit 106. In particular, the second control valve 114-2 may be positioned downstream to the first coupling portion 112-1 and upstream to the second coupling portion 112-2.

Referring to Figure 1, the spray system 100 may include a secondary conduit 116 in fluid communication with the primary conduit 106. In an embodiment, the secondary conduit 116 may be positioned parallel to the primary conduit 106, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The secondary conduit 116 may be adapted to receive at least one a portion of the flow of water from the primary conduit 106. The first control valve 114-1 may be operable to control the flow of water from the primary conduit 106 to the secondary conduit 116. In an embodiment, the secondary conduit 116 may include an inlet 116-1 and an outlet 116-2 distal to the inlet. The inlet 116-1 and the outlet 116-2 of the secondary conduit 116 may be coupled to the primary conduit 106.

The inlet 116-1 and the outlet 116-2 of the secondary conduit 116 may interchangeably be referred to as the second inlet 116-1 and the second outlet 116-2, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The second inlet 116-1 may be coupled to the first coupling portion 112-1 of the primary conduit 106. Further, the second outlet 116-2 may be coupled to the second coupling portion 112-2 of the primary conduit 106. Further, the spray system 100 may include an orifice plate 118 disposed in the secondary conduit 116.

In an embodiment, the orifice plate 118 may be embodied as a circular orifice plate, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The orifice plate 118 may be adapted to reduce a pressure associated with at least the portion of the flow of water in the secondary conduit 116 received from the primary conduit 106. The at least one control valve 114, such as the first control valve 114-1 and the second control valve 114-2, may be selectively operable to allow at least the portion of the flow of water through the secondary conduit 116 and to regulate the rate of spray of water through the nozzle 108.

For instance, the first control valve 114-1 and the second control valve 114-2 may be operable to control the rate of spray, such as a first rate of spray and a second rate of spray, associated with water sprayed through the nozzle 108 of the spray system 100. Operational details of the spray system 100 are explained in detail with respect to the description associated with Figure 2 and Figure 3 of the present disclosure.

Figure 2 illustrates an operation of the improved water spray system 100 to spray fluid at a first rate of spray through the nozzle 108, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the spray system 100 may be operated to spray water at the first rate of spray through the nozzle 108. The first rate of spray may approximately equal to 1 LPM/M2, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to Figure 2, in order to achieve the first rate of spray, the first control valve 114-1 may be operated to the open position. Subsequently, the first control valve 114-1 may allow the flow of water from the primary conduit 106 to the secondary conduit 116 through the second inlet 116-1 of the secondary conduit 116. Further, the second control valve 114-2 may be operated to the closed position. Owing to such position of the second control valve 114-2, the flow of water may be restricted to the circular conduit 102 through the primary conduit 106.

However, the first control valve 114-1 may allow the flow of water to the circular conduit 102 through the secondary conduit 116. In particular, the flow of water is fully allowed through the secondary conduit 116 when the first control valve 114-1 is in the open position and the second control valve 114-2 is in the closed position. The orifice plate 118 disposed within the secondary conduit 116 may reduce the pressure associated with the flow of water. Subsequently, the flow of water at the reduced pressure may be allowed to the circular conduit 102 through the second outlet 116-2 of the secondary conduit 116. Further, the nozzle 108 attached to the circular conduit 102 may spray the water at the first rate of spray, i.e., 1 LPM/M2.

Figure 3 illustrates an operation of the improved water spray system 100 to spray fluid at a second rate of spray through the nozzle 108, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the spray system 100 may be operated to spray water at the second rate of spray through the nozzle 108. The second rate of spray may approximately equal to 3 LPM/M2, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to Figure 3, in order to achieve the second rate of spray, the first control valve 114-1 may be operated to the open position. Subsequently, the first control valve 114-1 may allow a portion, interchangeably referred to as the first volume, of the flow of water from the primary conduit 106 to the secondary conduit 116. In particular, the first volume of the flow of water from the primary conduit 106 may be allowed through the secondary conduit 116, when each of the first control valve 114-1 and the second control valve 114-2 is in the open position.

Further, the second control valve 114-2 may be operated to the open position. Owing to such position of the second control valve 114-2, remaining portion, interchangeably referred to as the second volume, of the flow of water may be allowed through the primary conduit 106 towards the circular conduit 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the orifice plate 118 disposed within the secondary conduit 116 may reduce the pressure associated with the first volume of the flow of water. Subsequently, the first volume of the flow of water at the reduced pressure may be allowed to the circular conduit 102 through the second outlet 116-2 of the secondary conduit 116.

Further, the second volume of the flow of water may be allowed to the circular conduit 102 through the primary conduit 106. Owing to such diversion of the flow of water within the primary conduit 106 and the secondary conduit 116, the circular conduit 102 may receive the water at the first volume through the primary conduit 106 and the second volume at the reduced pressure through the secondary conduit 116. Subsequently, the nozzle 108 may spray the water received by the circular conduit 102 at the second rate of spray, i.e., 3 LPM/M2.

As would be gathered, the present disclosure offers the spray system 100 for prevention/protection during fire emergencies. As mentioned earlier, the spray system 100 may be deployed in any location, such as the petroleum storage tanks, vulnerable to fire hazards. Therefore the spray system 100 has a wide range of applications

As mentioned earlier, the spray system 100 of the present disclosure is adapted to spray the fluid at different rates of spray. In particular, the spray system 100 is capable of spraying the fluid at different rates of spray without altering characteristics, such as the K-factor, associated with the nozzle 108. The spray system 100 includes the primary conduit 106 and the secondary conduit 116 adapted to allow the flow of water towards the nozzle 108. The flow of water is selectively diverted within the primary conduit 106 and the secondary conduit 116 in order to achieve different rates of spray at the nozzle 108.

For instance, when the flow of water is only allowed through the secondary conduit 116 to the nozzle 108, then the nozzle 108 may spray the fluid at the first rate of spray. Further, when the flow of water is allowed to be distributed between the primary conduit 106 and the secondary conduit 116 such that the nozzle 108 may receive the fluid from the primary conduit and the second conduit at different pressures, then the nozzle 108 may spray the fluid at the second rate of spray. This substantially eliminates the requirement of altering the K-factor of the nozzle 108 in order to achieve different rates of spray. In particular, this eliminates the requirement of implementation of nozzles with different K-factor for achieving different rates of spray.

As mentioned earlier, the existing water spray system can only spray the water a specific rate of spray, such as 3 LPM/M2 of a petroleum tank surface area. Such water spray system fails to spray the water at 1 LPM/M2 which is required for petroleum storage tanks located outside at a distance of radius (R) of the petroleum tank in fire plus 30 Meter (R+30) as per Oil Industries Safety Directorate (OISD) norm 244. However, the spray system 100 of the present disclosure can effectively spray the water at 1 LPM/M2 and 3 LPM/M2 by controlling the flow of water within the primary conduit 106 and the secondary conduit 116. This eliminates the requirement of implementing multiple water spray systems for attaining different rates of spray of the water. Owing to this, overall cost and time of operation is substantially reduced. Therefore, the present disclosure offers the spray system 100 that is safe, risk-free, flexible in implementation, cost-effective, compact, convenient, effective, and has a wide range of applications.

The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein.

Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any or all the claims.

While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment.
,CLAIMS:1. An improved water spray system for petroleum storage tanks, the improved water spray system comprising:
at least one circular conduit positioned in vicinity of a petroleum storage tank;
a nozzle attached to the at least one circular conduit and adapted to spray water on the petroleum storage tank flowing through the at least one circular conduit;
a primary conduit in communication with the at least one circular conduit and adapted to supply water to the nozzle, wherein at least one control valve is attached to the primary conduit and is adapted to control a flow of water in the primary conduit; and
a secondary conduit in fluid communication with the primary conduit and adapted to receive at least a portion of the flow of water from the primary conduit, wherein an orifice plate is disposed in the secondary conduit and is adapted to reduce a pressure associated with at least the portion of the flow of water,
wherein the at least one control valve is selectively operable to allow at least the portion of the flow of water through the secondary conduit and to regulate a rate of spray of water through the nozzle.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the secondary conduit includes an inlet coupled to a first coupling portion of the primary conduit and an outlet coupled to a second coupling portion of the primary conduit.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least one control valve includes:
a first control valve is attached to the primary conduit and disposed upstream to the first coupling portion; and
a second control valve is attached to the primary conduit and disposed between the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion.

4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of first control valve and the second control valve is operable between an open position and a closed position.

5. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the flow of water is fully allowed through the secondary conduit when first control valve is in the open position and the second control valve is in the closed position.

6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the flow of water is supplied to the nozzle through the secondary conduit such that the nozzle sprays the water at the rate of spray approximately equal to 1 Litre per minute per square meter (LPM/M2).

7. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein a portion of the flow of water from the primary conduit is allowed through the secondary conduit when each of the first control valve and the second control valve is in the open position.

8. The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the flow of water is supplied to the nozzle through the primary conduit and the secondary conduit such that the nozzle sprays the water at the rate of spray approximately equal to 3 LPM/M2.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the secondary conduit is positioned parallel to the primary conduit.