Fire suppression system OxyReduct® prevents fires in automated small-load container warehouse

320 cable harnesses per hour, around-theclock, every day – IMPERIAL Automotive Logistics GmbH supplies four car manufacturer assembly lines with cable harnesses from a fully automatic just-insequence store in Northern Germany.

Redundant systems ensure that the flow of goods is never interrupted. As a fire protection solution, the company chose the energy-efficient fire prevention system OxyReduct® from WAGNER Group.

IMPERIAL Automotive Logistics logistics centre nearby Wolfsburg, Germany, consists of an automatic small parts storage facility in a 10,000-square-metre hall which can hold around 54,000 containers for supplying the production of different vehicle models by a large car manufacturer. The cable sets are delivered directly to the assembly lines, where they are installed in engines and car interiors. For this, IMPERIAL relys on sequencers (1 per assembly line) and container stackers instead.

Around-the-clock production – no time for downtime caused by fire

An interruption in delivery would be a catastrophe for the logistics company and for the car manufacturer, who would fail to meet production targets. The ultimate in safety: maximum fire prevention. It was particularly important for IMPERIAL Automotive Logistics to ensure that the risk of fire development was prevented from the beginning so that the delivery capability of the company – one of its major strengths and a significant competitive advantage – would not be endangered. Possible cable fires due to overheating on conveyor drives or technical system faults are the most frequent causes of fire in automatic high rack storage systems. The small parts storage at IMPERIAL holds complete cable harnesses for the car industry in small-load containers (SLC). These containers are standardised polypropylene plastic boxes of different sizes that can be used for storage and transport purposes. Both the small-load containers and the cable harnesses are problematic from a fire engineering point of view. Polypropylene and polyethylene behave like combustible liquids in a fire and have thermal release properties similar to petrol. Another problem is that this type of fire is difficult to extinguish because of the difficulty in applying water to plastic surfaces. The top protection goal for the customer when planning a suitable fire protection solution was to minimise the risk of a fire breaking out or spreading in the first place.

The solution

IMPERIAL Automotive Logistics have chosen a highly-sensitive earliest smoke detection system using TITANUS PRO·SENS® air sampling smoke detectors to ensure that even minor smoke particles can be detected in the early phase of a potential fire outbreak. As a further preventive measure, the operator also relies on the active fire prevention concept OxyReduct® using oxygen reduction that drastically reduces the risk of a fire outbreak and of fire spreading and creates a protective atmosphere where personnel can still move around without restrictions.

Releasing nitrogen into the protected area lowers and maintains oxygen concentration to a level just below the specific ignition threshold for the materials present. The available oxygen is no longer sufficient to sustain a fire or to enable it to spread. Eliminating the possibility of fires also eliminates any potential for consequential damage through smoke, soot or extinguishing agents.

The WAGNER Group GmbH has been developing and producing technical fire protection systems since 1976 and has established itself internationally as an innovative provider of solutions and systems. Its high quality standards and constant efforts for improvement and perfection are the primary drivers of internal research and development work resulting in over 700 patents. WAGNER is a global technology leader in the field of fire detection and fire prevention and covers the complete service portfolio for its customers from planning and design to system construction and service.

WAGNER GROUP

www.wagnergroup.com

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