Feature Stories 2019: Capstone Project: Sprinkler Activation Detection Project

Team

James Patterson (Team Leader), Kyle Frisco, Peter Luchini, Stephen Rada 

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Afsoon Amirzadeh

Project Description

The Sprinkler Detection Project focuses on detecting when a sprinkler will activate by looking at the backside of the sprinkler plug with a laser that reads “time of flight” of the laser. In other words, the laser sends a beam to the back side of the sprinkler and collects the beam coming back. The time of flight is then converted into a distance. The idea is to put the laser above the ceiling of the labs so that it is not affected by heat and then run fiber optics cables to transmit the laser signals through the pipe. A plug will then be fitted into the piping with the optical pieces. The optical pieces focus and collect the lighting. However, the project gets complex when the water is introduced into the piping. The overall objective is to design and test a system that will detect when a sprinkler activates and be able to display that on a digital readout screen with accuracy. The mechanical engineering side is designing all the fixtures and system to transmit the laser and keep the laser above the ceiling with fiber optics. There needs to be a system that is simple and straight forward to use for technicians. The team built their protype at the end of academic year and delivered this project to the client successfully.

Customer

FM Global

More information

• Capstone Program
• Department of Mechanical Engineering