Marine Copper Fire Pump

I. Product Overview

Marine copper fire pump is a core emergency fire-fighting equipment specially designed for marine fire protection systems, belonging to the category of centrifugal pumps or positive displacement pumps. Its key components in contact with fire-fighting water, such as pump body, impeller, valve core and water supply pipeline, are all precision-machined from high-quality brass materials. Driven by an electric motor or diesel engine, the pump realizes the rapid and stable delivery of fire-fighting water or fire-fighting foam mixture by virtue of centrifugal force or changing the volume of the pump chamber. It is a key link to ensure the effective extinguishing of fires in various compartments of the ship (such as engine room, cargo hold, passenger cabin, etc.), and is directly related to the safety of the ship, crew and cargo.

Compared with ordinary cast iron or carbon steel fire pumps, marine copper fire pumps, relying on the unique physical and chemical properties of copper materials, have prominent advantages such as excellent corrosion resistance to seawater and fire-fighting agents, oxidation resistance and anti-biofouling. They can effectively resist the corrosion of seawater (the main fire-fighting water source for ships) and chemical fire-fighting agents, avoid component failure caused by long-term immersion and erosion, and ensure immediate start-up and stable operation during emergency fire fighting. The product strictly complies with international and domestic standards such as SOLAS (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea), IMO FTP Code (Fire Test Procedures Code) and GB/T 32146 Marine Centrifugal Fire Pumps. It has obtained certifications from mainstream classification societies such as CCS (China Classification Society), ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) and LR (Lloyd's Register), and is widely applicable to the fire protection systems of various ships such as cargo ships, oil tankers, passenger ships, container ships, offshore drilling platforms and yachts.

II. Core Technical Parameters

Flow Rate Range: 5-200 m³/h, which can be configured in grades according to the ship's tonnage, cabin area and fire protection level. The flow stability error under rated working conditions is ≤±3%, ensuring sufficient fire-fighting water supply for extinguishing fires of different scales.

Pressure Range: 0.8-4.0 MPa, the maximum working pressure can reach 5.0 MPa, which can meet the water supply requirements of high-rise cabins and long-distance fire-fighting pipelines, and ensure the effective spraying of fire-fighting water or foam by fire sprinklers or fire monitors.

Medium Adaptability: It can stably transport fresh water, seawater and fire-fighting foam mixture (such as AFFF foam, protein foam, etc.); it can handle media with water content ≥95% and impurity content ≤0.2% (particle size ≤1.0mm); the applicable medium temperature range is -10℃ to 130℃, which is suitable for the temperature changes of ship fire-fighting water sources and fire scenes.

Material Parameters: Pump body, impeller and valve core are made of brass (H62/H65) or bronze (ZCuSn10Zn2); pump shaft is made of 316L stainless steel; seals are made of fluororubber (FKM) or ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), which have excellent compatibility with various fire-fighting media and ensure no leakage during long-term standby and emergency operation.

Drive Mode: Dual modes of electric drive (three-phase asynchronous motor, protection level IP65/IP67) and diesel engine drive are available; electric drive supports marine standard voltages such as 220V/380V/440V, and diesel engine drive ensures normal operation without external power supply; the drive system is equipped with overload, overheating and low oil level protection functions.

Operating Performance: Self-priming height ≥6 m, self-priming time ≤30 seconds (at a suction lift of 4m); start-up time ≤10 seconds to ensure rapid response to fire alarms; operating noise ≤75 dB(A), vibration acceleration ≤1.5 m/s²; volumetric efficiency ≥90%, ensuring high fire-fighting water delivery efficiency and low energy consumption.

III. Structural Design and Core Advantages

3.1 Core Structural Design

Full Copper Water-Contact Structure: All components directly in contact with fire-fighting water or foam are precision-cast or forged from integral copper materials. The inner wall of the flow channel is smooth and burr-free, which not only reduces water flow resistance and pressure loss, but also avoids rust and scaling caused by the reaction of ordinary metal materials with seawater; at the same time, the copper surface has good anti-biofouling performance, preventing marine organisms from accumulating in pipelines and pump chambers during long-term standby, and ensuring unobstructed water flow during emergency start-up.

High-Pressure Sealing and Anti-Leakage System: Adopts a triple sealing structure of mechanical seal + O-ring + metal gasket. The sealing surface is made of wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials such as silicon carbide and graphite, with a leakage rate ≤0.003 mL/h, ensuring no water leakage under high-pressure fire-fighting working conditions; the sealing system is equipped with a pressure monitoring device, which can alarm in time when the sealing performance deteriorates.

Compact and Anti-Vibration Design: The pump body and drive unit adopt an integrated and compact design, with small volume and light weight (25-450 kg), suitable for installation in narrow marine fire pump rooms or engine rooms; the base is equipped with high-performance shock-absorbing rubber pads and fixed anchor bolts, which can effectively reduce vibration generated during operation and avoid resonance with the ship's hull structure.

3.2 Core Technical Advantages

Excellent Seawater Corrosion Resistance: Copper materials (brass/bronze) have extremely strong corrosion resistance to seawater, the most commonly used fire-fighting water source for ships. After 5000 hours of seawater immersion test, there is no obvious corrosion, pitting or deformation. Its service life is 3-4 times that of ordinary cast iron fire pumps, which greatly reduces the frequency of equipment maintenance and replacement.

Rapid Start-Up and Stable Water Supply: The optimized drive system and hydraulic design ensure that the pump can start quickly within 10 seconds after receiving the fire alarm signal, and maintain stable flow and pressure output even under the conditions of ship heeling (±35°) and trimming (±25°). It can supply water continuously for a long time (≥24 hours) to ensure effective extinguishing of persistent fires.

High Safety and Reliability: Equipped with multiple safety protection devices such as overload protection, overheating protection, low water level protection, pressure loss alarm and fire alarm linkage. When abnormal conditions such as pump overload, excessive temperature, insufficient water source and pipeline pressure loss occur, the system will automatically switch to the standby drive mode (if equipped) or shut down and alarm; the electrical part complies with marine explosion-proof standards (Ex d IIB T4), suitable for flammable and explosive areas such as engine rooms.

Easy Maintenance and Low Standby Cost: Key components adopt modular design. Wear parts such as seals and filters can be quickly disassembled and replaced without disassembling the entire pump body; daily maintenance only needs to regularly clean the filter screen, check the sealing condition and the storage status of the diesel engine (for diesel engine-driven models), without professional tools, and the maintenance time is ≤30 minutes; copper components have good wear resistance and long service life, reducing the operation and maintenance costs of the ship during long-term standby.

Environmental Compliance and Wide Adaptability: The pump operates without leakage, avoiding environmental pollution caused by the leakage of fire-fighting water containing chemical agents; the materials used comply with the environmental protection requirements of Annex VI to the IMO MARPOL Convention, do not contain harmful heavy metals, and meet the requirements of green ship navigation; it can adapt to harsh marine environments such as high salt spray, high humidity and large temperature difference, ensuring stable performance under various extreme conditions.

Anti-Cavitation and Anti-Clogging Design: The pump inlet is equipped with a high-precision filter screen (filtration accuracy 1.0mm) to prevent large particles of impurities from entering the pump chamber; the impeller adopts an arc-shaped blade design optimized by fluid dynamics, which can effectively reduce cavitation caused by local low pressure during water suction; the gap between the impeller and the pump body is reasonably set to avoid jamming caused by thermal expansion and contraction or impurity accumulation.

IV. Typical Application Scenarios

4.1 Engine Room Fire Fighting System

As the core power area of the ship, the engine room contains a large amount of fuel oil, lubricating oil and electrical equipment, and is a high-fire-risk area. The marine copper fire pump provides high-pressure fire-fighting water or foam mixture for the engine room fire protection system, which can quickly connect to the fire sprinklers and fixed fire monitors in the engine room, accurately cool down and extinguish fire hazards such as engines, fuel pipelines and electrical control cabinets. With its excellent vibration resistance and stability, it ensures continuous and reliable water supply during fire fighting.

4.2 Cargo Hold and Deck Fire Fighting

For fires in cargo holds (such as container holds, crude oil holds) and deck areas of ships such as cargo ships and oil tankers, marine copper fire pumps can deliver a large amount of fire-fighting water or foam mixture through mobile deck fire monitors and foam generators, quickly cover the fire area and inhibit the spread of fire. Its seawater corrosion resistance ensures long-term stable operation when using seawater as the fire-fighting water source, adapting to the fire fighting needs of open marine areas.

4.3 Fire Protection in Passenger Cabins and Public Areas of Passenger Ships

Public areas such as passenger cabins, restaurants and corridors of passenger ships are densely populated, and fire fighting needs to balance rapid fire control and personnel evacuation safety. The marine copper fire pump provides stable low-to-medium pressure fire-fighting water for the fire sprinkler system and fire hydrants in this area, ensuring rapid cooling and smoke diffusion inhibition in the early stage of fire, and gaining time for personnel evacuation; its low-noise operation characteristic can reduce environmental interference at the fire scene.

4.4 Offshore Platform Fire Protection System

Areas such as offshore drilling platforms and oil production platforms face harsh environments such as high salt spray, strong vibration and flammable and explosive media (oil, natural gas), with strict fire protection requirements. Marine copper fire pumps can be adapted to platform fire protection systems, providing high-pressure and stable water supply for fire monitors and foam fire extinguishing systems. Their explosion-proof design, corrosion resistance and rapid start-up characteristics can effectively respond to emergencies such as platform equipment leakage and fire, ensuring the safety of platform personnel and equipment.

4.5 Emergency Standby Fire-Fighting Water Supply

Marine copper fire pumps can be used as standby equipment for the main marine fire protection system. When the main fire pump fails or is damaged, it can be quickly switched on to ensure uninterrupted fire-fighting water supply; at the same time, it can also be used as an emergency decontamination water supply equipment. When the ship encounters chemical pollution or personnel are contaminated with toxic and harmful substances, it provides clean flushing water to improve the ship's emergency response capability.