Wildfire Hose Clamp

Deliverables

Weight: 2.6 lbs
Simple and easy to use
Efficient
Low manufacture cost compared to older clamps

Senior Design Day Presentation

Poster Presentation.mp4

The United States currently experiences over 300,000 fire occurrences that require firefighter intervention. In the instance of wildfires, firefighters must extend their water hoses to reach the fire. Adding an additional 100 feet of hose to the end of the water hose in use involves halting the flow of water with a hose clamp. The hose clamp squeezes the hose until the flow stops so that the firefighter can safely extend the hose. After they have done that they take off the clamp and proceed. It has been discovered that over 37% of the errors that occur with wildland firefighting can be attributed to the hose clamps being a problem. The current hose clamps are outdated and tend to fail mechanically after rigorous use. The faulty hose clamps have become the standard, and it is unacceptable.

Objectives

Our team is seeking to design a modern hose clamp that meets the high demands of the firefighters who risk their lives to fight these fires. The design must not rip or tear the wide range of hoses that are used. Also, it must be lightweight and easy to use for anyone whether they be strong or not so strong. Another factor we are taking into account is that our hose clamp needs to not only be effective, but affordable.

Statement of Requirements

High Priority

Decreases hose ruptures and other failures.

Increased reliability.

Second Priority

Decreased size and weight.

Simple to deploy/use.

Can withstand harsh conditions associated with fires (cinder, mud, debris).

Within a price range of $100 to $300.

WOW Solution

Holster for carrying

Multi-tool component, e.g., spanner wrench

Statement of Deliverables

A report on design and analysis of hose clamps

A working prototype

A spanner wrench on a hose clamp

Cheaper manufacturing costs

Decrease the size of the hose clamp

A functioning CAD model

A mechanical advantage

Testing

Understanding Hose Dynamics

Variable pressure sensor for low pressure testing.

Varying Pressure

Water pressure in fire hoses varies greatly in wildland firefighting and as a result, the force required to clamp the fire hoses does as well. Predicting the force required to fully clamp a fire hose under various pressures is crucial for designing a durable hose clamp that can handle a wide range of pressures.

Several tests were conducted at low pressure using residential pressure varying from 10psi to 54psi. See the development of clamping test device and the results of the low pressure test here. The results of the low pressure test show a linear relationship between internal hose pressure and the force required to clamp the hose. This resulted in the prediction that the force required to clamp a fire hose at working pressures of 100psi to 300psi would require a clamp that can output a force of 530lbs to over 1400lbs.

While these were just predictions, it did show that a new clamping force test device will need to be developed in order to withstand these high clamping forces. See the development of this new high pressure clamping force testing device here. In the future, a high pressure test will be done at a fire station to compare results with the low pressure test using this new testing device.

Side view of hose being deformed as the clamps press down.

Varying Deformation

The force required to clamp a fire hose varies with pressure but it also varies as the clamp closes on the fire hose. A test was conducted with the new testing device to measure this varying force as a function of deformation. See the results and analysis of this test here. To better understand the system, a model was developed to predict the forces with varying pressure, deformation, and hose diameter.

Executive summary

Executive Summary.docx

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