Portagas®

Non-invasive pressure monitoring system

Coltraco Ultrasonics are global leaders in the monitoring of liquefied and non-liquefied gaseous extinguishing systems that protect high-asset value and critical national infrastructure installations.

Portagas® is a unique and innovative contents monitoring solution for pressurised, non-liquified inert gas cylinders. Through a combination of sophisticated signal processing and data-driven, empirically verified algorithms, Portagas® utilises acoustic technology. This is used to detect even minor changes in the internal pressure, with precision comfortably exceeding the 5-10% agent and pressure loss thresholds cited in regulations such as NFPA 2001 and ISO 14520.

Inergen™ is typically stored in seamless cylinders at pressures between 100-200 Bar. At such pressures they are subject to slow seepage of contents or occasionally accidental discharge. If the gas is insufficient to develop the design concentration required the fire event will not be extinguished.

Pressure alone is not sufficient to fully understand the status of a cylinders’ contents; the pressure of a sealed container is directly related to its temperature. This means that, unless properly adjusted for changing temperatures, a change in pressure does not necessarily mean that the cylinder is leaking. Conventional pressure gauges typically address this by indicating a range of acceptable pressures based on different temperatures. This is a useful indication; however, these ranges are typically quite broad and relies on the personnel conducting the checks to properly account for the temperature.

The Portagas® tackles this issue head on, with an infra-red thermometer built into the sensor that will take a current temperature measurement at the point of testing. This temperature is then used, along with fill pressure and fill temperature, to determine precisely what the pressure should be at the current temperature. We use the most accurate models available for pressurised gases in making these adjustments, accounting for the intrinsic forces and characteristics of the contained gas.

This temperature-adjusted pressure is then compared with the pressure determined acoustically by the Portagas®, allowing it to intelligently and automatically determine whether an observed change in pressure is due to changing temperatures or a loss of contents, all with the tap of a finger.

Portagas® also allows you to effortlessly keep track of your maintenance. Each test you conduct can be saved to the device along with a date and time. The full record of all the tests conducted can then be viewed and filtered by date and site on the device, or you may choose to export the data via email or USB. This data can be exported as either a simple CSV file, for integration into existing records, or in an automatically generated PDF report.