Citation

Luck H, Hase K-R. Fire Safety J. 1983; 6(3): 233-240.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1983, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Automatic fire detectors can be considered as signal detectors for a special "signal-in-noise" detection problem. The paper uses the classical model for the measurable signal x(t) = s(t) + n(t) and gives an analysis of the signal component s(t), which is generated by the fire and which is to be detected. Using a general matched filter concept in combination with rather general properties of the fire signal component s(t), several forms of fire signal detectors can be developed which are optimum detectors in a rather general sense. These detectors are given as simple signal processing algorithms which can be realized by using a microprocessor or a special integrated electronic circuit. The efficiency of fire detectors depends very much on the behavior of the noise component n(t) which in the practical case of heat or smoke detection must be considered as highly self-correlated, in other words n(t) varies slowly with time compared with the fire signal component s(t). In this case it is nearly impossible to calculate the detector efficiency in advance for signal detection situations which may be interesting for practical cases.In order to study the behavior and the efficiency of these detectors a Monte Carlo method has been used, and a measuring procedure has been established with suitable accuracy and in a way which covers the practical need.