Tyco TraceTek - Leak Detection / Design Guide

TraceTek Leak Detection Application - Design Guide Sensor Selection Layout - Accessories

Design Guide – TraceTek Leak Detection

TraceTek leak detection systems can be utilised in a variety of installations to detect water, chemical or fuel leaks. TraceTek sensor cables detect and locate leaks along their entire length. TraceTek point sensors detect leaks at a specific point. Virtually any number of point sensors can be combined with sensor cable on a leak detection single circuit.

The following information is provided for initial guidance only. Complete product information, including selection guides, data sheets, installation instructions and operating manuals, can be downloaded from our website.

Sensor Selection

The first design task is to select the most appropriate sensor type based on the liquid to be detected and the area to be monitored.

TT1000-POINT-PROBE should be selected for water detection in areas requiring only a single point of detection, such as drip trays under HVAC units.

TT1000 sensor cable should be selected for water detection in commercial building applications where larger area coverage is required, such as under raised floors in computer or telecom rooms, in building service/utility areas, etc.

TT3000 sensor cable should be selected for aqueous chemical detection or for water detection in double contained pipe systems.

TT5000 sensor cable should be selected for fuel and oil detection.

TT5001 sensor cable should be selected for organic solvent detection.

TT7000 sensor cable should be selected for strong acid detection.

Sensor Layout

The next design task is to determine the optimum sensor layout. The sensing cable or point probe should be positioned so that leakage from the potential leak sources will contact the sensor quickly, before reaching any critical equipment, cables or other items to be protected.

Perimeter Protection – lay the sensing cable along the perimeter of the room, at a minimum of 600 mm from the wall.

Surface Protection – lay the sensing cable in a serpentine pattern (typically on a 1.2 to 2 meter pitch) to protect larger surface areas.

Around Equipment – lay the sensing cable around equipment so that leaks can be detected before spreading out.

Interconnecting Separate Areas – jumper cables, branch connectors, and weighted length modules can be used to connect sensors from separate areas into a single circuit, as illustrated below:

Alarm Module Selection

Depending on the size of the leak detection system and accessibility of the sensors, an appropriate alarm (or alarm and locating) module must be selected.

Small Area Circuits – for small leak detection circuits (normally those less than 40 meters of sensor cable in a single area), a simple alarm module may be selected. The TraceTek TTC, TTA-S IM and SZA modules provide local indication of the system operating status via LEDs, plus voltage-free contacts for remote connection to external alarm signals, remote annunciation panels, or building management systems. A typical circuit is shown below:

Large Circuits, Concealed Sensors, or Separated Areas – for large circuits (normally more than 40 meters or where sensors are distributed between several separate areas) or installations where the sensor is concealed and normally inaccessible, an alarm and location module is most appropriate. The TTDM-128 provides voltage-free alarm contacts, 4-20 mA output, and digital communication via simple RS-485 wiring and the ModBus protocol.

Alternatively, TTSIM modules can be connected either to the TTDM-128 or directly to a building management system via RS-485 wiring. The TTSIM supports ModBus and Johnson Controls Metasys protocols directly, providing complete sensor status and leak location information digitally to the host system. The TTDM-128 can be connected to as many as 128 TTSIMs via a single RS-485 network, allowing extremely large leak detection systems to be easily configured and integrated.

Accessories

A variety of accessories are available to complete your system and make installation easy. Most accessories must be specified with type PC (for use with TT1000 sensors) or type MC (for use with all other sensors) connectors.

TT-MLC modular leader cable – used to connect sensor circuits to alarm modules.

TT-MJC modular jumper cable – used to interconnect sensor circuits.

TT-MBC modular branch connectors – used to layout circuits in a variety of branched configurations.

TT-WL weighted length – provides an artificial circuit length of 4.5 meters, in order to clearly separate sensor sections that are on the same circuit but in different areas.

TT-MET modular end termination, required at the end of each sensor circuit.

TT-TAG – plastic tags used for clearly identifying TraceTek sensors, and for tagging mapping data on the sensor.

TT-HDC – hold down clips, available in two sizes: ¼ inch for TT1000 and TT3000 sensors, and ½ inch for TT5000 and TT5001 sensors.