HANOI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

School of Electric and Electronic Engineering

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Project Report
Fire Alarm System using Thermister and Smoke Sensor

Instructor: Dr. Nguyễn Cảnh Quang

Student:
Name ID
Nguyễn Quang Anh 20212398
Dương Quốc Tuấn 20212427
Vũ Đình Khánh 20212412

Hà Nội, 2024
Contents
1 Introduction 2
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Block diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2 Schematic diagram and working principle of block circuits 4

2.1 Schematic diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 Working principle of block circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2.1 Power supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.3 Sensors and sensor conditioners circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3.1 Smoke sensor MQ135 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3.2 Thermister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.4 Comparator circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.5 Amplifier circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3 Results 10

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1 Introduction
1.1 Introduction
Fire alarm system is a smoke and temperature sensing device that indicates fire.
They are very common in homes, offices, schools and industries for preventing
as the damage caused by fire accidents is catastrophic. Therefore, we want to
design a fire alarm system with low prices, high efficiency for most of conditions.
The system should be suitable for household or dormitories, apartments.

The most common way to detect the heat from fire is using thermister. How-
ever,there are two methods for detecting the smokes.

The first method is ionization. A small amount of radioactive material are

used between two electrical charges plates. The charges plates ionizes the air
and causes current to flow between two plates. When smoke appears, the resis-
tance of the air will increases and makes the currents to reduce. If the currents
decreases to the certain value, the sensor can detects and actives the alarm.

The second method is using photoelectric smoke alarms. It aims a light source
into a sensing chamber at an angle away from sensor. When the smoke appears,
the light is reflected onto the light sensor. If the light intensity is large enough,
the alarm will be activated.

The first method is more responsive and effective. The sensor model is also
popular and cheap. Thanks to these advantages, we choose ionization smoke
detector for our project.

1.2 Block diagram

The main circuit use smoke sensor and thermistor to detect fire. Output volt-
age from sensor block is compared with voltage reference in comparison circuit
block. If the output voltage reaches a certain level, it will send the signal to
buzzer and LEDs to alert through amplifier block.

The source circuit supply 5VDC to the main circuit. Through rectifier, voltage
regulator and filter, the external source 220V/50Hz is converted to 5V.

The components of each block are shown in the figures.

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 Figure 1: Block diagram of main circuit

Figure 2: Block diagram of power supply circuit

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2 Schematic diagram and working principle of
block circuits
2.1 Schematic diagram

Figure 3: Schematic diagram

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2.2 Working principle of block circuits
2.2.1 Power supply
To provide energy for the entire circuit, we design the power supply block which
obtains the 220VAC-50Hz from household grid, using voltage transformer to step
down to 12V-3A (RMS). Once the AC voltage is transformed, it is then passed
through a rectifier to convert the AC voltage into pulsating DC voltage by al-
lowing current flow in only one direction and removing the negative portion of
the AC waveform.

After rectifying, a filter is used to smooth out and minimize pulsating DC volt-
age. Finally, a voltage regulator is needed for ensuring a stable and constant
power supply for the entire circuit, providing a consistent 5VDC output.

The rectifying step is a key part of converting AC to DC. It uses rectifier diodes
to eliminate the negative half-cycles of the AC signal. In this project, we use
the diode bridge configuration (using 1N4007 with foward voltage drop VFD =
1V and maximum reverse peak voltage VRPM = 1000V) because of the high
efficiency and simple construction.

Once we get DC signal from the rectifier, we can smooth it by using capaci-
tors as a filter. This part can be after rectifier and another one after regulator
to ensure the output is consistent. The capacitors will charge when the voltage

µ
increases and releases when voltage decreases. We choose the capacitance for
both C3 = C5 = 1000 F

The final step is regulation the signal to a desired value. There are many ways
to achieve but in this project, we use IC LM7805(Vin = 12 - 40V)[1] to provide
a steady and regulated power supply of 5V. This IC has three terminals, the
input terminal (Vin ) is connected to the positive voltage to regulate, while the
output terminal (Vout ) goes to the load.
√ √
V in(7805) = 2V RMS − 2V FD = 12 2 − 1 × 2 = 14.97

µ
We also add two capacitors C4 = C6 = 0.1 F to the input and output terminal
to remove noise.
Finally, we get stable VCC = 5V signal.

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 Figure 4: Power supply circuit

2.3 Sensors and sensor conditioners circuit

2.3.1 Smoke sensor MQ135
The MQ-135 sensor stands as a widely used gas sensing component, recognized
for its ability to detect and measure air quality, particularly gases such as CO2,
NH3, and various air pollutants. It is commonly employed in environmental
monitoring applications and air quality assessment systems.

Vo1

RL

(a) MQ-135 smoke sensor

(b) Smoke sensor circuit

Figure 5

Through datasheet and experiment, we have that the output voltage of sensor
decreases when it senses more smoke and it operates best when connected with
RL = 20 kΩ. With that value of RL , the suitable when detecting smoke is Vo1
= 1.67V. Therefore, we will design the alarm to work when the output voltage
of sensor higher than Vref = 1.67V

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2.3.2 Thermister
A thermistor is a semiconductor type of resistor whose resistance is strongly
dependent on temperature, more so than in standard resistors. Thermistors are
categorized based on their conduction models. Negative-temperature-coefficient
(NTC) thermistors have less resistance at higher temperatures, while positive-
temperature-coefficient (PTC) thermistors have more resistance at higher tem-
peratures. NPC are often used widely in electronic circuits and it also are chosen
for our project.

Figure 6: Thermister circuit

In this project, we design our circuit with NTC MF-38 100k. Through datasheet
and experiment, NTC resistance decreases when temperature increases. We
want the alarm to activate when the temperature is 60o , in which RT1(60o ) =
24.16 kΩ

We want reference voltage Vref = 1.67V can be used for both smoke sensor
and thermister. Thus, the output voltage Vo2 from the thermiste must higher
than Vref . A resistor R4 should be connected with thermistor in series to get a
VCC voltage divider.
R4 R4
V o2 = × V CC = × 5 = 1.67V
R4 + RT1 R4 + 24.16k
=> R4 = 12.11 kΩ
We choose R4 = 12.2 kΩ

With both output signal Vo1 and Vo2 , we use 2 capacitors C=1000uF to bypass
the noise to ground.

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2.4 Comparator circuit
A comparator circuit plays a important role in our systems by facilitating the
detection of specific thresholds. Sensor conditioning circuit always generates
output signal and it can activate alarm system works all the time. So we need a
comparator to receive signals from sensors and decide whether should the alarm
system be activated.

We choose IC LM358 as the main component in this circuit. The IC receives

two inputs V+ (Vin) and V− (Vref):

ˆ If V +
> V− , the output voltage Vout = high level voltage = 3.5V [2]
ˆ If V −
> V+ , the output voltage Vout = GND
Based on this characteristic, we can design the comparator circuit:

Figure 7: Comparator circuit

As mentioned above, we choose the reference voltage Vref = 1.167V. We use a

potentionmeter RV1 = 10 kΩ and two resistor R2 = 1 kΩ, R6 = 2.2 kΩ, then
connect them in schematic diagram Fig.6 to obtain the reference voltage Vref .
R6 2.2k
V ref = × V CC = × 5 = 1.67V
R6 + R2 + RV1 2.2k + 1k + RV1
=> RV1 = 1.61 kΩ

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2.5 Amplifier circuit
We desire the buzzer will activate when smoke sensor or thermister reach the
threshold value. So the transistor T2 PNP 2N3906 (VBE(F) = 0.7V) as a switch
of the buzzer. In cut-off mode, Vin T2 should be in low level.

We also design two LED to identify when smoke sensor or thermister circuit
operates. Two transistor T1 NPN 2N3904 (β = 150, VCE(sat) = 0.2V, VBE(F) =
0.7V) and supply them by source to use as switches to activate T2 , and 2 LEDs
(VLED =2.2V,IMAX =30mA) to notify if the there is high level signal (when T1
are in active mode or saturation mode, collector voltage VC1 is low)
We choose T1 to work as switches. To ensure T1 work in saturation mode:

I C1 × RC1 > V CC − V LED = 5 − 2.2 = 2.8V

V −V
=> I B1 × β × RC1 = 358(o)R BE(F)
B1
So we choose RB1 = 14.7 kΩ ;= RC1 = 1000 Ω to protect the LEDs.

RC1

RB1 T1

Rin_T2 T2
Vin_T2

RC1

RB1 T1

Figure 8: Amplifier circuit

We also use 2 diodes 1N4007 to separates 2 sensing circuits =>Vin T2 =1.2V We

decided to interchange emitter and collector of T2 (this is not proper way to use
since it reduces DC current gain β and is easily to breakdown the transistor,
but in our case, it still works as all breakdown voltage parameters are all higher
than VCC , so we still can use 5V source)

9
 
With interchanged emitter and collector, T2 is in “reverse” active mode, β
is reduced heavily to 5 10, VB2 = VC2 -VBE(F) = 5 - 0.7 = 4.3 (V) To let the
buzzer active, VE2 ≥ 3V => IC ≥ 15mA To increase IC , connect collector and
base terminal with R15 = 10 kΩ so that IB also increases.
V CC − V B2 V B2 − V in T2 IC
I (B(min) = + = = 3mA
R15 Rin T2 β
=> Rin T2(max) = 1058 Ω
Choose Rin T2 = 1 kΩ

3 Results
After designing, we simulate the circuit in Proteus. The main purpose of this
step is to assess whether the circuit operates stably, verify the calculated data,
and evaluate its efficiency.

Figure 9: Testing circuit in Proteus

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 The final step of our project is creating the real circuit. These are a few
images showcasing our products.

Figure 10: Implementing real circuit

Figure 11: Testing real circuit

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Conclusion
We undertook the design of both the block and schematic diagrams for a com-
prehensive fire alarm system. This included a meticulous implementation of
the system in simulation environments as well as real circuits. By rigorously
testing and refining the system, we ensured it met all stipulated requirements
and specifications.

In the future, we plan to conduct more in-depth research and develop numer-
ous projects related to designing electronic circuits aimed at serving daily life
needs. Our goal is to delve deeper into research, exploring innovative concepts
and advancing technological solutions that cater to various aspects of daily life.
By focusing on electronic circuit design, we aim to create practical and efficient
solutions that enhance and simplify daily activities, contributing positively to
people’s lives.

References
[1] Datasheet of LM7805 provided by manufacturer:
https://www.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/pdf/3067/MOTOROLA/LM358.html
[2] Datasheet of LM358 provided by manufacturer:
https://www.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/pdf/82833/FAIRCHILD/LM7805.html

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