Session2 ExplosionProtectionFundamentals

TheExplosionTriangle
Inordertohaveanexplosion,allthreelegsofthetriangleneedtobepresent
Ourobjectiveistoremoveoneormoreofthelegsofthetrianglewhenweapplyelectrical
equipmentinapotentiallyhazardousflammableatmosphere
Allthe
protection
conceptsthat
arecurrently
usedinthe
worldtoday
address one or addressoneor
morelegsof
thistriangle
Electrical Sparks
SourcesofIgnitioninHazardousAreas
ElectricalSparks
Toigniteaflammablemixtureofhydrogenandairrequiresonly20microJoules,the
energyproducedasaresultofabreakof0.1mSdurationinacircuitcarrying20mA
in10V.Thevoltagelevelhasaninfluenceonhowincendiveasparkwillbe.
Flammablegasesandvaporsaremorereadilyignitedathighvoltagesthanoflow
voltages,andisbasicallywhyIScircuitsareseldomdesignedfromuseabove30V.
HotSurfaces
Theflowofcurrentthrough,forexamplethewindingsofanelectricmotorinvariably
producesheatwhichwillraisethesurfacetemperatureofthemotor.Ifthemotoris
excessivelyoverloadedandthethermaloverloaddeviceisincorrectlyset,the
surfacetemperatureofthemotormaywellexceeditsTrating.
Batteries
Batteriesareapotentialsourceofignitionastheywillproduceincendivesparksif
theirterminalsareshortcircuited.Currentoftheorderof1000Acanbegenerated g
iftheterminalsofacarbatteryareshortcircuited.Thecertificationofportable
equipmentmayonlyallowtheiruseinhazardousareasifpoweredbylowpower
batteries.Replacementofbatteriesmustonlybecarriedoutinnonhazardous
areas.
Friction
SourcesofIgnitioninHazardousAreas
Theabrasivewheelsofportablegrindingmachinesaremorecapableofproducingincendive
sparks,andhotsurfaceslocallyatthepointofcontactbytheabrasivewheel.Powertools
unlesscertifiedshallnotbeusedinhazardousareas.
Lightning
Lightingstrikeswillbereadilydischargedtoearthbythenormalmetalconstructionof
installation,butflammablegasesorvaporscanbeignitedbylightning.
Impact
Thecombinationofrustyironorsteel,aluminumandimpactbetweenthetwoisalikely
source of ignition known as thermite action which can produce sparks capable of igniting a sourceofignition,knownasthermiteaction,whichcanproducesparkscapableofignitinga
flammablegasorvapor.Aluminumladdersaretypicallynotusedinhazardousareasdueto
thisfact.
RadioFrequency
TheenergytransmittedbyamobilephoneifusedinaZone1area,couldbepickedupbythe
metalworkinthearea,whichactingasaaerial,couldproduceasparkofsufficientenergyto
ignitethepetrolvapor.
SourcesofIgnitioninHazardousAreas
StaticElectricity
Typicalapplicationsinvolvethetransferoffluidswithinaprocessplant.Upto5000V
canbegeneratedatthenozzleofanaerosolcanister.Similarly,1000Vormorecanbe
generated at the nozzle of high pressure cleaning equipment Bonding and earthing of generatedatthenozzleofhighpressurecleaningequipment.Bondingandearthingof
aircraftortankersduringrefuelingpreventsthebuildupofelectrostaticchargeswhich
otherwisemightcausethefueltoignite.Plasticenclosuresnormallycarrythewarning
thattheyshouldbecleanedusingadampclothtoavoidgenerationofstaticelectricity.
StaticHazard
GlassReinforcedPolyesterhasasurfaceresistanceof10E9ohms.Theycan
ExcerptfromMaintenanceInformationonEExeGRPenclosure
presentahazardfromstaticelectricityandshouldonlybecleanedwithadamp
cloth.
Carbonloadedglassreinforced,identifiedwiththesuffixChaveasurface
resistance of between 10E6 and 10E9 Ohms They do not present a hazard from resistanceofbetween10E6and10E9Ohms.Theydonotpresentahazardfrom
staticelectricity.
SourcesofIgnitioninHazardousAreas
OpticalRadiation
Theuseofopticalfibres inparticularopens
upmanyfieldsofapplication.Thistechnique
offers in fact numerous advantages however offersinfactnumerousadvantages,however,
theeffectoftheenergysource"light"asa
potentialignitionsourceinexplosive
atmospheresmustbegivenconsideration.
Ch i l R i ChemicalReaction
Mixingchemicalsthathavedifferent
chemicalreactionscananddoescreate
significantpotentiallyexplosive g p y p
environments.
Ultrasound
Chemical solvents may introduce a fire or Chemicalsolventsmayintroduceafireor
explosionhazardespeciallyifexposed
directlytoultrasound.Electricalhazardsare
alsopresentandshouldbeconsidered
especiallywhereanyliquidsareinvolved
(e.g.sonicating waterbaths).
UpperandLowerFlammableLimitsfor
flammablegasesandvapors g p
Justlikeyourautomobile,themixtureneedstobeintheproperrangeforanexplosiontooccur
Mostgasesfallinthe2%10%rangewhileAcetyleneandHydrogenhavemuchlargerranges,hence
onereasontheyaregroupedverysimilar
SpecificDensityofFlammablegasesand
vapors p
Densityrationgasestoair:
Some gases are generally denser than air Somegasesaregenerallydenserthanair
(propane)andhaveatendencytocreep
overlongdistancesandpotentiallyignite
whenexposedtoanarc.
O h h h d i i Othergaseshavethesamedensityasair
(acetylene,ethylene)andthereislittle
tendencyforthesegasestosinkormove
around.
Stillothergaseshaveadensitylighterthan
air(methane,hydrogen)andhavea
tendencytodisperseunlesscontainedbya
containerorstructure.
Areaclassificationbecomesveryimportant
whenconsideringthetypesandgasesthat
aretypicallygoingtobeseeninthe
environmentduetodispersion.
GeneralRulesofThumbindetermining
hazardousarea
Acontinuousvolumeof10litersofexplosivegasesinaconfinedroomisalwaysconsideredtobeahazardous
areairrespectiveofthesizeoftheroom
Asimplecalculationisthatifthevolumeofhazardousgasis1/10,000thsofthevolumeoftheroomorgreater,a
potentialforexplosioncanoccur.Thisdoesnotmeanthattheentireroomwouldbeclassifiedasahazardous
area,butpossiblyonlyapart.
Formostcombustibledusts,ablanketof1mmormoreofignitabledustevenlydistributedoveranentireareais
considered sufficient enough to create a dust hazardous location consideredsufficientenoughtocreateadusthazardouslocation.
Whereexplosivepressurescanrupturethevesselcontainingthematerial,muchsmallervolumesofgasshould
beconsideredashazardousduetorupturefromothersurroundingitems.
Exampleofproperventilationofacontainedroomwithheavierthanairmixtures.
TemperatureIdentificationCodes
ExampleofTemperatureincreasingfactorsinExterminalboxes
TemperatureIdentificationNumbers
GasGrouping
Ingeneral,if
youcan
producea
productthatis
ratedatT3or
better,(max.
surface
temperature of temperatureof
200Corcooler)
youwillcover
approx.90%of
theflammable
d gasesand
vaporsseenin
theoilandgas
industry
TemperatureIdentificationNumbers
GasGrouping
Example Producthasamarkingof
T6 it means that at a 40C ambient, T6itmeansthatata40 Cambient,
thesurfacetemperatureofthe
product inquestionwillnever
exceed85C.Elevatedambient
temperaturescaneffecttheT
id tifi ti b d ti ll identificationnumberdramatically.
Itisbestunderbothhighandlow
ambientconditionstocheckwith
themanufacturetodetermine
suitabilityoftheproductbeingused y p g
orconsidered.
RelevantEN/IECstandardsfor
HazardousLocations
Gas
Dust
HazardousAreaClassification.
CategoryConcept Gases g y p
GasGroupingforEExdenclosures
HazardousAreaClassification.
CategoryConceptDusts g y p
RelevantIECstandardsforDustHazardous
Locations
RelevantIECstandardsforDustHazardous
Locations
DustProtectionbyEnclosureUpdates(ExtD)
EN5028111:1998willbewithdrawnasaharmonisedstatusundertheATEXDirectivefromthe1stof
October2008.TheprincipaldifferencesinEN612410:2006arelistedbelow,minordifferencesarenot
listed. EN612410isgeneralrequirementsthatrequireseither612411tobeusedtoacquiretD
certification,ultimately,EN612410willbemergedintoEN600790
Additionaltestingforcategory3productsparticularlyfornonmetallicmaterials
Increased requirements for batteries in line with gas standards in the EN 60079 series IncreasedrequirementsforbatteriesinlinewithgasstandardsintheEN60079series
Thermaltestsunderspecifieddustlayersrequiredifthelayerexceeds50mm
IntroductionofpracticeA(similartoexistingmethod)andpracticeB(anewapproach)Aisprincipallythe
sameastheoldstandardmaxsurfacetempisdeterminedwith5mmofdustandendusersneedtoderate
itby75K. TodeterminedustingressbyEN60529.Bdeterminesthetempusinga12.5mmlayerofdustand
25K ff t i t b li d i i t ll ti Th th d f d t i i d t i i b h t li t t a25Koffsetistobeappliedininstallation. Themethodofdeterminingdustingressisbyaheatcyclingtest.
TypeBhasspecificrequirementsforjoints(plain,spigot,gasketed,shaftsandrods).
UpdatesonstandardsHazardousLocations
The4theditionofIEC600790waspublishedinMayof2004.Thisisnotcurrentlyharmonisedbutcanbe
consideredstateoftheart.Significantchangestothestandardareasfollowseffectivein2008:
Newtypeofprotectionnintroduced(ThestandardforTypenwaspreviouslyastandalonestandard
thatdidnotfunctionasasubpartofIEC600790.AllthegeneralrequirementshavebeenmovedfromIEC
6007915toIEC600790andadjustedasnecessary).
Apparatusstandardsforcaplights(IEC620131),intrinsicallysafesystems
(IEC 60079 25) Zone 0 apparatus (IEC 60079 26) and trace heating (IEC 62086 1) introduced (IEC6007925),Zone0apparatus(IEC6007926),andtraceheating(IEC620861)introduced.
ClarificationofthestatusofsymbolsIthasbeenclarifiedinanotethatsisnotarecognizedtypeof
protection,butiswhatSHOULDbeusedwhenequipmentdoesnotcomplywiththespecifictypesof
protection,butdoespresentequivalentsafety.
Temperatureassessmenthasbeenrewrittentoaddresstheinfluencesofambienttemperature,internal
sourcesofheat,andexternalsourcesofheatingorcooling
Relativethermalindex(RTI)addedasanalternativetothermalindex(TI)
Impacttestrevisedtospecifydropheightinlieuofenergy
Clarificationofapplicationof5Kand10Ktemperaturemarginstotypetestedsamples
Clarification of number of samples and order of tests for nonmetallic materials Clarificationofnumberofsamplesandorderoftestsfornon metallicmaterials
Clarificationoftheorderofprotectionconceptmarking(alphabetical)
Additionofaclauseoninstructions(Astheinstallation,operation,andmaintenancewasconsideredcritical
tothesafeapplicationofequipmentinexplosiveatmospheres,anewclausewasaddeddetailingthe
minimuminformationtobeprepared.)
S t ti i t t f d f IEC 60079 26 SomestaticrequirementstransferredfromIEC6007926
HarmonizationofATEX
&IECExupdate
HarmonizationofATEX
&IECExupdate
PropertiesofHazardousFlammable
Materials
AllElectricalsparksarecapableofignitingagas/airmixture
False
Theglasssurfaceofalightbulbwillpreventignitionofgas/airmixture False
Anyconcentrationofflammablegasinairmaybeignited
False
Acetylenehasthewidestflammablelimitrange
True
ApparatusmarkedGasGroupIIcanbeusedinGasGroupIIA,IIBandIICareas
True
PropertiesofHazardousFlammable
Materials
Allflammablevaporswillriseintheatmosphere
False
ApparatusmarkedIIAcanbeusedinaIIChazardousarea False
AZone2areaindicatesthataflammableatmospherecanoccur
duringnormaloperatingconditions
False
Theprobabilityanddurationofagasleakinahazardousareais
indicatedbytheZone
True
Generally,apparatuswithaT3temperatureratingcanbeused
inplaceofapparatusratedT4
False