Unit 9:

Combined (Hybrid) Methods

of Protection
November 2013 ©
2
Objectives:

On completion of this unit, ‘Combined (Hybrid) Methods of Protection’, you should

know:

a. The advantages of combining two or more methods of protection in apparatus.

b. The installation requirements according to BS EN 60079-14.

c. The inspection requirements according to BS EN 60079-17.

November 2013 ©
3
November 2013 ©
4
Combined (Hybrid) Methods of Protection
Electrical equipment may be manufactured with more than one method of explosion
protection. Equipment of this type has combined methods of protection but may also be
known as a hybrid. Such an approach combines the best features of each type of protection
into one piece of equipment for both economic and practical purposes.

Flameproof Ex d
enclosure

Standard industrial
switch

A traditional push-button station for use in an hazardous location comprises a flameproof

EEx d or Ex d enclosure, in which a standard industrial switch is fitted. An alternative to this
arrangement is an Increased Safety EEx e or Ex e enclosure with a small flameproof EEx d
or Ex d component certified switch fitted inside. Because the switch produces sparks in
normal operation, clearly it has to be flameproof to comply with the Increased Safety concept
of protection. Such equipment will be marked EEx ed, Ex ed, EEx de or Ex de.

EEx e / Ex e
enclosure

Ignition by sparking contacts

contained within the ‘small
volume’ EEx d or Ex d switch

November 2013 ©
5
 The advantages of the hybrid arrangement over the traditional flameproof method are:

s a. Lower cost and weight,

b. Glanding arrangements are simplified,
h
c. Minimum ingress protection IP54 but may be as high as IP66

Standards
Hybrid apparatus may be constructed using any combination of the various methods of
explosion protection and, therefore, the apparatus will be marked with the symbolic letters
and construction standard numbers relative to the types of explosion protection used.
Probably the most commonly used combination involves ‘d’ and ‘e’ types of apparatus, and
so the table below shows these standards only. The full list of standards can be found in Unit
2. Hybrid apparatus must also be installed and maintained in accordance with relevant
standards.

BS EN60079-1: 2007 Flameproof enclosures ‘d’

BS EN50 018: 2000 Flameproof enclosure ‘d’

BS 5501-5: 1977 Flameproof enclosure ‘d’

BS EN60079-7: 2007 Increased safety enclosure ‘e’

BS EN50 019: 2000 Increased safety enclosure ‘e’

BS 5501-6: 1977 Increased safety enclosure ‘e’

BS EN60079-14: 2008
BS EN60079-17: 2007
Electrical apparatus for explosive gas
atmospheres: Part 14. Electrical installations in
hazardous areas (other than mines)
Electrical apparatus for explosive gas
atmospheres: Part 17. Inspection and
maintenance of electrical installations in
hazardous areas (other than mines)

Motors – EEx de / Ex de

Flameproof Ex d
main frame

Increased safety Ex e
terminal box

November 2013 ©
6
Motors – EEx de / Ex de
Manufacturers also produce electric motors in which there are combined methods of
protection. The main body of the motor will be flameproof EEx d or Ex d and the terminal box
increased safety EEx e or Ex e. An alternative terminal plate is fitted to a motor of this type
to accommodate special terminals which are screwed into the terminal plate. These are
hybrid terminals, i.e. they employ both flameproof and increased safety features in their
construction.

1. Terminal box cover and

screws
2. Gasket
3. Certified cable glands
4. Gland plate
5. Flameproof / Increased
Safety terminals
6. Terminal plate
7. Terminal box and screws

EEx de / Ex de Motor Terminal Box

To achieve the required level of ingress protection, gaskets are fitted between the terminal
box and its cover, between the terminal plate and box, and between the gland plate and
terminal box. On no account, however, should a gasket be fitted between the terminal plate
and the frame of the motor as this joint is a flamepath.
It must be emphasised that, on some motors, the increased safety terminal box looks very
much like a flameproof box in terms of its construction. This likeness means that there is a
possibility that personnel unaware of this concept may remove the gaskets and, therefore, it
is important that certification labels are studied before any work is carried out. Removal of
the gaskets in an attempt to return the box to its assumed status, i.e. flameproof, would be
an unauthorised modification which would invalidate the certification.

November 2013 ©
7
EEx de – Sample Certification Label – ( pre ATEX )

Ex de – Sample Certification Label – ( ATEX )

0081 II 2 G
Ex de IIB T4
Duty S1 No. E956732
Ins. cl F IP55
V Hz kW r/m cos
440 60 37 1760 0.8
LCIE 07ATEX599X
IEC 60034-1

Cable gland selection

As already mentioned in unit 4, the requirements for cable glands entering Ex e equipment,
and in this instance the Ex e terminal box of a type de motor, as specified in BS EN60079-
14: 2003, states that cable glands must maintain the type of protection and ingress
protection of the equipment, and meet the impact test requirements. The inference here
would appear to suggest that provided uncertified cable glands were manufactured to
BS6121 their use would be acceptable with Ex e equipment. This of course does not
apply to uncertified plastic cable glands.
The introduction of the latest standards, however, has effectively removed this option by
virtue of the requirement for revised ‘seal aging’ tests involving repeated heating and cooling
cycles, which is now a requirement for all cable glands as detailed in IEC 60079-0 The
latest issue of IEC 60079-14: 2007 now requires all cable glands to be certified or
approved by the manufacturer.

November 2013 ©
8
 Lighting Fittings – EEx edq / Ex edq
The lighting fitting illustrated below employs three protection concepts, i.e. increased safety
type ‘e’, flameproof type ‘d’ and powder filing type ’q’. This type of fitting is widely used in the
petro-chemical industry.

The constructional features are:

1) Flameproof mono-pin lamp holder’s;
2) Increased safety choke designed not to overheat if the lamp fails;
3) Temperature rating based on internal and external surface temperatures;nclosure
sealing providing high ingress protection;
4) Increased safety enclosure including glands designed to withstand specified impact.

In this lighting fitting, the circuits include capacitors which are protected by a method of
protection, powder filling type ‘q’. Switches will be flameproof type ‘d’ construction and
terminals will be increased safety type ‘e’.

Ex e
ballast
Ex d lamp
holders
Ex q
capacitor
Ex e
terminals

Ex d
switch

November 2013 ©
9
EEx e m ib / Ex e m ib
An enclosure may have an encapsulated component inside. A typical example is a
telephone for use in an hazardous location. The casing of the telephone would be increased
safety type ‘e’ protection, most of the internal circuits would be intrinsically safe, type ‘i’, but
part of the circuitry includes a relay with 250 volt contacts for ring-tone operation and,
therefore, encapsulation type ‘m’ would be used to protect that part of the circuit. Terminals
would be increased safety type ‘e’.

November 2013 ©
10