what is an intrinsically safe equipment? – Intrinsically safe equipment is defined as “equipment and wiring which is incapable of releasing sufficient electrical or thermal energy under normal or abnormal conditions to cause ignition of a specific hazardous atmospheric mixture in its most easily ignited concentration.” This is achieved by limiting the amount of power available to the electrical equipment in the hazardous area to a level below that which will ignite the gases.

• In order to have a fire or explosion, fuel, oxygen and a source of ignition must be present.
• An intrinsically safe system assumes the fuel and oxygen is present in the atmosphere, but the system is designed so the electrical energy or thermal energy of a particular instrument loop can never be great enough to cause ignition.

Intrinsic Safety (IS) is an approach to the design of equipment going into hazardous areas. The idea is to reduce the available energy to a level where it is too low to cause ignition. That means preventing sparks and keeping temperatures low. Traditionally, protection from explosion in hazardous environments has been accomplished by either using EXPLOSION PROOF apparatus which can contain an explosion inside an enclosure, or PRESSURIZATION or purging which isolates the explosive gas from the electrical equipment.

Intrinsically safe apparatus cannot replace these methods in all applications, but where possible can provide significant cost savings in installation and maintenance of the equipment in a Hazardous area. The basic design of an intrinsic safety barrier uses Zener Diodes to limit voltage, resistors to limit current and a fuse.

The alternatives are to design systems so oxygen is excluded (by purging with inert gas) or to isolate possible sources of ignition. This can be done either by putting equipment in enclosures strong enough to contain an explosion or by moving it outside the hazardous area.

What is intrinsic safety for electrical circuits?

Intrinsic Safety Overview – When installing electrical equipment in or near hazardous area locations, specific circuit design principles must be followed in order to prevent an explosion. Depending on the region of the world, and the application requirements, different techniques or concepts are followed.

• In Europe, Intrinsic Safety is widely used.
• Circuit design in North America more commonly follows explosion proof techniques.
• But that is changing as the benefits of Intrinsic Safety become more widely understood.
• Intrinsic Safety is based on the principle of preventing low-voltage circuits in a hazardous areas from releasing enough energy to cause an explosion.

This is typically accomplished using a protective circuit known as an intrinsically safe barrier. In normal operation, and in the event of a fault, the Intrinsically Safe Barrier protects the field circuit by preventing excess energy from reaching the hazardous area.

1. There are three main components in the barrier that limit the voltage and current: a resistor, at least two Zener Diodes, and a fuse.
2. The resistor limits the current to a specific value known as the short circuit current, Isc.
3. The Zener Diode limits the voltage to a value referred to as open circuit voltage, Voc.

The fuse will open when the Zener Diode conducts thereby further protecting the circuit. When considering the Intrinsically Safe Circuit in a control system, there are three main components:

The field device (can be either a simple or non-simple device) The field wiring The barrier

A simple field device will neither generate nor store more than 1.2V, 0.1A or 25mW. Therefore, the simple device is connected to the Intrinsically Safe Barrier through the field wiring. Examples of simple devices are contacts, thermocouples and RTD’s. If the field device does create or store energy that exceeds 1.2V, 0.1A or 25mW, then it is considered a non-simple device,

Examples of non-simple devices are transmitters, transducers, solenoid valves and relays. Non-simple devices must be certified as intrinsically safe and connected to an approved Intrinsically Safe Barrier. When designing the intrinsically safe circuit with non-simple devices, it is important to compare the entity values (electrical parameters which describe the contribution or burden that a given device will add to an intrinsically safe circuit) of the non-simple device against the entity values of the barrier.

The Macromatic ISD ISE Series of Intrinsically Safe Relays provide a safe, reliable and cost-effective method to control multiple loads (motor starters, relays, etc.) with multiple input devices (switches, sensors, etc.) which are in a hazardous area.

How do you make a circuit intrinsically safe?

Cable Capacitance and Inductance – When designing and installing intrinsically safe systems, keep in mind that capacitance and inductance parameters of the connecting cables are important factors, even if they are not always determining factors. The capacitance and inductance values of the cable (generally, given in pF/m and µH/m) should be easily available from the cable manufacturer.

1. However, if there are difficulties in obtaining this data, the following values can be used (but only in an extreme situation), where the interconnection comprises two or three cores of a conventionally constructed cable (with or without shield): 200 pF/m (60 pF/ft) and either 1 µH/m (0.2 µH/ft).
2. As an alternative to the inductance, another characteristic of the cable, the inductance/resistance ratio (L/R), can be used and is normally given in µH/Ω.

This parameter permits more flexibility in the cable installation process. Refer to Figure 32 for examples of cable installation and to Figure 33 for examples of wiring in small enclosures containing associated apparatus. The cables of the intrinsically safe and non-intrinsically safe circuits are installed in two separate, isolated conduits The cables of the intrinsically safe and non-intrinsically safe circuits are installed in two separate, metallic, grounded conduits. The cables of the intrinsically safe and non-intrinsically safe circuits are installed in the same conduit. One of the cables is protected by a grounded shield to divert fault current to ground. Installation as above, but the cables are separated by anchor brackets. The distance d must conform to the standards with a minimum of 50 mm. Installation as above but the conduit must have an isolated divider. Installation as above but the conduit and divider must be made of metal and grounded. Figure 32 Examples of cable installation Correct: When installing the wiring as shown, the minimum required distance between intrinsically safe and non-intrinsically safe conductors is guaranteed. Incorrect: Several conductors are of excessive length. Incorrect: A separation does not exist between intrinsically safe and non-intrinsically safe conductors. Correct: The maximum distance between the lid and the separator must be less than 1.5 mm; or the separator must guarantee a distance in air around the lid of at least 50 mm between the terminals of the intrinsically safe circuit and the non-intrinsically safe circuit.

• Figure 33 Examples of wiring in small enclosures containing associated apparatus Intrinsic safety standards require that certain points of the system must be grounded and others must be isolated from ground.
• Generally, the grounding of intrinsically safe circuits is required to prevent or even to reduce the probabilities that excessive energy levels can be generated in the hazardous location.

The isolation from ground of parts of the circuit is required to prevent the possibility of having two grounded points with a different potential and the possible circulation of a high current It is also a requirement of intrinsic safety that only one point can be grounded, while the rest of the circuit must be isolated from ground (500 V AC min).

What is the intrinsic safety protection method?

Understanding Intrinsic Safety – Intrinsic Safety (IS) is an approach to the design of equipment going into hazardous areas. The idea is to reduce the available energy to a level where it is too low to cause ignition. That means preventing sparks and keeping temperatures low. Pancake Style Load Cell

What are intrinsic safety barriers in the two way electronics transmitter circuit used to limit?

Intrinsic safety barriers from Pepperl+Fuchs limit the energy that is supplied to a circuit and protect hazardous areas from excess energy. By limiting energy to a safe level, intrinsically safe circuits prevent the ignition of potentially explosive atmospheres.

Isolated Barriers

In addition to their explosion protection function, isolated barriers offer galvanic isolation to protect measurement and control circuits from signal distortion and dangerous surges. These interface modules also convert, standardize, and split measurement and control signals.

Zener Barriers

Zener barriers prevent the transmission of excessively high energy levels from the non-explosion hazardous area to the hazardous area. These interface modules are the right choice when galvanic isolation is not needed or otherwise provided.

What is an example of intrinsic safety?

Operating and design principles – In normal use, electrical equipment often creates tiny electric arcs (internal sparks) in switches, motor brushes, connectors, and in other places. Compact electrical equipment generates heat as well, which under some circumstances can become an ignition source.

There are multiple ways to make equipment safe for use in explosive-hazardous areas. Intrinsic safety (denoted by “i” in the ATEX and IECEx Explosion Classifications) is one of several available methods for electrical equipment. see Types of protection for more info. For handheld electronics, intrinsic safety is the only realistic method that allows a functional device to be explosion protected.

A device which is termed “intrinsically safe” has been designed to be incapable of producing heat or spark sufficient to ignite an explosive atmosphere, even if the device has experienced deterioration or has been damaged. There are several considerations in designing intrinsically safe electronics devices:

reducing or eliminating internal sparking. controlling component temperatures. eliminating component spacing that would allow dust to short a circuit.

Elimination of spark potential within components is accomplished by limiting the available energy in any given circuit and the system as a whole. Temperature, under certain fault conditions such as an internal short in a semiconductor device, becomes an issue as the temperature of a component can rise to a level that can ignite some explosive gasses, even in normal use.

Safeguards, such as current limiting by resistors and fuses, must be employed to ensure that in no circumstance can a component reach a temperature that could cause autoignition of a combustible atmosphere. In the highly compact electronic devices used today PCBs often have component spacing that create the possibility of an arc between components if dust or other particulate matter works into the circuitry, thus component spacing, siting and isolation become important to the design.

The primary concept behind intrinsic safety is the restriction of available electrical and thermal energy in the system so that ignition of a hazardous atmosphere (explosive gas or dust) cannot occur. This is achieved by ensuring that only low voltages and currents enter the hazardous area, and that no significant energy storage is possible.

One of the most common methods for protection is to limit electric current by using series resistors (using types of resistors that always fail open); and limit the voltage with multiple zener diodes. In zener barriers dangerous incoming potentials are grounded, with galvanic isolation barriers there is no direct connection between the safe- and hazardous-area circuits by interposing a layer of insulation between the two.

Certification standards for intrinsic safety designs (mainly IEC 60079-11 but since 2015 also IEC TS 60079-39) generally require that the barrier do not exceed approved levels of voltage and current with specified damage to limiting components. Equipment or instrumentation for use in a hazardous area will be designed to operate with low voltage and current, and will be designed without any large capacitors or inductors that could discharge in a spark.

The instrument will be connected, using approved wiring methods, back to a control panel in a non-hazardous area that contains safety barriers. The safety barriers ensure that, in normal operation, and with the application of faults according to the Equipment Protection Level, EPL, also if accidental contact occurs between the instrument circuit and other power sources, no more than the approved voltage and current enters the hazardous area.

For example, during marine transfer operations when flammable products are transferred between the marine terminal and tanker ships or barges, two-way radio communication needs to be constantly maintained in case the transfer needs to stop for unforeseen reasons such as a spill.

The United States Coast Guard requires that the two way radio must be certified as intrinsically safe. Another example is intrinsically safe or explosion-proof mobile phones used in explosive atmospheres, such as refineries. Intrinsically safe mobile phones must meet special battery design criteria in order to achieve UL, ATEX directive, or IECEx certification for use in explosive atmospheres.

Only properly designed battery -operated, self-contained devices can be intrinsically safe by themselves. Other field devices and wiring are intrinsically safe only when employed in a properly designed IS system. Such systems shall be designed and documented according to the standard:

IEC 60079-25 Intrinsically safe electrical systems, IEC 60079-14 Electrical installations design, selection and erection IEC 60079-17 Electrical installations inspection and maintenance

What is intrinsic safe explosion-proof?

Therefore, Intrinsically Safe means that an apparatus, such as a temperature transmitter is not capable of causing an explosion. Explosion Proof means that should an explosion occur, it will be contained within an enclosure.

How does intrinsically safe equipment prevent explosions?

what is an intrinsically safe equipment? – Intrinsically safe equipment is defined as “equipment and wiring which is incapable of releasing sufficient electrical or thermal energy under normal or abnormal conditions to cause ignition of a specific hazardous atmospheric mixture in its most easily ignited concentration.” This is achieved by limiting the amount of power available to the electrical equipment in the hazardous area to a level below that which will ignite the gases.

In order to have a fire or explosion, fuel, oxygen and a source of ignition must be present. An intrinsically safe system assumes the fuel and oxygen is present in the atmosphere, but the system is designed so the electrical energy or thermal energy of a particular instrument loop can never be great enough to cause ignition.

Intrinsic Safety (IS) is an approach to the design of equipment going into hazardous areas. The idea is to reduce the available energy to a level where it is too low to cause ignition. That means preventing sparks and keeping temperatures low. Traditionally, protection from explosion in hazardous environments has been accomplished by either using EXPLOSION PROOF apparatus which can contain an explosion inside an enclosure, or PRESSURIZATION or purging which isolates the explosive gas from the electrical equipment.

1. Intrinsically safe apparatus cannot replace these methods in all applications, but where possible can provide significant cost savings in installation and maintenance of the equipment in a Hazardous area.
2. The basic design of an intrinsic safety barrier uses Zener Diodes to limit voltage, resistors to limit current and a fuse.

The alternatives are to design systems so oxygen is excluded (by purging with inert gas) or to isolate possible sources of ignition. This can be done either by putting equipment in enclosures strong enough to contain an explosion or by moving it outside the hazardous area.

Is 4 20mA intrinsically safe?

Home Products Precision Pressure Transmitters & Transducers

PMC/STS offers a comprehensive range of classic 2-wire 4-20mA output transducers and transmitters for use in hazardous environments. These satisfy not only the process industry applications but also any application where long cable lengths are required.

What is the difference between intrinsic and functional safety?

Intrinsic safety is a method for ensuring safety by removing the causes of danger. Functional safety, on the other hand, is a method of reducing risks to an acceptable level to ensure safety by devising functions.

What are the advantages of intrinsic safety?

Intrinsic safety relies upon electronic technology to prevent explosions by limiting the energy or ignition source in a hazardous location. This allows the use of safe area cabling, as long as it does not act like a conduit and transmit explosive gases from the hazardous areas to a safer area.

Is safety intrinsic or extrinsic?

Safety is intrinsic to all systems, whether automotive or otherwise. In the mobility world, the rapid pace of development of safety systems that have kept pace with the ecosystem development is incredible. The systems have been active, passive, dynamic and warn the driver or occupants to take mitigating actions.

What are the parameters of intrinsic safety?

In intrinsic safety, design entity parameters are assigned at the terminals. These parameters are used to control the energy interfacing with a device in a hazardous location. They put limitations on the power, voltage, current, capacitance and inductance at the terminals of both devices that are to be connected.

What are the types of intrinsically safe equipment?

Electrical and Non-electrical – There are two main categories of intrinsically safe equipment: electrical and non-electrical. Electrical intrinsically safe equipment includes items such as lights, communication devices, and electronic instruments, while non-electrical equipment includes items such as explosion-proof enclosures and intrinsically safe barriers.

Intrinsically safe equipment must undergo rigorous testing and certification to ensure it meets the necessary safety standards. For example, the International Electrotechnical Commission ( IEC ) sets international standards for intrinsically safe equipment, and local certifying bodies, such as the National Electric Code ( NEC ), also provide guidelines for equipment use in specific hazardous locations.

In addition to being designed for safety, intrinsically safe equipment must also be regularly maintained to ensure it continues to meet safety standards. This includes regular checks of equipment components and replacements of faulty parts.

What is intrinsically safe ATEX?

What is Intrinsically Safe? – Intrinsically Safe equipment is certified and rated by directives like,, and more. Moreover, Intrinsically Safe equipment is a protection technique used to limit the energy transfer between circuits through using intrinsic barriers.

1. Are certified to make the device incapable of producing a spark that can ignite hazardous environments.
2. For example, our tablet, the, allows users to utilize mobile devices without worrying about sparking an issue within Zone 2 environments.
3. The purpose of Intrinsically Safe protection is to reduce the likelihood of the worst possible outcome through its design.

The purpose of intrinsic barriers is why these preventative devices will work at a lower energy level than Explosion-Proof protected devices. Because by reducing the thermal and electrical energy released, Intrinsically Safe equipment prevents explosions from happening in the first place.

What are intrinsic examples?

Intrinsic motivation is when you are motivated by personal satisfaction or enjoyment instead of external factors like reward or punishment. There are ways to make tasks more intrinsically motivating. Intrinsic motivation is the act of doing something without any obvious external rewards.

1. You do it because it’s enjoyable and interesting, rather than because of an outside incentive or pressure to do it, such as a reward or deadline.
2. An example of intrinsic motivation would be reading a book because you enjoy reading and have an interest in the story or subject, rather than reading because you have to write a report on it to pass a class.

There have been a number of different proposed theories to explain intrinsic motivation and how it works. Some experts believe that all behavior is driven by external reward, such as money, status, or food. In intrinsically motivated behaviors, the reward is the activity itself.

• The most recognized theory of intrinsic motivation was first based on people’s needs and drives.
• Hunger, thirst, and sex are biological needs that we’re driven to pursue in order to live and be healthy.
• Just like these biological needs, people also have psychological needs that must be satisfied in order to develop and thrive.

These include the need for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Along with satisfying these underlying psychological needs, intrinsic motivation also involves seeking out and engaging in activities that we find challenging, interesting, and internally rewarding without the prospect of any external reward.

Intrinsic motivation comes from within, while extrinsic motivation arises from outside. When you’re intrinsically motivated, you engage in an activity solely because you enjoy it and get personal satisfaction from it. When you’re extrinsically motivated, you do something in order to gain an external reward.

This can mean getting something in return, such as money, or avoiding getting into trouble, such as losing your job. You’ve likely experienced examples of intrinsic motivation throughout your entire life without giving it much thought. Some examples of intrinsic motivation are:

participating in a sport because it’s fun and you enjoy it rather than doing it to win an awardlearning a new language because you like experiencing new things, not because your job requires itspending time with someone because you enjoy their company and not because they can further your social standingcleaning because you enjoy a tidy space rather than doing it to avoid making your spouse angryplaying cards because you enjoy the challenge instead of playing to win moneyexercising because you enjoy physically challenging your body instead of doing it to lose weight or fit into an outfitvolunteering because you feel content and fulfilled rather than needing it to meet a school or work requirementgoing for a run because you find it relaxing or are trying to beat a personal record, not to win a competitiontaking on more responsibility at work because you enjoy being challenged and feeling accomplished, rather than to get a raise or promotionpainting a picture because you feel calm and happy when you paint rather than selling your art to make money

Everyone’s different and that includes what motivates us and our perspectives of rewards. Some people are more intrinsically motivated by a task while another person sees the same activity extrinsically. Both can be effective, but research suggests that extrinsic rewards should be used sparingly because of the overjustification effect.

1. Extrinsic rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation when used in certain situations or used too often.
2. The rewards may lose their value when you reward behavior that was already intrinsically motivating.
3. Some people also perceive extrinsic reinforcement as coercion or bribery.
4. The overjustification effect has inspired an entire field of study that focuses on students and how to help them reach their full potential.

Though experts are divided on whether extrinsic rewards have a beneficial or negative effect on intrinsic motivation, a recent study showed that rewards may actually encourage intrinsic motivation when given early in a task. Researchers examined how reward timing influenced intrinsic motivation.

• They found that giving an immediate bonus for working on a task, rather than waiting until the task was completed, increased interest and enjoyment in it.
• Getting an earlier bonus increased motivation and persistence in the activity that continued even after the award was removed.
• Understanding the factors that promote intrinsic motivation can help you see how it works and why it can be beneficial.

These factors include:

Curiosity. Curiosity pushes us to explore and learn for the sole pleasure of learning and mastering. Challenge, Being challenged helps us work at a continuously optimal level work toward meaningful goals. Control, This comes from our basic desire to control what happens and make decisions that affect the outcome. Recognition, We have an innate need to be appreciated and satisfaction when our efforts are recognized and appreciated by others. Cooperation, Cooperating with others satisfies our need for belonging. We also feel personal satisfaction when we help others and work together to achieve a shared goal. Competition, Competition poses a challenge and increases the importance we place on doing well. Fantasy, Fantasy involves using mental or virtual images to stimulate your behavior. An example is a virtual game that requires you to answer a question or solve a problem to move to the next level. Some motivation apps use a similar approach.

The following are some things you can do to help you practice better intrinsic motivation:

Look for the fun in work and other activities or find ways to make tasks engaging for yourself.Find meaning by focusing on your value, the purpose of a task, and how it helps others.Keep challenging yourself by setting attainable goals that focus on mastering a skill, not on external gains.Help someone in need, whether it’s a friend who could use a hand at home or lending a hand at a soup kitchen.Create a list of things you genuinely love to do or have always wanted to do and choose something on the list to do whenever you have time or are feeling uninspired.Participate in a competition and focus on the camaraderie and how well you perform instead of on winning.Before starting a task, visualize a time that you felt proud and accomplished and focus on those feelings as you work to conquer the task.

There are things that you can do to help foster intrinsic motivation in your children. Parents often use external rewards or pressure to try to get their children to perform certain tasks, such as doing homework or cleaning their room. The following are ways that may help foster intrinsic motivation in your child.

Give them choices instead of making an activity a requirement. Having a say makes them more intrinsically motivated.Encourage independent thinking by giving them space to work on a task alone and reporting back to you when they’re satisfied with the result.Make activities fun by turning tasks like reading or picking up their toys into a game.Present opportunities for your child to feel successful by assigning a developmentally appropriate skill for them to fine-tune.Encourage them to focus on the internal benefits of activities, such as how good it makes them feel instead of what they can get for doing it.

Intrinsic motivation can be applied to all aspects of your life and has been shown to be an effective way to improve performance. By changing the focus to the internal rewards of a task, such as satisfaction and enjoyment, you can better motivate yourself and others.

What are the two common type of barriers used in intrinsic safe apparatus?

HOW DO INTRINSICALLY SAFE BARRIERS WORK? – Intrinsic safety principles limit energy levels within circuits to avoid igniting the potentially explosive mixture, even in system failure. To summarize, there are two types of Intrinsically Safe Barrier controlling energy levels in an electrical circuit.

What is the difference between intrinsically safe and nonintrinsically safe?

Difference between intrinsic safe and non-intrinsic safe cables – Now that we have understood the concept of an intrinsically safe environment, let us move on to our topic which deals with one of the most used electrical things; cables. Cables, as discussed, come in two types – one which is intrinsic safe and one which is not intrinsic safe,

Cables in both types come in either single-pair or multi-pair shielded form. Non-intrinsic safe cables are used in non-hazardous environments, whereas intrinsic safe cables are used in hazardous environments. So, what separates intrinsically safe cables from non-intrinsic ones? Because cables are the main carriers of current, it is important to consider their intrinsic factors before laying them out.

Any lag in this will not prevent them from catching fire or in short, they will lose properties of not supporting ignition. First of all, they are provided with additional sheath layers for avoiding mechanical damage. Second, the main electrical properties to consider are capacitance and inductance.

1. They have different values than a non-intrinsic safe cable and must be maintained during operation for avoiding any fire contact.
2. For that, the length of the cable is also to be considered when designing.
3. So, the main factors that differentiate them are length, capacitance, and inductance.
4. A cable designer takes note of all these factors before designing a cable that will not support fire or ignition.

Yes, if it crosses a very high limit, then it will catch fire. But generally, a normal spark or other hazards discussed earlier will not trigger ignition in the air and thus, fire will not happen. A non-intrinsic safe cable when used in a hazardous environment will easily catch fire even in small sparks or wire cuts.

What is the difference between intrinsically safe and hazardous area?

Protection from flammable compounds in industrial facilities vary greatly. Some standards rely on the use of non-sparking materials and sealed housings (explosion proof), while other practices focus on low-energy designs to reduce ignitions (intrinsically safe).

1. Understanding the role that such preventive measures play is crucial to promoting safety in dangerous work environments.
2. This article compares the difference between intrinsically safe and hazardous areas.
3. Hazardous Areas The term ‘hazardous areas’ refers to a location where flammable substances (liquids, dust and/or vapors) may exist during normal working conditions or stand the potential to or periodically exist at the site.

It is a description used to classify specific working environments, so that safety standards can be applied, based on the characteristics of the area. Explosion proof or hazardous location guidelines are applicable to preventing combustions in hazardous areas.

*Class I, Division 1 & 2: Flammable gases/vapors *Class II, Division 1 & 2: Combustible dust Class III: Volatile fibers

Each classification above can be broken down further into several groups. Such designations are used to specify the type of elements that fall within the scope of the standard. For instance, Group B is used to describe equipment for hazardous areas that address hydrogen.

On the other hand, Group G is applicable to environments that deal with combustible grain dust. Defining Intrinsically Safe Intrinsically safe is a set of design standards that are applicable to explosive environments, including hazardous areas. Generally speaking, this requires the use of low voltage (at a range lower than 29V DC and below 300 mA).

When it comes to operating temperatures, a T4 rating is appropriate for meeting intrinsically safe standards, as this temperature classification’s threshold is 135°C. As mentioned earlier, the main objective of intrinsically safe designs is preventing ignitions and unwanted arcing, which can lead to interactions with volatile substances.

1. This is achieved through equipment designs that utilize low currents (electrical) and controlled operating/surface temperatures (thermal).
2. In the event of fault conditions or equipment failure, intrinsically safe features prevent fires.
3. An intrinsically safe design may incorporate an intrinsically barrier, which effectively reduces the amount of power passing through the explosive site.

Such measures prevent the possibility of unforeseen electrical surges damaging circuits and generating combustions. Compared to explosion proof/hazardous location designs, wherein ignitions are contained within the unit, so that sparks cannot interact with combustible materials in the area, intrinsically safe proactively ensures ignitions are not created.

Therefore, there is no need to include features that contain such elements (conduit and seals are not needed). Additionally, taking into consideration that explosions are generated by fuel, oxygen and a heat source, intrinsically safe standards remove the final element from the equation (heat source or ignition).

By comparison, explosion proof/hazardous location practices aim to reduce fuel and oxygen. Benefits and Advantages Hazardous Areas:

Uses explosion proof/hazardous location standards to address ignitions Helps operators understand the volatile characteristics of the work site Helps manufacturers design equipment for use in combustible facilities Safety standards (explosion proof) cater to high-power/high-energy equipment Can be costly to implement (explosion proof equipment) Explosion proof devices tend to be bulkier and heavy due to protective measures and rugged materials

Intrinsically Safe:

Low-cost to implement, compared to explosion proof equipment Maintenance and repair is less time consuming (in most cases, no shut down required) Active ventilation is not needed Can be limited to low-power devices Effective during fault conditions or equipment failure Addresses entire system – not based on components

What is the difference between ATEX and intrinsically safe?

What is Intrinsic safety and ATEX? – Hansford Sensors

• What is intrinsic safety?
• Intrinsic safety (IS) is a low energy signalling technique that ensures the safe operation of by limiting the energy – both electrical and thermal – available for ignition.
• Why is this important?

Explosive atmospheres can be caused by flammable gases, mists or vapours or by combustible dusts. Using intrinsically safe equipment in these environments reduces and minimises the risk of ignition and explosion. This is critical for two main reasons:

1. To protect employees from harm and assets from damage
2. To comply with EU legislation relating to the control of explosive atmospheres – known as the ATEX Directives.

1. What are the ATEX Directives?
2. The ATEX Directives stipulate stringent requirements for the use of electrical and mechanical components of instruments in hazardous areas.
3. The ATEX directives consist of two European Directives for controlling explosive atmospheres:

• Directive 99/92/EC (also known as ‘ATEX 137′ or the ‘ATEX Workplace Directive’)
• Directive 94/9/EC (also known as ‘ATEX 95′ or ‘the ATEX Equipment Directive’).

• These directives are relevant for any industry, environment and application found to be at risk of explosion – from the process industries and mining, to the manufacture of powders and industrial woodworking.
• Failure to comply with the ATEX directives puts personnel and assets at significant risk and can result in serious penalty for any business found to be guilty of non-compliance.
• What types of products are available in ATEX-approved form?
• With condition monitoring an essential part of maintenance, there is a wide range of ATEX-approved equipment in the form of accelerometers and vibration analysers available to meet your vibration monitoring needs.

As a leading manufacturer of vibration monitoring equipment, we offer a complete selection of intrinsically safe and ATEX-approved products. Contact us today to discuss your requirements and we can find the right solution for you. : What is Intrinsic safety and ATEX? – Hansford Sensors

What is the highest category of intrinsic safety?

Intrinsic Safety Standard| IEC60079-11 Compliance| Touch HMI-AIS It is required by law and legislation by countries around the world that electrical equipment must be designed and manufactured for safe use in environments or atmospheres that may be potentially flammable or explosive.

• These hazardous areas are defined as where flammable gases or vapors, flammable liquids, combustible dust, or ignitable fibers or flyings are present.
• At oil and gas production operations and facilities, these hazards and dangers are common place.
• Flammable or explosive substances may be present in some varying quantity at all times, so fire and explosion protection and safety certifications for all electrical equipment used in these operations is mandatory.

Regardless of whether the equipment is certified for the ATEX Directive or to National Electrical Code (NEC) ®, NFPA 70, the fundamental methodology behind the standards or regulations are the same. WHITE PAPER ON: Hazardous Area Classifications and Protection Techniques Understanding the Basics of Fire and Explosion Safety Legislation, Regulations and Standards.

• Intrinsic safety” is one of the most common techniques used for achieving safety protection with lower voltage or power equipment such as electronics, controls, HMIs and industrial monitors and displays.
• This method is considered to be one of the safest forms of protection and electrical safety as it can meet the highest level of explosion and protection safety standards for Division 1 Hazardous Locations (North America) or Zone 0 or ATEX category 1 (Europe) in areas where a potentially explosive atmosphere is continuously present.

It is takes a tremendous effort and investment for manufacturers of electrical equipment to achieve this approval rating or certification of safety. At AIS, rest assured complete explosion protection and safety is met with their new line of ATEX certified, Intrinsic or Intrinsically safe line of HMI panel PCs and industrial multi-touch monitors.

Open circuit or short circuit components or interconnections in a resistive circuit Short circuit of components or interconnections in a capacitive circuit Open circuit components or interconnections in an inductive circuit Ignition by hot surfaces.

Unfortunately, it only takes a very small amount of energy to cause ignition of a fire or cause an explosion. Therefore, intrinsic safety is aimed at eliminating the variables of low current or power electrical equipment causing an ignition. Regardless of normal or abnormal conditions, intrinsic safety relies on low voltage electrical equipment to be designed in such a way that it is incapable of releasing enough energy thermally or electrically to cause an ignition of flammable gases or liquids.

Article 504 of the NEC® defines an intrinsically safe system as “an assembly of interconnected intrinsically safe apparatus, associated apparatus, and interconnecting cables in which those parts of the system that may be used in hazardous (classified) locations are intrinsically safe circuits.” Intrinsically safe apparatus is defined in Article 504 as electrical equipment “in which all the circuits are intrinsically safe.” The intrinsic safety approach simplifies circuits and reduces installation cost over other protection methods.

Various types of protection and power limitation components can be used for intrinsic safety. All components that are considered necessary to maintain the safe operation of a circuit require special consideration. The safety components are used in various configurations to limit voltage, current and power to safe levels and require independent analysis and study.

Zener diodes must be used within 2/3 of all their specified ratings. Creepage and clearance distances would have to comply with table values and duplicated diodes would be employed. Diodes are used when blocking is required; they are often in series with the output of part of a circuit that is potted. They must be used within 2/3 of their ratings and be either duplicated for redundancy. Resistors would be used to dissipate power and limit current. They are often employed to limit the instantaneous release of charge from capacitors. They would be required to meet a similar criterion to the zener diodes but would also have constructional requirements. Capacitors can be used as safety components for blocking DC voltages, but must be duplicated in series. Electrolytic and tantalum capacitors cannot be used, and capacitors that are used are required to pass specific high voltage tests. Fuses must be potted if it is used in a hazardous area. It must have a breaking capacity of 1500A (so as not to conduct after breaking) if it is used to protect a main’s transformer. It limits power only and is not used to limit instantaneous current. Transformers and opto-couplers can isolate intrinsically safe from non-intrinsically safe circuits. They are subject to creep age and clearance requirements and special tests, such as high voltage break-over tests on transformers. Semiconductor clamps can be employed in some types of intrinsic safety, but require careful analysis.

Several different and independent third party agencies develop standards for testing and certifications for intrinsic safety, and evaluate various electrical products for compliance with these standards. Standards agencies around the world engage in harmonization activity so that intrinsically safe equipment manufactured in one country eventually might be approved for use in another without redundant, expensive, testing and documentation.

Independent testing ensures that electrical equipment is not only designed to be intrinsically safe, but meets all required standards for intrinsic safety. Agencies may be run by governments or may be composed of members from insurance companies, manufacturers, and industries with an interest in safety standards.

Certifying agencies allow manufacturers to affix a label or mark to identify that the equipment has been designed to the relevant product safety standards. Examples of such agencies in North America are the Factory Mutual Research Corporation, Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and in Canada the Canadian Standards Association.

In the EU the standard for intrinsic safety certification is the ATEX Directive while in other countries around the world the IECEx standards are followed. Many strategies exist for safety in electrical installations, but in areas where electronics, controls, HMIs and other low voltage circuits are required, safety standards and practices for fire and explosion protection must be followed.

As mentioned, intrinsic safety, or non-incendive equipment and wiring methods, is a set of practices for electrical equipment designed with low power levels and low stored energy. Insufficient energy is available to produce an arc that can ignite the surrounding explosive mixture.

• Risks of leaks are a large concern in an industrial plant such as refineries and chemical processing plants where handling of large quantities of flammable liquids and gases occur constantly.
• To assess or gauge these risks, the categorization of “gas zones or divisions” were created.
• They are divided into areas of risk of release for gases, vapors or dust.

“Area classification” defines or determines the type and size of these hazardous areas. Guidance on assessing the extent of the hazard is given in the NFPA 497 Standard or API 500 and according to their adaptation by other areas gas zones is given in the current edition of IEC 60079.10.

For hazardous dusts, the guiding standard is IEC 61421.10. Typical gas hazards are from hydrocarbon compounds, but hydrogen and ammonia are common industrial gases that are flammable. Electrical equipment is separated by levels of protection or safety that can be achieved by meeting certain specifications, standards and codes.

The categories are specified according to manufacture method and suitability for different situations. This is to ensure safety is achieved in different situations. Category 1 is the highest safety level and Category 3 is the lowest safety level. For an intrinsically safe level or type of protection, it is defined as:

Any arcs or sparks in this equipment has insufficient energy (heat) to ignite a vapor. Equipment can be installed in ANY housing provided to IP54. A ‘Zener Barrier’ or ‘opto isol’ or ‘galvanic’ unit may be used to assist with certification. A special standard for instrumentation is IEC/EN 60079-27, describing requirements for Fieldbus Intrinsically Safe Concept (FISCO) (zone 0, 1 or 2). Standards to be followed: IEC/EN 60079-25, IEC/EN 60079-11 and IEC/EN60079-27 Location: ‘ia’: Zone 0, ‘ib’: Zone 1 and ‘ic’: Zone 2 Type of equipment: Instrumentation, measurement and control

Class I, Div.1 – Where ignitable concentrations of flammable gases, vapors or liquids are present continuously or frequently within the atmosphere under normal operation conditions. Class I, Div.2 – Where ignitable concentrations of flammable gases, vapors, or liquids are present within the atmosphere under abnormal operating conditions.

1. Class II, Div.1 – Where ignitable concentrations of combustible dusts are present within the atmosphere under normal operation conditions.
2. Class II, Div.2 – Where ignitable concentrations of combustible dust are present within the atmosphere under abnormal operating conditions.
3. Class III, Div.1 – Where easily ignitable fibers or materials producing combustible flyings are present within the atmosphere under normal operation conditions.

Class III, Div.2 – Where easily ignitable fibers or materials producing combustible flyings are present within the atmosphere under abnormal operating conditions.

Common Materials within Associated Class & Group Ratings, such as “Class I, Division 1, and Group A”: Class I Areas: Group A: Acetylene / Group B: Hydrogen / Group C: Propane and Ethylene / Group D: Benzene, Butane, Methane & Propane Class II Areas: Group E: Metal Dust / Group F: Carbon & Charcoal / Group G: Flour, Starch, Wood & Plastic Class III Areas: NO GROUP: Cotton & SawdustFor more information see Article 500 of NFPA 70 – The National Electric Code, as published by the National Fire Protection Association.

A factor that is just as important as any other variable for designing, installing or using electrical equipment in hazardous areas and locations is temperature classification. The surface area of equipment if hot enough can ignite flammable substances.

Liquid, gases or vapors have auto-ignition temperatures, meaning even without an arc, spark or source of ignition, the substances can auto-ignite at certain high temperatures. For example, the heat generated from a high pressure steam pipe will be hot enough or above auto-ignite temperature for certain fuel/air mixtures.

Therefore, any exposed parts or surface area of the electrical equipment cannot exceed 80% of the auto-ignition temperature of the specific gas or vapor in the area where the equipment is intended to be used. However, in the case of intrinsically safe or non-incendive instrumentation, measurement, control and HMIs, surface heat temperatures should not be a critical issue.

Controlling and Monitoring Processes and Automation Equipment at Industrial Plants, Oil & Gas Refineries, Oilfield Equipment & Services With increasing pressure to improve operational performance, meet environmental specifications and overcome rising energy costs, oil and gas operations must efficiently and securely monitor and control entire processes across local and remote locations.

As of the effective date, these regulations apply to (1) existing facilities, (2) existing facilities that undergo modification, and (3) new facilities. An exception is noted for human machine interfaces (HMI) that are not modified, replaced, or installed new. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities are not covered by these amendments. Thus, there are no changes to 49 CFR Part 192/193/195. AIS HMI and visualization solutions are ideal for applications requiring autonomous control and monitoring systems. Some common applications, AIS has experience applying its solutions to include oil and gas wells, pipelines distributed over wide geographical areas and wide-area co-generation systems to name just a few. AIS origins begin over decade ago, as they now have the expertise in the regulation and control of operations at large-scale industrial plants such as oil refineries that require superior reliability, continuous control and monitoring and system continuity over the entire lifetime of the facility.

Oil & Gas Application Benefits Utilizing AIS HMI & Visualization Solutions:

Overall improved operational effectiveness and decision making thanks to more visible and centralized processes Improved safety and overall performance driven by the new Experian user interface, including the use of displays based on ASM philosophies for faster operator detection and quick resolution of any issues that may arise. Higher return on investment (ROI) of existing hardware by keeping all field wiring and I/O intact with controller replacement. Increased production and efficiency due to a better understanding of data and ability to interpret it into actionable information Communication of data across the network and information reporting Empowers HMI project specialists to act as technology leads or project execution leads for both small projects and large projects involving implementation of customized complex and/or standard automation engineering solutions.

Application Possibilities with AIS HMIs and Third Party Enterprise & SCADA Software Tools

With AIS HMIs and the right programming tools or software packages, machine operators will easily find information only relevant to their job or task. For example, an Oil Rig and Oil Well drill operator may be only interested in viewing information regarding the drilling process, while a service technician may only need to see the error log of the control system. Information can be managed so that only the necessary information will be displayed to the appropriate personnel. Use AIS HMIs to recreate a graphical representation or a more “control panel like” experience on the interface so that operators can be more comfortable and effective. For example, with Oil Rig and Oil Well drills, information relating to the diesel motor’s RPM value, drilling speed and oil pressure can be displayed while in drilling mode as gauges in the user interface. While the machine operator focuses on monitoring the boom position and the drill penetration speed while drilling, they may need to glance at gauges for verification. In the upright position the gauge’s needles let the operator know that the machine is functioning as expected. In each gauge, there is additional range drawn in gauges that shows the normal operating area. Machine operators are extremely focused while drilling, so it is advisable to place any “feedback” information close to the area of focus for the operator. For example, if the operator’s drill gets stuck, the light or user interface message informing about him about the situation should be located so that it is in close proximity to the drilling controls. Now the operator is likely to take a glimpse at the drilling controls, so he will be alerted to the situation and act promptly. For Process Control & Rig Instrumentation HMI applications, operations personnel can set upper and lower performance parameters, or pre-set timed operations, for equipment that previously had to be manually operated and monitored. Benefits include keeping workers out of potentially hazardous environments, reduced personnel requirements and improved equipment performance. A data-acquisition system and advanced driller’s monitoring system can accurately measure, monitor and display all drilling variables in real time.

AIS HMI and visualization solution enhance productivity and energy efficiency of oil refineries, terminals and downstream complexes. Your HMI and visualization investment is future proof and safe when you invest in AIS hardware and technologies. AIS offers an affordable migration path for upgrades and you can depend on AIS to handle all your future hardware and OS designs. We have a strong grasp of the latest guidelines for safety and efficiency and will implement them in your new HMI design, while maintaining an interface that’s comfortable for your team and delivers the features, performance and productivity required. Our U.S. based HMI design and engineering teams will work with you to meet your goals and assure total satisfaction. Extensive experience in all aspect of development and production combined with our size allow us to offer you very competitive pricing. Our HMIs solutions allow your personnel to perform and function at their highest levels of performance. Extended operator workplace (EOW) provides an ergonomic HMI for the process, plant assets and automation, electrical and telecoms aspects, thereby also improving productivity.

AIS engineer and design HMI and Visualization for pipeline transport applications in accordance with the latest pipeline safety standards. The regulations call for specific improvements in the control room and change management, including compliance with American Petroleum Institute’s API 1165 and API 1168 best practices for control room management.

They specify improvements in SCADA HMI, pipeline alarm management, business process management (BPM), field operator workflow, pipeline operator training, shift handover, documentation and auditing. Hazardous materials Pipeline Operators must comply with Risk-Reduction Regulations. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has issued regulations 49 CFR parts 195.446 and 192.631 to protect people and the environment from the risks inherent in the transportation of hazardous materials.

PHMSA requires companies to implement and document measures that reduce risk associated with controller fatigue; precisely define roles and responsibilities of control room staff; and provide information, training and processes necessary to help fulfill these responsibilities.

The regulations apply to both owners and operators of liquid pipelines and gas pipelines. All control rooms are covered that contain equipment that permits the manual intervention of the operation of the pipeline. This includes local control rooms or panels to the extent that the safety effects of operational error are similar to regular control rooms.

Control rooms and control areas that are “view only” are exempt. Also, gas pipelines that service less than 250,000 customers and/or lack compression equipment are subject to the requirements only for fatigue management, validation, compliance and documentation.

Block valve stations are sectioning points of transport pipelines at remote sites for pipeline automation applications. During normal operation, mode valves are in the “open” position. When a block valve needs to be closed, pipeline operation must be stopped. Valve line closures are required to perform a pressure test of the pipeline to find small leaks, to isolate a leakage between two block line valves and for safety reasons during routine pipeline maintenance. Along the entire length of the pipeline, block valves will be remotely monitored and controlled using AIS HMI, advanced real-time HMI processors designed to support complex remote applications. Information systems have also been introduced into different areas of pipeline industry activity. They add to the basic information of transportation (including SCADA and HMI) systems that collect and analyze information for integrity area, risk analysis tools and GIS. The rule amendment summary states: ” Under the final rule, affected pipeline operators must define the roles and responsibilities of controllers and provide controllers with the necessary information, training, and processes to fulfill these responsibilities. Operators must also implement methods to prevent controller fatigue. The final rule further requires operators to manage HMI alarms, assure control room considerations are taken into account when changing pipeline equipment or configurations, and review reportable incidents or accidents to determine whether control room actions contributed to the event. It further requires the statutorily mandated human factors management. These regulations will enhance pipeline safety by coupling strengthened control room management with improved controller training and fatigue management HMI Displays. “Pipeline controllers must have adequate and up-to-date information about the conditions and operating status of the equipment they monitor and control. “Operators need to assure that SCADA systems perform this important function correctly, and that the information is displayed in a manner that facilitates controller understanding and recognition of abnormal operating conditions To prepare for the referenced requirements, operators should review each aspect of the following areas of their enterprise-wide SCADA: alarm management, control room management, documentation and procedures, HMI displays, shift handover, fatigue management, change management and training. The design is expected to follow API Recommended Practice 11656 that covers the appropriate hardware to consider so that the equipment is capable of delivering the needed speed of response and providing for appropriate ways for the controller to input commands. It also lays out the proper use of color, the design of clear overviews of the process, and display navigation to enable effective controller use. Additionally, other important guides for HMI designs have been adopted by industrial users. The SCADA operator station performs any required data conversions, intermediate calculations, checks for unusual conditions which should be brought to the attention of a pipeline controller, and stores data for viewing, long-term archiving, and for use by advanced applications and open Field Bus protocols. Pipeline controllers interface with the SCADA operator/monitoring station through the graphical user interface (HMI) which allows them to view current or historical data, alarm messages, and issue controls to field equipment. Pipeline SCADA systems cover a broad range from small to huge, relatively simple to very complex, and important to extremely critical for both financial and safety reasons. A small SCADA system may be comprised of a local control/monitoring station, which also supports the HMI Station, to handle a few hundred points in a non-critical environment. A large SCADA system may be comprised of triple-redundant sets of servers and Hybrid-Controllers, in a distributed configuration, spread out over multiple geographic locations along with numerous multi-headed HMI workstations, support staff, and management. Factors such as point count, data acquisition rates, and availability (up-time) requirements determine the size, complexity, and redundancy of the pipeline control system. In an Abnormal Situation Management (ASM) consortium traditional interface study, improving the human machine interaction (HMI) in designing the operator’s user interface resulted in 41% less time for the operators to deal with events like leaks, power failures, equipment malfunction and equipment failures in an unstable plant (Errington, 2005).

AIS offers OSHA’s NEC Class I Division 2, Groups A, B, C, D, T4, CENELEC’s ATEX 94/9/EC Zone 2, IEC’s IECEx Zone 2, Ex nA and Ex ic certification on its hazardous locations panel PCs and open HMI platforms which are primarily designed for the volatile and harsh environments of oil, gas, chemicals, and oilfield equipment and services.

The Premium HMI panel PC (15-22″) with Intel® Core™ i5-6300U processor (3M Cache, up to 3.00 GHz) is designed and certified to meet NEC/CEC Class/Division, ATEX Directive 94/9/EC, and IECEx Zone standards for increased safety in Division 2 and Zone 2 operator control and monitoring applications. AIS offers UL Class 1 Division 2, Groups A, B, C, D, T4, ATEX 94/9/EC Zone 2 Category 3, and IECEx Zone 2, Ex “nA” and Ex “ic”, T4 certification on its hazardous areas panel PC and open HMI platforms which are primarily designed for the volatile and harsh environments of oil, gas, chemicals, and petrochemical manufacturing industries used in drilling systems, control & monitoring, oilfield equipment & service applications.

The Standard HMI panel PC (15-22″) with Intel® Celeron® processor N2930 (2M Cache, up to 2.16 GHz) is designed and certified to meet NEC/CEC Class/Division, ATEX Directive 94/9/EC, and IECEx Zone standards for increased safety in Division 2 and Zone 2 operator control and monitoring applications.

AIS offers UL Class 1 Division 2, Groups A, B, C, D, T4, ATEX 94/9/EC Zone 2 Category 3, and IECEx Zone 2, Ex “nA” and Ex “ic”, T4 certification on its hazardous areas panel PC and open HMI platforms which are primarily designed for the volatile and harsh environments of oil, gas, chemicals, and petrochemical manufacturing industries used in drilling systems, control & monitoring, oilfield equipment & service applications.

The Compact HMI panel PC with Intel Atom® Processor N2600 (1M Cache, 1.6 GHz) is designed and certified to meet NEC/CEC Class/Division, ATEX Directive 94/9/EC, and IECEx Zone standards for increased safety in Division 2 and Zone 2 operator control and monitoring applications.

AIS offers UL Class 1 Division 2, Groups A, B, C, D, T4, ATEX 94/9/EC Zone 2 Category 3, and IECEx Zone 2, Ex “nA” and Ex “ic”, T4 certification on its hazardous areas panel PC and open HMI platforms which are primarily designed for the volatile and harsh environments of oil, gas, chemicals, and petrochemical manufacturing industries used in drilling systems, control & monitoring, oilfield equipment & service applications.

: Intrinsic Safety Standard| IEC60079-11 Compliance| Touch HMI-AIS

What is the difference between intrinsically safe and nonintrinsically safe?

Difference between intrinsic safe and non-intrinsic safe cables – Now that we have understood the concept of an intrinsically safe environment, let us move on to our topic which deals with one of the most used electrical things; cables. Cables, as discussed, come in two types – one which is intrinsic safe and one which is not intrinsic safe,

Cables in both types come in either single-pair or multi-pair shielded form. Non-intrinsic safe cables are used in non-hazardous environments, whereas intrinsic safe cables are used in hazardous environments. So, what separates intrinsically safe cables from non-intrinsic ones? Because cables are the main carriers of current, it is important to consider their intrinsic factors before laying them out.

Any lag in this will not prevent them from catching fire or in short, they will lose properties of not supporting ignition. First of all, they are provided with additional sheath layers for avoiding mechanical damage. Second, the main electrical properties to consider are capacitance and inductance.

• They have different values than a non-intrinsic safe cable and must be maintained during operation for avoiding any fire contact.
• For that, the length of the cable is also to be considered when designing.
• So, the main factors that differentiate them are length, capacitance, and inductance.
• A cable designer takes note of all these factors before designing a cable that will not support fire or ignition.

Yes, if it crosses a very high limit, then it will catch fire. But generally, a normal spark or other hazards discussed earlier will not trigger ignition in the air and thus, fire will not happen. A non-intrinsic safe cable when used in a hazardous environment will easily catch fire even in small sparks or wire cuts.

What is the difference between intrinsic safety and functional safety?

Intrinsic safety is a method for ensuring safety by removing the causes of danger. Functional safety, on the other hand, is a method of reducing risks to an acceptable level to ensure safety by devising functions.

What is the difference between ATEX and intrinsically safe?

What is Intrinsic safety and ATEX? – Hansford Sensors

• What is intrinsic safety?
• Intrinsic safety (IS) is a low energy signalling technique that ensures the safe operation of by limiting the energy – both electrical and thermal – available for ignition.
• Why is this important?

Explosive atmospheres can be caused by flammable gases, mists or vapours or by combustible dusts. Using intrinsically safe equipment in these environments reduces and minimises the risk of ignition and explosion. This is critical for two main reasons:

1. To protect employees from harm and assets from damage
2. To comply with EU legislation relating to the control of explosive atmospheres – known as the ATEX Directives.

1. What are the ATEX Directives?
2. The ATEX Directives stipulate stringent requirements for the use of electrical and mechanical components of instruments in hazardous areas.
3. The ATEX directives consist of two European Directives for controlling explosive atmospheres:

• Directive 99/92/EC (also known as ‘ATEX 137′ or the ‘ATEX Workplace Directive’)
• Directive 94/9/EC (also known as ‘ATEX 95′ or ‘the ATEX Equipment Directive’).

• These directives are relevant for any industry, environment and application found to be at risk of explosion – from the process industries and mining, to the manufacture of powders and industrial woodworking.
• Failure to comply with the ATEX directives puts personnel and assets at significant risk and can result in serious penalty for any business found to be guilty of non-compliance.
• What types of products are available in ATEX-approved form?
• With condition monitoring an essential part of maintenance, there is a wide range of ATEX-approved equipment in the form of accelerometers and vibration analysers available to meet your vibration monitoring needs.

As a leading manufacturer of vibration monitoring equipment, we offer a complete selection of intrinsically safe and ATEX-approved products. Contact us today to discuss your requirements and we can find the right solution for you. : What is Intrinsic safety and ATEX? – Hansford Sensors

What is an intrinsically safe power supply?

Intrinsically Safe Compact Power Supply PSU – The Holville intrinsically safe power supply (PSU) has outputs specifically designed for use in Group 1 hazardous areas. Designed and manufactured in Australia, the Holville range of power supplies is tested to meet the requirements of AS2380.7. The units carry NSW MDA and ANZEx certification. For more information click:

Jack Gloop