Abstract

The risk of explosion becomes significant when, in the industrial field, flammable substances such as gases, vapours, mists, dusts, lint and fibres may be present. If they are present in sufficient quantity, the risk of explosion is imminent. On the other hand, the measure of shutting down the technical equipment, in the context of the presence of explosive atmospheres, is not an acceptable measure in all situations. As examples are the parts of installations that have safety functions: ventilation installations, installations for monitoring the concentration of flammable substances and other safety parameters. Explosion protection of technical equipment shall be evaluated and tested in order to validate it. The testing process of the technical equipment for the purpose of explosion protection certification is situated at the confluence of several engineering fields: mechanical, electrical, chemical, etc. The first part of the paper deals with the risk of explosion and presents the explosion protection of the technical equipment. The systematized presentation of the technical equipment tests is performed in the second part of the paper. Among the conclusions it is mentioned that although the field of tests in explosion atmospheres is an interdisciplinary one, its coherence is ensured by the specific standards.

Highlights

  • In the industrial field in general, and production of energy based on fossil fuels, transport, extraction, processing, storage of petroleum products in particular, the interaction with various substances is predominant, most of which are combustible and explosive

  • The risk of ignition of an explosive atmosphere may be reduced by the use of equipment, components and protective systems designed in accordance with the provisions of the explosion protection technical standards in force

  • The explosion risk assessment shall take into account the determinations and interpretations of the flammable substance parameters

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Summary

Introduction

In the industrial field in general, and production of energy based on fossil fuels, transport, extraction, processing, storage of petroleum products in particular, the interaction with various substances is predominant, most of which are combustible and explosive. The mechanism of an explosion generated by a mixture of flammable gases, vapours or vapours with air can be expressed by the well-known explosion triangle, shown in Figure 1 (a) and explosion pentagon for or dusts, lint and fibres, Figure 1 (b) From this representation it can be concluded that an explosion can occur if three conditions are met simultaneously [2-4]: 1. This representation provides a clear picture of the explosion conditions and allows identification of safety measures for design, manufacture, installation and repair of installations in order to prevent an explosive atmosphere, to eliminate sources of ignition or to reduce the effects of explosions by using protective systems

Types of explosion protection
Electrical equipment evaluation and testing for certification
Conclusions
Full Text
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