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When mechanical and electrical products are to be used, suitable environments must be selected. If the designs and features of the products are not selected in accordance with the environmental conditions in which they are used, this will not only cause product failures but also create serious danger.
Hazardous environments in such areas are briefly called HazLoc. These areas are called places where explosion hazards may occur due to all kinds of flammable gases, liquids, dust, vapors and solids. Another definition states that there are explosive or flammable environments in the air. The necessary precautions must be taken to correctly analyze explosive environments and to reduce these risks to minimum levels. Special designs and ventilation systems are needed to prevent the cables, circuits or equipment surfaces of electrical equipment used in such environments from causing explosions. It is also vital that all these specially designed systems are constantly tested.
So, what do exproof and atex, which were created to ensure the safety of such environments, mean? How is zone classification done? You can find the answers to these and all similar questions in our article. In this way, you can learn in detail what kind of system should be established in terms of explosive environments.
The word Exproof is an abbreviation of the English words ‘explosion’ and ‘proof’. This expression is translated into Turkish as ‘not causing explosion’. A casing system that has Exrpoof standards prevents the ignition of materials such as gas, dust, steam and fibers in the environment due to any sparks, arcs and explosions that may occur inside the body of the devices.
Explosive environments occur in oil, chemical, natural gas, LPG, coal mines, sugar factories, lumber and furniture factories and similar industries. Ex-proof products must be used in these explosive environments. The word Ex-proof can sometimes cause misunderstandings in Turkish. Ex-proof is the name given to products that do not cause any environmental explosion due to arcing, ignition and explosion inside a device.
These products are much more robust than standard devices due to their structure. However, the fact that a product is ex-proof does not mean that it will not be damaged or affected by an explosion in the environment. Ex-proof does not imply such protection. This is more related to the internal functioning of the device and its external effects.
In many industries such as chemistry, oil, natural gas, coal mines, liquid gas and wood factories where flammable, combustible and explosive materials are used, explosive environments occur during routine work flows or due to malfunctions. Sparks and arcs produced by electrically powered devices pose a serious danger in such environments. Explosions can occur in these environments due to these devices. In such places, choosing equipment that will not cause explosion or ignition is an important issue both for the vital safety of the personnel and to prevent material damage. For this reason, safety measures are taken with electrical equipment with the definition of ex-proof.
There are many different topics within Exproof standards. All of these standards were created to ensure safety in explosive environments. Depending on the standard, the conditions in which a piece of equipment can be used and its features are determined.
Exproof standards can be listed as follows;
Maximum temperature levels for exproof vary. The minimum IP protection class is determined as IP54.
Atex, which is the abbreviation of the French words ‘Atmosphere explosibles’, is the name given to the legal standards that businesses must follow in order to protect personnel and equipment in areas with potentially explosive atmospheres. Atex certificate is mandatory for ex-proof products coming to European Union countries. The Atex ex-proof standard is based on the conditions in the IEC 60079 standard.
The Atex-100a standard is the regulation regarding equipment and protective systems to be used in potentially explosive atmospheres. The Atex137 standard is the regulation regarding the protection of workers and explosive atmospheres from risks.
In our country, the Ministry of Labor has published a series of regulations regarding the organization of work life. The atex 137 standard included in these regulations includes the requirements regarding explosive environments. The atex 137 standard published on December 26, 2003 has been accepted as a valid standard in our country. This standard has been translated verbatim and published under the name of ‘Protection of Employees from the Dangers of Explosive Environments’ and is a regulation that has entered into force.
Explosive environments are divided into certain zones. Two systems are used in this zoning process. One of them is the European-Zone system, while the other is the American-Divison system. In this article, we will examine the IEC system, which is the European Standards that are more relevant to Turkey.
The International Electrical Commission (IEC) has divided explosive atmospheres into certain classes according to their degree of danger. This is how a distinction is made between flammable fumes, vapors, gases and flammable dust. The equipment to be used in Zone 0 must be designed, manufactured and put into service in a way that will guarantee effective protection even if the protection mechanism fails or two consecutive faults occur.
Within the Zone system, explosive gases are designated with the letter G, while explosive dusts are designated with the letter D.
