Testing of low-current equipment in explosive atmospheres

Abstract

All activities involving flammable substances capable of generating an atmosphere mixed with air, in the form of gases, vapors, flammable fog, or dust may involve a danger of explosion. The test to which equipment must be subjected to confirm explosion protection shall be governed by specific standards, depending on the type of protection adopted. The prevent ignition of the hazardous atmosphere, the equipment tested must meet the specific environmental conditions in which it operates. Thus, the designed equipment is evaluated about the requirements of the specific standard in the equipment evaluation process, and equipment samples are tested. To do this, the laboratory’s ability to perform the tests must comply with specific explosion protection standards. This paper focuses on tests for low-current equipment on the protection and operational safety of equipment and the risk of ignition of explosive atmospheres due to electrical equipment with a type of protection intrinsic safety ”i”, encapsulation ”m” and pressurization ”p”. A resulting conclusion emphasizes the importance of ensuring the quality of the test results to which the equipment was subjected, which confirms not only the conformity of the tested equipment but also the laboratory infrastructure.