DocumentCode :
1402627
Title :
Explosion prevention-the broader picture
Author :
Tyldesley, Alan
Volume :
14
Issue :
5
fYear :
2000
Firstpage :
229
Lastpage :
233
Abstract :
Over 100 years, the electrical engineering community has developed and refined a whole series of ways to create electrical equipment that can be used safely where flammable substances are present in the surroundings. The initial designs were intended to cope with gas atmospheres in mines. These were followed by designs for a wider range of applications in the expanding chemical and oil refining industries, while bringing up the rear were standards for use in dusty atmospheres, as found, for example, in flour milling, wood finishing and some chemical processes. Despite all this effort, we have not stopped fires and explosions from occurring, sometimes with quite localised effects, and sometimes with devastating consequences. It is clearly necessary to address not just the ignition risks from electrical equipment, but all the potential sources of ignition in a plant, and other approaches to making a site acceptably safe. The author discusses ignition sources, avoidance of explosive atmospheres, measuring vapour levels, mitigation measures, European Directives, nonelectrical equipment standards, and equipment reliability. The author concludes that with so many uncertainties in the equation, perhaps it is not wise to base safety on the single technique of avoiding ignition sources, unless the plant is extremely simple.
Keywords :
explosions; European Directives; chemical industry; chemical processes; dusty atmospheres; electrical engineering community; electrical equipment; equipment reliability; explosion prevention; explosions; explosive atmospheres avoidance; fires; flammable substances; flour milling; ignition risks; ignition sources; mines; mitigation measures; nonelectrical equipment standards; oil refining; safety; vapour levels measurement; wood finishing;
fLanguage :
English
Journal_Title :
Power Engineering Journal
Publisher :
iet
ISSN :
0950-3366
Type :
jour
DOI :
10.1049/pe:20000505
Filename :
880837
Link To Document :
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