Fieldbus & Industrial Networking


Fieldbus Barrier internal components without enclosures

September 2011 Fieldbus & Industrial Networking

The 9387-FB (6-spur) and 9388-FB (12-spur) Fieldbus Barrier assemblies provide intrinsically safe spur connections from a high-energy trunk for connection to suitably certified Foundation fieldbus H1 instruments. Each unit comprises pre-wired and assembled modular components on a stainless steel base-plate for installation into a suitably certified field enclosure without the need for additional internal wiring or ancillary components. Connection facilities are provided for the trunk and spur wiring, as well as all electronic modules needed to support a fully-working Fieldbus Barrier.

Typical applications

Provision of enhanced enclosure features that are not satisfied by the standard 9370-FB Series Fieldbus Barriers, such as a hinged lid; painted surfaces; removable gland plate; elevated ingress protection rating and additional space for spur wiring. This includes installation of multiple Fieldbus Barrier segments inside a single field enclosure and installation of Fieldbus Barriers inside an Ex d (flameproof) enclosure. In most applications, an Ex e (increased safety) certified field enclosure will be selected to allow installation in a Zone 1 hazardous area.

In common with MTL’s established 937x-FB Series, each intrinsically safe spur is capable of supporting a Fisco or ‘Entity’ certified fieldbus device located in a Zone 0 or 1 hazardous area. The short circuit protected spurs are galvanically isolated from the trunk and require no protective ground connection in the field. When used with a fieldbus host control system, power for the trunk may be provided by MTL power supplies in redundant or non-redundant format.

The 9387-FB and 9388-FB share the unique features of MTL’s class-leading 9370-FB Series Fieldbus Barrier system. The key modular components (Fieldbus Barrier, Terminator and Surge Protectors) may be ‘hot-plugged’ by design and without gas clearance procedures or separate isolating switches. This virtually eliminates the risk associated with hazardous area maintenance activities, speeds module replacement and avoids the need for specialist operator training. Optional features include pluggable surge protection components for the fieldbus trunk and individual spurs.

The 9387-FB and 9388-FB will be ‘component certified’ for ATEX and IECEx and will be covered under the same certificate numbers as the existing 937x-FB Series Fieldbus Barrier. When certified in combination with a suitable Ex e or Ex d field enclosure, the complete assembly will be suitable for installation in a Zone 1 hazardous area.

The key benefits of the 9370-FB Series is that it is a smaller, lighter field enclosure for multispur applications, that offers safer operation and maintenance and is of simple modular construction for high reliability.



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