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.



Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Comprehensive solutions for the food and beverage sector
RS South Africa Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
RS South Africa is reinforcing its commitment to the country’s dynamic food and beverage sector, backed by a comprehensive portfolio of over 800 000 products, extensive technical expertise and end-to-end service capabilities.

Read more...
Case History 198: Cascade control overcomes valve problems
Michael Brown Control Engineering Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
A large petrochemical refinery asked me to perform an audit on several critical base layer control loops. This article deals with a problem found on a valve controlling the flow of fuel to a heat exchanger.

Read more...
Improved networking technology for fire and gas detection
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Critical alarm and event management technology supplier, Omniflex has worked with the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation to upgrade equipment providing digital and analogue signals for its safety critical fire and gas alarm systems.

Read more...
PC-based control for fertiliser
Beckhoff Automation Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
On a farm in the USA, valuable ammonia is extracted from slurry and processed into ammonium sulphate. NSI Byosis has transformed this complex process into a flexible modular system. This modular approach requires an automation solution with flexible scalability in both hardware and software, which this Dutch company has found in PC-based control from Beckhoff.

Read more...
Loop signature 28: Things to consider when tuning.
Michael Brown Control Engineering Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
I was giving a course at a remote mine in the middle of the Namibian desert. We were discussing tuning responses, and as I always do on my courses, I mentioned that in my opinion ¼ amplitude damped tuning is not desirable, and is in fact not good.

Read more...
How industrial network design impacts ESG commitments
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
In safety-critical industries like nuclear, petrochemical and oil and gas, installing a new industrial cable network is an extremely complicated task. Gary Bradshaw, a director of industrial network specialist, Omniflex explains why this is often unnecessary as plants are likely to have existing cabling capable of being used to create new industrial networks.

Read more...
Minelert industrial solutions
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Profitek provides cutting-edge industrial networking, automation and IoT solutions for harsh environments.

Read more...
The ultimate industrial LoRaWAN gateway
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The GW-101-LORA-4AO is the ultimate industrial LoRaWAN gateway, combining advanced IoT connectivity with expandable I/O.

Read more...
Industrial Power-over-Ethernet DC injector
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The ML-NET-INJECT series sets the standard for industrial PoE, featuring IP68-rated RJ45 connectors and military-grade components for extreme reliability.

Read more...
Industrial networking IO-Link
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Balluff IO-Link Network Modules enable seamless, intelligent communication between sensors, actuators and control systems. Designed for Industry 4.0, they provide real-time data exchange, simplify wiring, and enhance diagnostics.

Read more...