A well-attended technology evening sponsored by Pepperl+Fuchs was held on Thursday, 5 October at Umhambi Lodge, where the solutions manager responsible for the EPE product range, Frederik Langenhoven, presented on explosion protection.
Mervyn Govender (left) and Frederik Langenhoven after the presentation.
Frederick started by explaining what an explosion is, and the conditions that should exist for an explosion to happen. In order to emphasise the conditions necessary, he touched on the fire triangle and kept referring to it throughout the presentation. Frederik went on to explain the flash point of flammable materials and its importance in relation to the fire triangle.
He then touched on enclosure standards, including but not limited to the following Ex d, Ex e, Ex I, Ex m, Ex n Ex O, Ex P, Ex q, Ex t. Each standard specifies the level of protection an enclosure should provide for example Ex d enclosure should be flameproof and he explained the certification process of all these enclosures. Coupled to this, Frederick also spoke about the different hazardous area classifications, Zone 0 where explosive atmosphere is present continuously for extended periods, Zone 1 where explosive atmosphere is present occasionally in normal operation and Zone 2 where the explosive atmosphere is present for short periods.
Frederick emphasised that the selection of the different enclosures was critical, since different enclosures were designed and specified for different hazardous areas. He kept the presentation engaging by asking questions to make sure people understood everything. Several videos were also shown to show the devastation that can be caused by an explosion.
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