Ex Protection Options for Deploying Wireless into Hazardous Areas​

1. Ex Protection Options for Deploying Wireless into Hazardous Areas? • Wireless devices can be deployed in hazardous areas in two ways: • Choose a wireless device that has been certified to relevant Ex standards by its manufacturer • To house your preferred hardware, purchase a pre-certified Ex wireless enclosure

2. • The wireless device you’ve chosen likely lacks the necessary hazardous area certification. This is frequently due to the niche nature of the market and the fact that new technology is rarely offered when it is initially introduced in a hazardous area version. Furthermore, because the market is too small for technology companies’ business models, they rarely create a hazardous area version of their products. • Using an Ex-certified enclosure system is the end user’s most likely choice. You won’t be able to install wireless technology in your hazardous regions on site without this solution. Knowing more about the various Ex protection choices available and the hazardous zones they are suitable for will enable you to choose your wireless enclosure system supplier with confidence.

3. • 1) Encapsulation for protection (containing an explosion) • 2) Avoidance of danger by keeping explosive dust or gas out; 3) Extinguishing a flame • 4) Energy restriction to prevent thermal or spark ignition • 5) Placing the wireless device in a secure location and an Ex-rated antenna in a potentially dangerous location There are several concepts to consider when considering Ex protection for your wireless device: • The most prevalent protection types for wireless devices in industrial and process industries are Ex d and Ex n.

4. • If there is an internal explosion, an Ex-d enclosure is made to contain the blast and prevent hot gases, sparks, or flames from escaping into the atmosphere. Furthermore, an Ex d enclosure shields the installed equipment from outside moisture, filth, dust, or water. • If not properly enclosed with the necessary Ex protection, electrical equipment, like a wireless radio device, has the potential to operate with potentially hot surfaces, which could result in an explosion. Ex d – IEC 60079-1 (Typical Zone: 1, 2, 21, 22 and Division 1) • An Ex d enclosure, also known as “flameproof” or “explosion-proof,” incorporates a flame route. The architecture of the Ex d enclosure system may affect the flame route design. • A flame route is a space within the enclosure that, in the event of an internal explosion, assures that by the time the flame reaches its destination, it will have either run out of oxygen or will have cooled to the point where nothing but air can escape the explosion. Since the flame never leaves the container, it cannot ignite a surrounding gas. • While some flameproof boxes, like a normal IIC gas group enclosure, have a cover that screws into the enclosure’s body, others, like some flameproof boxes, have flame routes that operate surface to surface, like a flange hitting a junction. The flame path in these enclosures is in the thread, causing the flame to move into and out of the thread to cool down. Due to the requirements of the Ex-standard, Ex d enclosures are frequently large and heavy.

5. • By prohibiting the entry of any combustible gases, an Ex nR or restricted breathing enclosure eliminates the explosion’s fuel source. As a result, explosive gases never come into contact with heated surfaces or a potential ignition source inside the cage. Ex nR – IEC 60079- 15 (Typical Zone: 2, 22 and Division 2) • Only Zone 2 hazardous areas—where the location is deemed safe in normal operation and flammable gases are only present in fault conditions—allow for the certification of restrictive breathing enclosures. • Typically, an Ex nR enclosure has features like metallic or non- metallic, lightweight construction, created to stop combustible gases from entering, high levels of ingress protection and firmly closed.

6. • Ex-I intrinsically safe protection is not offered as an enclosure; instead, it is incorporated into the electrical equipment to ensure that the finished, certified product is secure on its own. This is accomplished by restricting the amount of energy stored that could result in spark-ignition as well as the amount of power provided into a circuit to prevent igniting by hot surfaces. This idea is employed primarily in Ex wireless enclosure systems to safeguard the radio equipment’s RF output rather than the actual radio device. Installing the radio equipment in a safe area and the antenna in a hazardous region is the most cost-effective alternative since it eliminates the need for a certified enclosure. You must consider that AC or DC could travel through the radio in case of a problem while connecting the antenna to an uncertified radio. This might create a dangerous situation if it were fed into a regular antenna. • As a result, there are two distinct choices for this use scenario. Option one restricts any hazardous fault current that might enter the antenna positioned in a hazardous area by using an intrinsically safe RF isolator between the antenna and the radio. The majority of hazardous locations can be protected using this strategy while still allowing the use of regular antennas. The second option is to utilisean Ex-antenna that has been created and approved in accordance with Ex regulations. Commonly, Ex d or, in some circumstances, Ex e would be used.

7. Contact Us:- • For more information, get in touch with us:- Perth hazardous area courses • Contact Us: - • Phone: - 1800 768 768 / +61 8 9317 2146 • Email: - info@perthelectricalcourses.com.au