GRUNDFO S

Intrinsically Safe Control

WHITE PAPER
Equipment
by Steve Wilson

T his White Paper will discuss intrinsically safe

control equipment: what it is, what it is not,
and how to apply it. In order to understand in-
• The materials in Group B make up another
relatively small segment of classified areas.
This group includes hydrogen and other
trinsically safe control equipment, it is necessary materials with similar characteristics.
to first understand the nature of the environ- • Groups C and D are the most usual Class I
ment in which this equipment is used. groups and comprise the greatest per-
centage of all Class I hazardous locations.
HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS
Many of the most common flammable
Hazardous environments are defined and cat-
substances, such as butane, gasoline,
egorized in the National Electrical Code (NEC)1
natural gas, and propane, are found in
as follows:
Group D.
I. Class – the broad physical characteristics of
• Groups E, F, and G cover dust locations.
the environment
These groups are classified according to
A. Class I – gases or vapors the ignition temperature and the conduc-
B. Class II – dust tivity of the hazardous substance.

C. Class III – fibers or filings Conductivity is an important consider-

ation in Class II locations, especially with
II. Division – how the flammable material metal dusts.
would normally be found in the specific area
• Metal dusts are found in Group E and
A. Division 1 – hazardous material is nor- include aluminum and magnesium dusts
mally found free in the atmosphere as well as other metal dusts of similar
B. Division 2 – hazardous material is nor- nature.
mally stored in a closed container • Group F atmospheres contain materials
III. Groups – specific types of hazardous mate- such as carbon black, charcoal dust, coal,
rials will fall into a group according to the and coke dust.
ignition temperature of the substance, its • Group G contains grain dusts, flour,
explosion pressure, and other flammable starch, cocoa, and other similar types of
characteristics: materials.
• The only substance in Group A is acety- In pumping applications, we are primarily con-
lene, which makes up only a very small cerned with the first two classes. The specific
percentage of hazardous locations. definition of these classes and divisions accord-
Consequently, very little equipment is ing to the NEC is as follows:
available for this type of location. Acety-
lene is a gas with extremely high explo-
sion pressures.
INTRINSICALLY SAFE CONTROL EQUIPMENT GRUNDFOS WHITE PAPER | 2

CLASS I LOCATIONS In storm drain pump applications, there is also a

Class I locations are those in which flammable real possibility of a hazardous environment exist-
gases or vapors are, or may be, present in the air ing in a wet pit sump. For example: Consider the
in quantities sufficient to produce explosive or pumping station at a highway underpass.
ignitable mixtures. The equipment is designed to pump the runoff
from the surrounding hills and highway. Most
CLASS I, DIVISION 1 LOCATIONS of the time, this consists of rainwater, dirt, and
A Class I, Division I location is defined as a location whatever oils and debris that are washed off the
in which road by rain.
(1) hazardous concentrations of flammable gases But, consider a potential accident where ei-
or vapors exist continuously, intermittently, ther an automobile fuel tank is ruptured or a
or periodically under normal operating condi- tank truck is overturned. Now the situation
tions; or has changed dramatically. The sump that was
intended for storm water is being filled with a
(2) hazardous concentrations of such gases or
mixture of water and gasoline or diesel oil.
vapors may exist frequently because of repair
or maintenance operation or leakage. Gasoline and diesel oil will float on the surface of
the water in the sump, which means they
CLASS I, DIVISION 2 LOCATIONS probably will not be pumped out of the pump for
A Class I, Division 2 location is defined as a loca- quite a while as there is always a certain amount
tion in which of liquid left at the end of the pumping cycle.
(1) volatile flammable liquids or flammable gases When the conditions in the sump are right, the
are handled, processed, or used, but in which temperature can rise to the point that the
the hazardous liquids, vapors, or gases will gasoline begins to vaporize and mix with the air
normally be confined within closed containers above the liquid. When this mixture reaches the
or closed systems from which they can escape right ratio of oxygen to gasoline vapor, any spark
only in the case of accidental rupture or break- can ignite it.
down of such containers or systems, or in case If, in either case (the sewage pump or storm
of abnormal operation of equipment; or drain pump), the liquid level was such that the
(2) hazardous concentrations of gases or vapors electrical equipment was never exposed to the
are normally prevented by positive mechani- “air” (gas), then there would be little to be con-
cal ventilation and which may become haz- cerned about.
ardous through failure or abnormal operation However, since the pump exists to eliminate the
of the ventilation equipment. fluid from the sump, this assures that the gas will
be present. We must take precautions to assure
CLASS II LOCATIONS the motor – and, just as importantly, the electri-
Class II locations are those locations which are cal controls that are located in the basin – do not
hazardous because of the presence of combus- cause an explosion.
tible dust.
PREVENTING EXPLOSIONS
REAL WORLD CONDITIONS In addition to using explosion-proof motors, the
In sewage pump applications, the different types pilot devices that carry a current must also be
of flammable gases are virtually infinite because considered. Here are some ways to prevent a
people will throw anything down the drain. Even flammable mixture from exploding:
if nothing “foreign” is flushed, methane gas is
certainly to be expected.
INTRINSICALLY SAFE CONTROL EQUIPMENT GRUNDFOS WHITE PAPER | 3

• Use explosion-proof (NEMA 7)2 pilot devices. INSTALLING INTRINSICALLY SAFE

However, these are expensive to buy, expen- CONTROL EQUIPMENT
sive to install, and difficult to obtain. All of
the wiring within the hazardous environment When an intrinsically safe control is used, the
must be in rigid conduit and meet all of the control panel must be mounted out of the hazard-
requirements of Article 501-4 of the NEC. ous environment, and all conduits leading to the
panel must be sealed in accordance with section
• Install the pilot device outside of the hazardous 501-5 of the NEC.
environment. This can be accomplished by us-
ing ball and rod types of pilot devices that are When these conditions are met, the wiring meth-
confined in the sump. ods used for the control wiring can be the same
as in ordinary locations, and any nonvoltage-
Many displacement types of level controls will producing switch may be used. This means that
accomplish this separation. However, portions the pilot devices used with the intrinsically safe
of the pilot devices are exposed outside the control circuit do not have to be explosion proof
wet well and may be damaged. themselves. This applies only to the pilot devices
• Use intrinsically safe controls. Intrinsically safe (i.e., bulbs, micromatic, etc.).
equipment and wiring are defined as equip- The intrinsically safe relays have nothing what-
ment and wiring that are incapable of releasing soever to do with the motor enclosure. If the
sufficient electrical or thermal energy under motors are to be mounted in the hazardous area,
normal or abnormal conditions to cause ignition they must be suitable for that environment.
of a specific hazardous atmospheric mixture in
its most ignited concentration. This equipment In a similar manner, all alarms (audible or visual)
is suitable for use in Division I locations. that are to be mounted in the hazardous area
must be approved for that specific environment.
You may want to note that there is no reference The fact that the control circuit is intrinsically
to voltage in this definition. However, reducing safe does not remove the requirement for proper
the control voltage to 24, 12, or even 6 volts does wiring of these devices.
not eliminate the possibility of a spark as anyone
who has dropped a wrench across the battery CONCLUSION
terminals in a car will attest.
The specific application to individual installa-
The definition of intrinsically safe control equip- tions will have to take into consideration the
ment and wiring consists of two elements: customer’s preferences, the physical conditions
surrounding the installation, and the local in-
(1) ELECTRICAL ENERGY
spection authority (electrical inspector).
A combination of voltage and current that will re-
Although the initial cost of a control panel with
sult in a spark when contacts are made, or break.
an intrinsically safe control circuit is higher than
As noted above, reducing the voltage alone does
those without, the installed cost of the system
not eliminate this problem.
may be less. The customer may use non-explo-
(2) THERMAL ENERGY sion proof pilot devices such as the bulb control,
Thermal Energy refers to the possibility of any and the junction box and wiring inside the sump
conductor being connected from a hot terminal do not have to be explosion proof when the in-
to ground, and the conductor itself becoming hot trinsically safe panel is properly installed.
enough to ignite the gases in the sump.
INTRINSICALLY SAFE CONTROL EQUIPMENT GRUNDFOS WHITE PAPER | 4

REFERENCES
1. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
(2008). NFPA 70: National Electrical Code, 2008
Ed. Quincy, MA: NFPA.
http://www.nfpa.org.
2. National Electrical Manufacturers Association
(NEMA), 1300 North 17th Street, Suite 1847,
Rosslyn, VA 22209; http://www.nema.org.