Explosion protection: directives and standards

In the European Union, directive 2014/34/EU (on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres) describes equipment and protective systems. The ATEX product directive is primarily geared towards manufacturers and/or distributors of products that will be used in potentially explosive atmospheres.

This directive applies to gearmotors and motors, and has been in effect without limitations since April 20, 2016. Other European countries, such as Switzerland, have now fallen in with this regulation.

Since April 20, 2016, it replaces the 94/9EG directive. The EU Parliament passed the directive 2014/34/EU on February 26, 2014, and published it in late March 2014. There are no fundamental changes or new requirements for design-based explosion protection. The major changes are in the terminology. The EC type examination is now known as the EU type examination, and the EC declaration of conformity has become the EU declaration of conformity. Existing EC type examination certificates will remain valid.

We were one of the first manufacturers to offer appropriate gear units and motors when this directive was introduced, and our products meet the necessary requirements:

• AC motors of the EDR.. series
• Standard gear units
• Servomotors of the CMP series
• Servo gear units of the BS.F series and Servo gear units of the PS.F series
• Gearmotors made by combining the specified products

The 1999/92/EC directive primarily targets employers and system operators. It stipulates minimum regulations for safety requirements intended to prevent explosion-related accidents. In Germany, for example, this directive was converted to national law with the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (BetrSichV).

Identification of the products:

• Manufacturer's name and address
• CE marking
• Designation of the series and type
• The serial number, if applicable
• The year of manufacture
• The special "Ex" marking for preventing explosions in connection with the identification that indicates the category
• For equipment group II, the letter "G" (for areas with potentially explosive gas, vapor or mist mixtures)
• and/or the letter "D" (for areas in which dust could produce potentially explosive atmospheres)

Eurasian Customs Union Russia/Belarus/Kazakhstan/Armenia

The Eurasian Customs Union has adopted a number of European directives, with some modifications. In the field of explosion protection, TR ZU 012/2011, which is based on EU Directive 94/9/EC, has replaced the GOST regulations.

For products in areas at risk of explosion, the EAC label alone, as found on standard motors for example, is not sufficient. These products must be certified to the technical regulation "On safety of equipment for work in explosive environments" (ТR СU 012/2011) and receive an Ex label in addition to the EAC label. The EAC Ex certification was created on the basis of the ATEX certification.

SEW asynchronous motors and asynchronous gearmotors are to be shipped with both labels.

The ATEX labels are unchanged and the motor or gearmotor gets a second nameplate with the EAC Ex specifications. The second nameplate is always attached to the motor.

Stand-alone gear units are not to be shipped with both labels. The main nameplate is to be modified to fulfill all requirements of technical regulation ТR СU 012/2011.

• EAC label
• EAC Ex label
• Certification authority
• Certificate number
• EAC Ex label for gas
• EAC Ex label for dust
• Safety note

Specifications are written in Cyrillic.

Ukraine

The Ukraine has also adopted some of the European directives, with modifications.

In the field of explosion protection, Regulation no. 1055 from December 2016 laid down technical standards for equipment and protective systems to be used in potentially explosive atmospheres

EDR.. motors will be available shortly that are in line with these standards.

The IECEx certification agreement is seen as a worldwide platform for the mutual recognition of test results for obtaining certification or approval for explosion-proof electrical equipment. It is based on the "IECEx 01 IEC Scheme for the Certification to Standards for Electrical Equipment for Explosive Atmospheres (IECEx Scheme) – Basic Rules" and "ECEx 02 IEC Scheme for the Certification to Standards for Electrical Equipment for Explosive Atmospheres (IECEx Scheme) – Rules of Procedure." These two documents and other IECEx working documents are available free of charge in the IEC online shop at www.iecex.com.

Objectives of the IECEx agreement

The agreement is intended to promote international trade in explosion-proof electrical equipment by eliminating the need for duplicate testing and certifications. The fundamental purpose of the agreement is to verify compliance with the IEC standards for electrical equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres in an internationally recognized form. It must be ensured that these standards are applied by test laboratories (ExTL, Ex-Testing Laboratories) and certification bodies (ExCB, Ex-Certification Bodies) so that assessment of a product's compliance with the standards provides the same results in every country. Our products are certified by the PTB as ExCB in accordance with IECEx, and are available in EPL .b or .c.

Australia and New Zealand:

Australia and New Zealand recognize the IECEx certification directly. In addition, the motors must meet the efficiency requirements defined in MEPS 2006. The motors of the EDR. series meet all these requirements and are registered according to MEPS.

South Korea:

In South Korea, additional KOSHA certifications are also required. Motors of the EDR.. series are certified for gas or dust in EPL b and c. Motors of type EDRE are also registered and certified according to REELS.

Brazil:

Brazilian regulations require certificates of conformity (CoCs) issued by the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology, INMETRO. The IECEx CoC is not valid in Brazil, even though ExTRs are recognized and form part of the INMETRO CoC. Areas exposed to explosion hazards are defined for the Brazilian market in the regulations Nº 179, from May 2010, and Nº 89, from February 2012.

The EDRS.. and EDRE.. motors are certified by the DNV certification authority based on the IECEx certification according to the requirements of the Brazilian authority INMETRO. This also includes certification of the production sites.

Identification of the products:

• IECEx mark of conformity for motors of the EDR.. series with IECEx certificate of the PTB
• The name and address of the manufacturer
• The manufacturer's type designation
• A serial number
• The name or ID of the authority that issues the certificate, and the certificate ID in the following form: the last two numbers of the year it was issued, followed by a period, followed by a unique four-digit series of characters for the certificate in that year (e.g. IECEx PTB 11.0041/01)
• The relevant Ex marking for potentially explosive gas atmospheres or for potentially explosive dust atmospheres
• All additional information for the relevant protection types

HazLoc-NA^® (Hazardous Location Northern America) is synonymous with explosion protection in North America, just like ATEX is for Europe and IECEx is for many other countries.

Unlike ATEX and IECEx where the areas in which a potentially explosive atmosphere may be present are divided into zones (0, 1, 2, 20, 21, 22), NEC500 and C22.2 make a distinction between division 1 and division 2, as well as between class I for gas and class II for dust.

Our products for the North American market for use in potentially explosive atmospheres in division 2 are certified by the CSA and bear the CSA logo.

This certification confirms that the motors and options were tested and that they met the applicable standards for safety and/or performance, including the relevant standards defined or managed by:

• The Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
• The American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
• Underwriters Laboratories (UL),
• NFPA70 (the National Fire Protection Association)

CSA marks are accepted by many manufacturers, retailers, regulators and inspectors in the electrical, gas, building and plumbing sectors throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The EDR.. series motors comply with the two main standards, NEC500 and CSA22.2, as well as the relevant efficiency requirements for the U.S. and Canada.

Identification of the products:

• CSA mark with fulfillment of efficiency requirement
• Master Contract No. "170602"
• Type designation
• Rated electrical values in volts, horsepower or kW, ampere and rpm
• Serial number
• Hazardous Location Designation
  • CLASS I, DIVISION 2, GROUPS A, B, C & D; Temperature Code T3C or T3
  • CLASS II, DIVISION 2, GROUPS F & G.
• Insulation class
• Power factor
• Degree of protection (totally enclosed, fan-cooled)
• Ambient temperature range
• Manufacturing location
• Electrical data of the brake (voltage, current)