ATEX 114 (2014/34/EU)
ATEX 114 requirements for products in explosive atmospheres
ATEX 114 (2014/34/EU) formerly the ATEX 95 directive describes the requirements for equipment and components in potentially explosive atmospheres. ATEX 114 is a European directive that has been incorporated into national legislation by each member state.
ATEX 144 for electrical and non-electrical components is primarily intended for manufacturers of machinery and components and serves to prevent the ignition of dust and gas explosions.
Explosive at,ospheres (ATEX zones) arise by the presence of mist, dust, vapor or combustible gases. When this is mixed with ambient air (oxygen), in combination with an ignition source, an explosion may occur. Explosion protection for components is in the vast majority of the cases achieved in the vast by secondary elimination of the ignition source (special housing or designing the component intrinsically safe), as with our Alfred Ex Interlocks.
For employers and owners of machinary, the ATEX 153 (1999/92/EC) directive is particularly important, as it lays down the safety requirements for working in potentially explosive atmospheres.
Employer requirements according to ATEX 153 in explosive atmospheres
- Classification of areas based on frequency and duration, using ATEX zones.
- Risk inventory and assessment of these explosion hazard zones (type and amount of substances present).
- Training and certifying employees who carry out work within ATEX zones.
- Inspection, maintenance and certification of machines within ATEX zones by qualified installers.
Part of ATEX 153 is a risk inventory in which the ATEX zones are determined. Only ATEX 114 approved equipment may then be used within these zones. The following specific divisions are specified as:
Zone 0 = an explosive gas mixture is present continuously or for long periods (more than 10% of the operating time of an installation or of the duration of an activity)
Zone 1 = presence of an explosive gas mixture during operation is high (between 0.1% and 10% of the operating time of an installation or of the duration of an activity)
Zone 2 = presence of an explosive gas mixture is small and only for a short time (less than 0.1% of the operating time of an installation or of the duration of an activity)
Zone 20 = an explosive dust cloud is present continuously or for long periods (more than 10% of the operating time of an installation or of the duration of an activity)
Zone 21 = an explosive dust cloud is present continuously or for long periods (more than 10% of the operating time of an installation or of the duration of an activity)
Zone 22 = presence of an explosive dust cloud is small and only for a short time (less than 0.1% of the operating time of an installation or of the duration of an activity)
Both the Alfred range of ATEX safety switches as the Steute EX product group are suitable for use in Zone 1 / 21 / 2 / 22.
Ex Marking of Components
Explosion-proof components that comply with ATEX 114 must be marked with the Community “Epsilon x” logo in a regular hexagon. For ATEX components, the suppliers must also provide a CE declaration of conformity.
These components must also be provided with a coding that indicates in which environment they may be used. The following scheme is used for this:
A Component group according to ATEX
I | Undeground mines
II | Surface industries
B Safety category
1 | Usage in Zone 0 (gas) or 20 (dust)
2 | Usage in Zone 1 (gas) or 21 (dust)
3 | Usage in Zone 2 (gas) or 22 (dust)
M1 | Mining without isolation
M2 | Mining isolation required
C Atmosphere
D | Dust
G | Gas
D Explosive protection marking
Components comply with ATEX 114
E Protection class
db | flameproof enclosing (according to IEC EN CAS UL 60079-1)
tb | dustproof enclosure (IEC EN 800079-37; IEC EN 800079-38)
F Protection concept
h | Mechanical parts of components are also tested to ensure that they cannot be a source of ignition, such as heads, keys, actuators etc.
G Temperature classification
Maximum allowable surface temperature (ignition temperature of the substance must be higher)
T1 | +450ºC
T2 | +215ºC tot +300ºC
T3 | +165ºC tot +200ºC
T4 | +120ºC tot +135ºC
T5 | +100ºC
T6 | +85ºC
H Protection class exposure
Ga | Continuous exposure to Ex gas mixture
Da | Continuous exposure to Ex dust cloud
Gb | Occasional exposure to Ex gas mixture
Db | Occasional exposure to Ex dust cloud
Gc | Low frequency exposure to Ex gas mixture
Dc | Low frequency exposure to Ex dust cloud
I Ingress Protection (IP)
IP67 | Dust proof and water proof (1m submurged under water for 30m)
IP69K | Dust proof and water proof (high pressure and steam cleaning)
J Ambient temperature (tamb)
Permissible ambient temperature during normal operation.
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Safety solutions for Zone 0 or Zone 20 applications
To keep all electrical wiring outside the explosive atmosphere and hazardous location or when installing safeguarding devices into Zone 0 or Zone 20, you will need a mechanical only solution.
The electrical isolation takes place outside the explosion-hazardous zone. After this isolation (and id reuquired the run-down time) a coded access key is released which can be used to unlock the full mechanical door locks. The Fortress Interlocks mGard and amGard S40 product groups are the only mechanical interlock systems that are TüV certified to PLe (EN ISO 13849-1).
The application example below shows a schematic overview of a mechanical trapped key system (key exchange system) as a safety solution in ATEX zones.
