10 resources for making intrinsic safety (IS) inherent

Putting safety in context 

This 48-page document, “Type of protection: intrinsic safety,” is part of Pepperl+Fuchs’ Explosion Protection Compendium. It covers intrinsic safety (IS) operating principles, circuits, verification, interconnection, installation, and protection types to use in fieldbuses. It’s here.

Pepperl+Fuchs

Three parts—and the entity

This seven-minute video, “Intrinsic safety: protection technique for hazardous locations” by Hazcon Inc., covers basic principles, the three components of an IS system, circuit installation, and how the components work together to become an IS system, also known as the entity concept. It’s here.

Thorne & Derrick International

Greater safety understanding

This online article, “Understanding what s meant by intrinsically safe,” defines hazardous areas, shows how to select pressure transducers and load cells for IS areas, describes installation and risk management, and answers frequently asked questions. It’s at https://www.omega.com/en-us/resources/understanding-what-is-meant-by-intrinsically-safe

Omega Engineering

Standards, codes and regional differences

This 52-minute webinar video, “Introduction to intrinsic safety” by Dave Malohn, staff engineer in the Energy and Power Technologies division at UL, teaches the definition of IS, different types of IS equipment, applicable standards and codes, differences between North American and international IS requirements, and fundamentals of designing IS equipment. It’s here.

UL

Isolators and barriers

The online repository, “Intrinsic safety, barriers and isolators,” provides links to IS articles about fundamentals, IS design, difference between IS and explosion proof, IS in hydrogen/oxygen mixtures, calculating IS loop approvals, subdivision of gases, cable parameters, IS junctions boxes, minimum ignitions curves, Zener diode barriers and others, They’re at- https://iceweb.eit.edu.au/equipment/intrinsic_safety_barriers_and_isolators.html

Engineering Institute of Technology

Verification, plant and layout

These two short videos, “Intrinsic safety verification made easy” and “How to layout an IS circuit” by Barbara Vazquez-Isla, automation sales engineer at R. Stahl, show how to verify Ex I IS for hazardous applications with equipment from different manufacturers, as well as plan for IS circuits and layout IS cabinets. They’re here and here.

R. Stahl

Design, install, inspect and maintain

This 20-page document, “A user’s guide to intrinsic safety” from MTL Instruments, Cooper Crouse-Hinds and Eaton, introduces its basic concepts and nomenclature, installation and inspection methods, system designs, and maintenance and repair procedures—including a section on dust. It's here.

MTL Instruments

Practical principles

This five-minute video, "Principle of Intrinsic Safety—Explanation of Intrinsic Safety Technology," covers dangerous gas mixtures, ignition curves, and how to limit them with Zener diodes and limiting circuits. It’s here.

Phoenix Contact

Evolution of FISCO

This online article in Chemical Processing magazine, “The intrinsically safe fieldbus has arrived” by Dave Rizzo, explains the evolfieldbus intrinsically safe concept (FISCO), how it works with device couplers and power supplies, the split-architecture solution, entity parameters, and reducing downtime while easing maintenance. It’s here. 

Chemical Processing

(No) blast from the past

This online article, “Sure-fire intrinsic safety,” is the Resources Guide from 2017, and it consists of nine entries on understanding and implementing IS principles. It’s here.

Control