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I am a Field instrument engineer with 3 years experience. But still when it comes to Hazardous area Specification i feel i am not clear on it. It would be very helpful if some one guide me to link or Forum where i can get clarity on below Topics.

1. How to classify areas as per various standards like FM & ATEM.
2. Difference between ATEX and FM standards
3. Clear Picture on Temperature Class
4. Clarity on Various Protection Techniques (Ex ia, Ex d, etc...)

>1. How to classify areas as per various
>standards like FM & ATEX.

refer to 60079-10-1 © IEC:2008 (Classification of areas – Explosive gas atmospheres) to clarify ideas.

>2. Difference between ATEX and FM
>standards: for other contributor...
>3. Clear Picture on Temperature Class

"It must be ensured that the ignition temperature of an inflammable material is not reached during operation. For this purpose, the maximum surface temperature of a device must be less than the minimum ignition temperature.For this reason, the maximum surface temperature of equipment for use with inflammable gases, vapors or mists is specified in temperature classes. For dusty environments, the maximum surface temperature is specified in °C." from a vendor document...


>4. Clarity on Various Protection (Ex ia, Ex d, etc...)

Oil immersed devices "o"
Pressurized enclosures "p"
Intrinsic safety equipments "i"
Flameproof enclosures "d"
Encapsulated equipments "m"
you can find a lot of web site to learn and understand these knowledges: it is not only a question like "is this better or not", in some project, it is an engineering choice (and economic).

and just for your general knowledge (for example):
http://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/atex.htm#whatatex

regards

I have some material covering these topics I can make available - contact me
at bmdurdle (at) clear (dot) net (dot) nz.

Cheers,

Bruce

Thanks for the clarification and link....