Advances in Explosion Protection: How Advanced Solutions Open New Doors

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Historically, explosive charges and small detonators (squibs or blasting caps) were used to cause opening. While fast, these devices required annual replacement and now have regulatory restrictions. Their use has been largely discontinued.

One change has been the use of a gas generating devices to delivery a shock wave which opens the rupture disc valve. These devices with 5 to 10 year replacement cycles maintain the opening speed while eliminating the use of explosives. Other forms include a mechanical valve having a hinged plate that is released by the action of a non-explosive linear actuator and a double disc valve whose opening is also initiated with a linear actuator.

Agent Discharge With Pressurized Gas

Gas generation has been used on a larger scale to actually create the gas pressure inside a discharge container that is initially at atmospheric pressure. The rapid generation of gas is used to discharge the agent into the protected area.

A new and unusual form of passive suppression protection is the use of expanded metals or polymers foams in an open volume that could contain gaseous fuel. An example would be the ullage volume of a fuel tank on an airplane. The device behaves essentially like a flame arrestor and serves to terminate flame propagation.

What Risk Do Pressurized Containers Pose for Personnel and Plant?

Two concerns about the use of pressurized agent containers has been the potential injury to personnel exposed to the discharge and the failure to discharge due to loss of pressure. Both issues are addressed in the relevant industry standards. The applicable lockout/tag-out regulations prohibit personnel from being exposed to stored energy.

New devices and techniques are now being employed to actively block stored energy release as well as prevent the arming of suppression systems in the blocked configuration. Unknown and undetected loss of pressure in a container lowers system reliability. Although these containers have routinely been fitted with mechanical indicators, access to these containers is often difficult and routine inspection may suffer. Today’s systems may use real-time pressure monitoring interlocked to control panel which can annunciate low pressure conditions and ensure system integrity. Another often used technology is venting - learn more on page 8!

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