CSA Standards

Explosive atmospheres — Part 0: Equipment — General requirements - Third Edition
 N CAN/CSA-C22.2 NO. 60079-0:15

Annotation

This part of IEC 60079 specifies the general requirements for construction, testing and marking of electrical equipment and Ex Components intended for use in explosive atmospheres.

The standard atmospheric conditions (relating to the explosion characteristics of the atmosphere) under which it may be assumed that electrical equipment can be operated are:

• temperature –20 °C to +60 °C;

• pressure 80 kPa (0,8 bar) to 110 kPa (1,1 bar); and

• air with normal oxygen content, typically 21 % v/v.

This standard and other standards supplementing this standard specify additional test requirements for equipment operating outside the standard temperature range, but further additional consideration and additional testing may be required for equipment operating outside the standard atmospheric pressure range and standard oxygen content, particularly with respect to types of protection that depend on quenching of a flame such as ‘flameproof enclosure “d”’ (IEC 60079-1) or limitation of energy, ‘intrinsic safety “i”’ (IEC 60079-11).

NOTE 1 Although the standard atmospheric conditions above give a temperature range for the atmosphere of - 20 °C to +60 °C, the normal ambient temperature range for the equipment is –20 °C to +40 °C, unless otherwise specified and marked. See 5.1.1. It is considered that –20 °C to +40 °C is appropriate for most equipment and that to manufacture all equipment to be suitable for a standard atmosphere upper ambient temperature of +60 °C would place unnecessary design constraints.