Hazardous Area Motors
Making you more competitive
ABB has been manufacturing high quality electric motors and generators for more than 100 years. Motors for hazardous areas represent one of its special areas of focus. Working together with major companies in the oil and gas, petrochemical and chemical industries, ABB has developed a comprehensive range of products that offer safety, reliability and energy efficiency.
The regulatory situation where customers operate, is complex and constantly changing, with the latest developments including the newest European and US standards. ABB not only ensures the relevant regulations but in many cases surpass them.
Product Range Covers
• Flameproof Motors for zones 1 and 2
• Pressurized motors for zones 1 and 2
• Increased Safety Motors for zones 1 and 2
• Non-sparking Motors for zone 2
• Dust Ignition Proof Motors for zones 21 and 22
Brochures
Motors for Hazardous Areas (16.16 MB - pdf)
ABB Hazardous Area Motors
General about hazardous areas
The hazard may be due to an explosive atmosphere composed of a mixture of gas, vapors or dusts with air. This chapter only deals with safety in explosive gas atmospheres for which European Standards exist. ABB has a full range of flameproof motors certified according to IECEx.
Flameproof enclosure Ex d and Ex de Preamble
In hazardous areas, it is the utmost importance to ensure the safe use of electrical apparatus. To this end, many countries have regulations concerning both the design and use of such apparatus. These regulations are becoming increasingly harmonized within the framework of IEC recommendations and European Standards.
The motor enclosure shall be designed in such a way that no internal explosion can be transmitted to the explosive atmosphere surrounding the motor. The enclosure must withstand, without damage, any pressure levels caused by an internal explosion. The shape, length and gap of part assembly joints, at shaft opening, cable entries, etc., shall be designed to allow for throttling and cooling of hot gases escaping outside. The standards emphasize the impact of an explosive atmosphere (for instance, explosion pressure) over constructional requirements of such apparatus. Work on assembly devices of enclosure component parts is only permitted using prescribed tools. Cable entries must meet the requirements of this type of protection. The temperature of the motor's external enclosure should not exceed the self-ignition temperature of the explosive atmosphere of the installation area during normal operation. For this reason, rated output depends on this rated maximum temperature for the considered area. No motor device outside the flameproof enclosure (e.g., ventilation) shall be a potential source of sparks, arcs or dangerous overheating.
Variants combining two types of protection usually combine ”d” and ”e” protection. The most commonly used and recognized by the CENELEC European Standards is the Ex de variant. The motor is designed with an Ex d flameproof enclosure, while the terminal box features an Ex e increased safety protection. Such design combines the superior safety degree of the ”d” type of protection with the less stringent electrical connection requirements of increased safety motors. Motors featuring dual protection are seldom encountered
- such as an increased safety motor with a flameproof enclosure designated Ex e / Ex d in European Standards.
Thermistors as sole protection (optional)
The flameproof motors from ABB, frame sizes 80 to 400, have been certified for thermistors as sole protection against overload. This construction, "Alleinschutz", is available as an option, see variant codes. "Alleinschutz“ is a term that defines the certification of flameproof motor and protection device together.
The certificate confirms that thermistors and relays will switch off the motor in case of overheating before the temperature of the motor's external enclosure exceeds the temperature marking stamped on the rating plate. Each motor ordered with thermistors as sole protection will be tested, with locked rotor, up to the point where the thermistors trigger the relay to turn off the motor. At the triggering temperature, the motor has to be within the certified temperature class. The relay is included in the certificate, which means that only approved relays can be used for "Alleinschutz“. Please note that sizes 315 to 400 require special technical solutions, consult ABB.