In petroleum, chemical, mining, emergency fire protection, medicine, food processing and other industries, there are environments where explosions may occur during production, processing, processing, storage, and transportation. For personal and production safety, all electrical products used in this environment must pass relevant explosion-proof certification.
The concept of explosion proof certification
Explosion-proof certification is the work used to determine that equipment meets the requirements of explosion-proof standards, type tests and routine tests for adaptation, and issue relevant certificates of conformity. Certificates can be for Ex equipment or Ex components.
Different regions of the world have different certification standards and systems for explosion-proof electrical products. At present, the international explosion-proof certification can be divided into China explosion-proof certification, EU ATEX certification, international IECEx certification, North American explosion-proof certification, etc.
China explosion-proof certification
China explosion-proof certification is a compliance test conducted by the state for explosion-proof products (including electrical products and non-electrical products) used in explosive places, and an explosion-proof certificate is issued for explosion-proof products that meet the national GB3836 standard. At present, China's explosion-proof certification standards are basically equivalent to the international IEC60079 standard system.
International IECEx Certification
IECEx is a certification system for explosion-proof electrical products advocated by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The current explosion-proof standard is IEC60079.
IECEx certification has now become the preferred way to obtain international safety certification for products used in all hazardous areas, currently in many countries around the world (Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, the United States, etc.) be recognized.
Certificates issued by IECEx certification are automatically uploaded to the IECEx website, where manufacturers and end users can find relevant certification documents.
EU ATEX certification
ATEX is the directive "Equipment and protective systems for use in potentially explosive atmospheres" adopted by the European Commission. Its purpose is to create a single market within Europe, eliminate technical barriers to trade, and ensure the freedom of equipment intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres among its member states. circulation. The directive covers mine and non-mine equipment (including mechanical equipment and electrical equipment), expands potentially explosive hazardous environments to dust and flammable gases, flammable vapors and mists in the air, and specifies the intended use in potentially explosive environments The basic health and safety requirements for the application of the equipment and the conformity assessment procedures that the equipment must follow before entering the European market. The current directive is 2014/34/EU
North American explosion-proof certification
The North American explosion-proof certification system (hereinafter referred to as NEC [(NEC: National Electrical Code ®)] system), from the classification and grouping of explosive substances, the division of hazardous areas, explosion-proof protection methods, installation wiring, etc., and the explosion-proof certification supported by my country's national standard system The system (hereinafter referred to as the GB system) is very different. At present, North American explosion-proof certification is divided into two systems: Division and Zone. The Division system adopts the explosion-proof mark of the United States, and the Zone system adopts the explosion-proof standard consistent with the IEC system.
Although the Electrical Installation Regulations (NEC) of the United States has gradually accepted the regional division system of hazardous locations of IEC60079 series standards (corresponding to my country's national standard GB3836 series) since the 1996 edition, and the product standards of the United States have also been revised and supplemented accordingly. However, for manufacturers of explosion-proof electrical products who are familiar with my country's explosion-proof certification system and some users in petrochemical and other industries that widely use imported products, they still have requirements for the design and manufacture of explosion-proof electrical products under the North American grading system and my country's explosion-proof certification system. I am confused by a series of problems such as installation and use, reasonable selection and so on. In particular, some customer manufacturers of Zhongnuo Testing who are striving to enter the North American market are eager to understand the difference between the two standard systems on how to enter the North American market smoothly.