Lasers test explosive gas mixtures
15 Jan 2000
A project to investigate the safe use of optical methods of measurement and communications within potentially explosive atmospheres commenced recently, with the financial support of the European Commission.
A previous project determined the most likely hazard to be radiation falling on dust or fibres causing local heating. It recommended safe levels of continuous optical power and irradiance for the most easily ignited gases/mixtures.
The new project will extend that study to include pulsed optical sources and will also consider the different hazard presented by combustible dust. Safe optical powers and irradiances for industrially important hazardous gases, solvents and dusts are also being investigated.
The research team, led by Fred Carleton of Imperial College London, includes partners PTB in Germany, INERIS in France and Britain's Health & Safety Executive. They plan to study a range of dusts, fibres and atmospheres over the next three years. Carleton told PE he is keen to ensure that the materials chosen are relevant to industrial situations.
Initially the target materials to be studied are iron oxide, coal and soot. The gases will be acetylene, ethylene, heptane, butanol, and mixtures of heptane/ether and hydrogen/methane. The study will look at the effect of changing the oxygen content of air in explosive atmospheres and explosions resulting from ignition within dust clouds.
Inviting suggestions from industry, Carleton said: `We would welcome industrialists, particularly from the offshore, drilling, mining, petrochemical, process and instrument industries, to make some input to the project.'
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