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B. Forms of Release
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ventilation within an area. Using these parameters, Table
D.1 (Fig. 5) of the standard then suggests an appropriate
zone classification for the location. It should be cautioned that
the zone classification suggested by the table should be
evaluated against the formal definitions for a zone
classification. For example, the standard defines a zone 2
location as one where a flammable gas atmosphere is “not
likely to occur” and if it does, “exists for a short time only”. If
the “short time only” criteria cannot be achieved, which may
the case in remote unattended or unmonitored facilities; the
assignment of the zone classification may warrant further
evaluation.
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atmosphere. This allows air to mix with the release reducing stopped. A low dilution environment typically leads to a Zone
the LFL of the gas/air mixture and transporting it away. 1 or even Zone 0 classification based on Table D.1 (Fig. 5).
Ventilation turbulence may be caused by momentum of the
gas/vapour leak itself, by buoyancy of the release in air or by
wind flow interacting with the release.
For indoor situations, ventilation velocity is calculated by
determining the volumetric flow of the ventilation system
accounting for any release sources and dividing the value by
the cross sectional area perpendicular to the flow. This
results in an average flow velocity (Uw) that can be used for
assessing the ability of a ventilation system to control a
release.
To perform an assessment, the “ventilation velocity” is
determined by the design of the ventilation system or by
outdoor atmospheric conditions and plotted against the
“release characteristic” which describes the flammable
source of release in the context of the size and rate of
release. The standard provides a method for determining the
ventilation velocity of open areas using Fig. 6. The release
characteristic of a source of release may be calculated using
the following formula: Fig. 7 IEC 60079-10-1 Ed 2.0 Figure C.1 – Chart for
Assessing the Degree of Dilution
Wg (m3/sec) (1)
(ʌg x k x LFL) For enclosed areas, both the ventilation velocity and the
where background concentration of flammables entrained in the air
must be assessed. Dilution in an enclosed area may result
Wg mass release rate of flammable from the exchange of fresh air from outside the enclosure or
substance (kg/s) by the enclosure itself having sufficient volume to allow the
ʌg Density of gas or vapour (kg/m3) release to disperse. This makes it possible for large
k Safety factor attributed to LFL enclosed areas to have minimal interior/exterior air exchange
LFL Lower flammable limit (vol/vol) rates while still maintaining sufficient ventilation effectiveness
to disperse a release.
To assess the background concentration of an enclosed
location, the flow rate from the flammable release source
must be compared to the fresh air introduction rate
accounting for mixing inefficiencies. The standard
incorporates a calculation formula to estimate the
background concentration as follows:
f x Qg (vol/vol) (2)
Xb = Qg + Q1
where
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For artificially ventilated enclosures, the ventilation • properties of flammable materials
velocity used for evaluation is the average flow velocity • identification and location of sources of release
caused by the ventilation system accounting for any Area classification design documentation should also
inefficiencies or flow obstructions. For naturally ventilated include plans, elevations or three dimensional models that
enclosures, the ventilation velocity will be a function of the indicate the type and extent of zones as well as the
thermal stack effect, wind effects on the enclosure and the appropriate group classification, ignition temperature and/or
combination effects of both. The concept of dilution and temperature class. The standard also discusses the option to
background concentration is further developed in the context indicate equipment protection levels (EPLs) on drawings to
of several application scenarios in Annex C of the standard. assist with the selection of equipment in hazardous locations.
The standard provides examples of data sheets that may be
F. Estimating the Extent of a Hazardous Zone used for documenting flammable material substances,
Annex D of IEC 60079-10-1 Ed. 2.0 incorporates a sources of release and hatching symbols for designating
structured method for determining the extent of a hazardous hazardous locations on drawings.
zone in outdoor locations. This is a welcome addition to the
standard as previous editions did not provide a means of H. Examples
assessing appropriate extents. The hazardous distances
suggested are based on release characteristic formulae (1) Annex E of the standard provides several examples
discussed earlier. Fig. 8 provides a graphical means of illustrating the use of concepts described. They are not
determining an appropriate extent based on the type of intended to be used as a basis for design but to illustrate the
release expected. Release behavior is characterized as a means of assessment as described in the annex sections of
heavy gas release, typical of a liquid pool release, a diffusive the standard. Examples include:
release resulting from a low velocity gas/vapour release or a • pump application in open air
jet release characteristic resulting from a high velocity gas • pump application within an enclosed location
release. As always, the distances calculated must be • process vessel in open air
evaluated using engineering judgement and an appropriate • control valve in a congested location
safety factor applied to account for facility layout and site • process piping in an enclosed location
conditions. The method described is for open air situations
• compressor facility handing natural gas
and does not apply to indoor low dilution applications.
The compressor facility example is fully documented to
illustrate the level of documentation expected for a given
application. It should be noted that the examples are
intended to show application of the evaluation methods and
are not intended to be used as representative examples for
classification purposes.
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As additional process information becomes available, the Using the process information provided, the calculated
hazardous area classification may be optimized using the release rate would be 1.6 X 10-3 kg/s.
calculation methods described in the Annex sections of IEC 2) Zone Classification: To determine the appropriate
60079-10-1 Ed. 2.0. This provides the opportunity for the zone classification, the ventilation velocity and the release
hazardous area classification design to be optimized to reflect characteristic must be determined. The ventilation velocity
the true nature of the hazard. can be determined from Table C.1 of IEC 60079-10-1 (Fig.
6). For a lighter than air release in an unobstructed area, a
A. Natural Gas Release ventilation velocity of 0.5 m/s at grade would be appropriate.
A hazardous area classification is required for a pressure The release characteristic would then be determined
vessel located in an outdoor location in an upstream gas using formula (1). This requires the LFL of natural gas be
processing facility. The vessel handles natural gas at a determined as well as an appropriate safety factor applied
pressure of 4500 kPA. Fig. 48 of API RP 505 recommends a based on the LFL. Given that the LFL of natural gas
Zone 2 classification extent of 3 meters as illustrated in Fig. (methane) is relatively high at 5%, a k = 1.0 safety factor
8. would be appropriate. In other situations where the LFL is
less than 5%, a k safety factor of between 0.5 and 1.0 would
be appropriate. Based on the information provided, the
characteristic of release would be 0.042. Applying the results
of the release characteristic calculation to the expected
ventilation velocity as illustrated in Fig. 9, the application
results in a medium dilution situation.
0.5m/s
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that the momentum of the gas release will mix turbulently
with the surrounding air as illustrated in Fig. 1. This would
limit the extent of the hazardous radii to a fairly short
distance. From an applications perspective, electrical and
instrumentation equipment mounted on the vessel would
need to be certified for a Zone 2 hazardous location.
Electrical and instrumentation equipment on process
equipment adjacent the vessel may not require a hazardous
location certification if they do not handle flammable materials
Fig. 12 Mechanically Ventilated Building handing Natural
and are outside of the 1 meter zone classification.
Gas
The same natural gas release scenario is evaluated for a Qa (m/sec) (4)
Uw = (L L x H
6m long x 4m wide x 3.5m high enclosed location as
illustrated in Fig. 12. The location is mechanically ventilated where
at 0.09 m3/sec (200 CFM). What would be an appropriate
zone classification for the enclosed area? Uw Ventilation velocity (m/sec)
Qa Air flow rate (m3/sec)
L Length of the enclosed area (m)
H Height of the enclosed area (m)
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The calculated ventilation velocity was determined to be for the application would consist of a small amount of leakage
0.004 m/sec. Applying the characteristic of release and the from the pump seal under normal operating conditions. The
ventilation velocity information to Figure C.1 from the IEC pump is surrounded by a 2m x 3m fluid containment dyke
standard results in a medium degree of dilution as illustrated designed to contain any leakage. The standard API diagram
in Fig. 13. used to classify refinery sources of release is illustrated in
Fig. 15. Given that pentane has a vapour density of 2.5 as
compared to air, the application requires a transient vapor
zone. A Zone 2 classification extending 15m in addition to a
15m transient vapour zone would apply.
0.004m/s
0.042
Fig. 15 API RP 505 Figure 20
Fig. 13 Enclosed Location Degree of Dilution Assessing this situation using the IEC source of release
calculation method requires examining the nature of a
Applying the information derived from the calculations to Fig. hypothetical release under normal conditions. A pentane
14 suggests a Zone 2 classification for the building. This release from a pump seal would likely result in some
however requires that the background concentration be flammable material flashing to atmosphere with the bulk of
checked using formulae (3). To do so, a suitable value of f is the release collecting in a pool formation within the
required which is a safety factor applied to account the containment dyke. The pentane fluid within the dyke would
degree of inefficiency of air mixing due to equipment then flash to atmosphere at a rate determined by the ambient
congestion and variable air flow patterns. Since the building air temperature and the vapour pressure of the pentane fluid.
layout is relatively open, an f factor of 2 was selected. The The release rate from an evaporative pool may be
background concentration Xb was then determined to be determined by calculation or by Figure B.2 of IEC 60079-10-1
4.5% LFL which is much less than the Xcrit value defined as as illustrated in Fig. 16. The values obtained from the figure
the 20% LFL gas detection alarm setpoint. Based on this are based on the assumption that the liquid temperature of
result, a Zone 2 classification would be appropriate for the the fluid is equal to the ambient temperature with a wind
application as illustrated in Fig. 14. speed of 0.5 m/sec. Pentane has a vapour pressure of 57
kPA at 20°C and a mole weight of 72 kg/kmole. Referencing
the chart, the volumetric evaporation rate would be
approximately 0.5 x 10-3 m3/sec for a pool surface area of 1.0
m2. Given that the dimensions of the containment dyke in the
application is 6.0 m2 the value obtained from the chart must
be multiplied by the actual surface area yielding an estimated
volumetric evaporation rate of 3.0 x 10-3 m3/sec.
Calculating the release characteristic using formula (1)
yields a value of 0.4 based on a k safety factor of 0.5
(Pentane has a LFL of 1.5%) and a wind speed of 0.25 m/sec
sourced from table C.1 (Fig. 17) for a heavier than air release
in an obstructed area at ground level. Using Figure D.1 from
the standard (Fig. 18) for a heavy gas release yields a
hazardous location extent of approximately 6 meters. This is
in contrast the to the 30m extent recommended by API.
The extent determined by the IEC calculations is a starting
point and should be viewed with engineering judgement.
Fig. 14 Zone Classification for Enclosed Building Other factors such as below grade locations within the
classified area and other natural obstacles may also
C. Pentane Fluid Release influence the extent of the classification.
A pump in a refinery process handles pentane at 3000 kPA
at an operating temperature of 20°C. A typical leak scenario
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V. CONCLUSIONS
VI. REFERENCES
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[10] Rangel Jr., Estellito, Luiz, Aurélio M. and Madureira Jr.,
Hilton – “Area classification is not a copy-and-paste
process: performing reliable hazardous area
classification studies”. IEEE IAS Industry Applications
Magazine, Jan/Feb 2016, p. 38 – 49.
VII. VITAE
Allan Bozek, P.Eng., MBA, graduated from the University
of Waterloo in 1986 with BSc in Systems Design Engineering
and a MBA from the University of Calgary in 1999. He is a
Principal with EngWorks Inc. providing hazardous location
consulting services to industry. He is a registered
professional engineer in the provinces of Alberta, Ontario,
Saskatchewan and British Columbia, Canada and has been
a member of the IEEE since 1989. Allan’s areas of expertise
include hazardous area classification design, application of
hazardous location codes and standards to facilities and the
design and certification of equipment in hazardous locations.
10
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