Blast Proof??? 3

[Gymmeh]

I had a customer ask me if our cranes are design to be explosion or blast proof.

I am sure there is classification system, and code that would relate to cranes, would anyone have any information on this?

Thank you
JD

 

[Gymmeh]

Oddly after asking every office person and Google since yesterday, I found out what explosion proof is from the machinist/welder....but he didn’t know what code was so I could look it up.

 

[KENAT]

From my very limited dealing in this field I'm not sure there is a class for things like Cranes.

We made trolleys & storage racks/pallets etc for stores at a previous employer. At one point we were looking into making some of them blast resistant to help meet IM requirements. I don't remember the racks or trolleys having to meet some recognized standard by themselves.

There were I think maybe grades of how insensitive a munition is, which could include packaging effects, but that's not directly applicable to you.

There are standards for bomb shelters etc but I don't know that they would pertain to cranes.

Either way, based on your second post it seems that your products weren't intentionally designed to be explosion proof.



KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[Gymmeh]

Yeah... but maybe there is a good market for explosion proof cranes that I can tap into.

But its really an interesting subject that I would like to learn more about.

 

[KENAT]

I do know that for shipboard equipment (military) there were requirements based on the shock/acceleration it would see in event of the ship hitting a mine.

If your crane is shipborne it might fall under these.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[Gymmeh]

We do comply with seismic zone 4. There is actually a picture somewhere of one of our systems on a civilian ship.

 

[IRstuff]

901D compliance is WAY worse than just about any earthquake. There's a video floating around somewhere, hwere they show the infamous "barge test", wherein a flat bottom aluminum boat is subjected to depth charges in a shallow pond. Clement's tome on 901 shock shows input shocks on the order of 300 g's.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[KENAT]

Yeah, depending on where an item is located in a ship the shock they see from mine or depth charge is scary.

To give you some idea, my former companies expert summarized it like this.

All ship equipment was designed to survive a level of shock that would kill (or at least severely injure) just about everyone on board. Essentially after the shock the Navy would 'sweep off' the old crew and install a new crew, the ship itself would be funtional.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[IRstuff]

Weel. not sure it's quite that bad for the crew. The stated purpose of 901 was to ensure that the ship could continue to defend itself after being attacked, so the presumption is that some of the crew survives and the critical systems are still usable.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[KENAT]

I may not be talking 901, I can't recall. And this guy was prone to yarn spinning but I think he was trying to make a point.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[IRstuff]

Anyhoo, that's still a far cry from surviving the direct effects of a blast.

Gymmeh,

Are you certain that your customer wasn't referring to equipment that doesn't cause explosions? I know there's a class of electrical equipment that's rated to not cause explosions in explosive atmospheres.

Otherwise, the crane would need to be made from unobtainium. Consider the difference between an MRAP and a HMMWV. A crane built along the lines of an MRAP would have trouble raising itself, much less carry a load.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[Gymmeh]

After the fact I figured out that he could be talking about two different things, he was not a native English speaker so I assume the terms he used didn’t make sense to me or any of the office staff. For the same reason, it made sense to one of our machinist which is also no-native English speaker.

The two cases being

The electricity causing explosion proof, which user can get air or hydraulic driven system (having a remote line run from a safe location)

or the crane is in a location which is volatile and needs to withstand blasts.

I guess I will never know.

 

[Heckler]

Is this what you're after? - In MIL-STD-810 Method 511.4 Explosive Atmoshpere which is to demonstrate the ability of material to operate in a fuel-air explosive atmosphere without causing ignition.

This test can be applied to subsystems on the crane. We had to comply to this method with some of our airborne computer equipment.


Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SWx 2007 SP 4.0 & Pro/E 2001
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_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

This post contains no political overtones or undertones for that matter and in no way represents the poster's political agenda.

 

[danw2]

USA's NEC (National Electrical Code) Articles 500-505 apply to hazardous areas (also called classified areas), where fire or explosive hazards may exist due to flammable gases, liquids, vapors, combustible dusts, ignitable fibers or flyings.

503.13 is specific for cranes and hoists in Cl 3 (ignitable fibers or flyings), Div 1 & 2 hazarodous areas.

Specific enclosures are designed and rated for "Explosion proof".

See an explanation for lift trucks at

http://www.exforklifts.com/ex.htm

 

[Gymmeh]

Thank you both!,

Next time someone calls asking for anything dealing with exploding cranes I will know what going on.

 

[KENAT]

Or another thought, which may be covered by Heckler & danw2, are you talking about being able to use the crane in an explosive storage area/bomb dump.

I can't recall the details but there are standards for this, certainly as relates to electrical equipment.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[FOETS]

BS EN 50018:2000
Electrical apparatus for potentially explosive atmospheres. Flameproof enclosure 'd'


In mining its called flameproof equipment - try searching for that term theres lots of info.

FOETS
Some days you're the dog.
Some days you're just the hydrant.