Putting safety in context
This 48-page document, “Type of protection: intrinsic safety,” is part of Pepperl+Fuchs’ Explosion Protection Compendium. It covers intrinsic safety (IS) operating principles, circuits, verification, interconnection, installation, and protection types to use in fieldbuses. It’s here.
Three parts—and the entity
This seven-minute video, “Intrinsic safety: protection technique for hazardous locations” by Hazcon Inc., covers basic principles, the three components of an IS system, circuit installation, and how the components work together to become an IS system, also known as the entity concept. It’s here.
Thorne & Derrick International
Greater safety understanding
This online article, “Understanding what s meant by intrinsically safe,” defines hazardous areas, shows how to select pressure transducers and load cells for IS areas, describes installation and risk management, and answers frequently asked questions. It’s at https://www.omega.com/en-us/resources/understanding-what-is-meant-by-intrinsically-safe
Standards, codes and regional differences
This 52-minute webinar video, “Introduction to intrinsic safety” by Dave Malohn, staff engineer in the Energy and Power Technologies division at UL, teaches the definition of IS, different types of IS equipment, applicable standards and codes, differences between North American and international IS requirements, and fundamentals of designing IS equipment. It’s here.
Isolators and barriers
The online repository, “Intrinsic safety, barriers and isolators,” provides links to IS articles about fundamentals, IS design, difference between IS and explosion proof, IS in hydrogen/oxygen mixtures, calculating IS loop approvals, subdivision of gases, cable parameters, IS junctions boxes, minimum ignitions curves, Zener diode barriers and others, They’re at- https://iceweb.eit.edu.au/equipment/intrinsic_safety_barriers_and_isolators.html
Engineering Institute of Technology
Verification, plant and layout
These two short videos, “Intrinsic safety verification made easy” and “How to layout an IS circuit” by Barbara Vazquez-Isla, automation sales engineer at R. Stahl, show how to verify Ex I IS for hazardous applications with equipment from different manufacturers, as well as plan for IS circuits and layout IS cabinets. They’re here and here.
Design, install, inspect and maintain
This 20-page document, “A user’s guide to intrinsic safety” from MTL Instruments, Cooper Crouse-Hinds and Eaton, introduces its basic concepts and nomenclature, installation and inspection methods, system designs, and maintenance and repair procedures—including a section on dust. It's here.
Practical principles
This five-minute video, "Principle of Intrinsic Safety—Explanation of Intrinsic Safety Technology," covers dangerous gas mixtures, ignition curves, and how to limit them with Zener diodes and limiting circuits. It’s here.
Evolution of FISCO
This online article in Chemical Processing magazine, “The intrinsically safe fieldbus has arrived” by Dave Rizzo, explains the evolfieldbus intrinsically safe concept (FISCO), how it works with device couplers and power supplies, the split-architecture solution, entity parameters, and reducing downtime while easing maintenance. It’s here.
(No) blast from the past
This online article, “Sure-fire intrinsic safety,” is the Resources Guide from 2017, and it consists of nine entries on understanding and implementing IS principles. It’s here.
