Gas detection in explosive environments

Geopal System A/S develops alarm systems for detection of gases, vapors and toxic fumes in industrial work environments. EKTOS has worked with Geopal on the development of their latest gas detector called GP-NOVA as primary electronic HW and SW developer. It is one of the most exciting and demanding products EKTOS has worked on because the GP-NOVA is designed towards SIL 2 approval according to IEC 61508 and to comply with the ATEX standards EN IEC 60079-0:2018 and EN 60079-1:2014. In this article you learn about the implications of ATEX on the design process. SIL 2 is covered here.

 

An innovative and versatile gas detector

Optical touch, a large, bright OLED display, and an enclosure with a flexible design that makes the detector compatible with a wide range of sensor technologies reflect the intelligent, user-oriented design of the GP-NOVA.

Bluetooth connectivity and a dedicated app allow for real-time reading of gas measurements as well as wireless configuration and calibration of the GP-NOVA. The gas detector can store time-stamped measured gas concentrations for up to 2000 events on a microSD card.

The innovative solutions were challenging, but when designing a gas detector, safety is the number one theme.

 

 

Designing for ATEX approval

The GP-NOVA is built for environments where flammable gases, mists, or vapors could appear. If the environment contains enough of such substances mixed with air, any source of ignition can cause an explosion. The ATEX Directive, Directive 2014/34/EU, covers equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.

One of the critical aspects when designing with ATEX in mind is thermal design. In order to prevent too much heat dissipation inside the product.

Calculation, observation, and testing, as well as a thorough analysis of what happens in the case of component failure are all parts of the documentation needed for the ATEX approval.

Besides the requirements stipulated by ATEX the GP-NOVA has also been designed to live up to the requirements by SIL2 which you can read more about here.

The GP-NOVA has not only been built with a smooth user experience and convenience in mind but it has also been built in accordance with the most rigid safety requirements.

We are proud of the accomplishments we have reached together with Geopal. We love challenges, and we are always ready for the next one.

Contact us if you you’d like to discuss how we can help you.