Ronan X57 I.S. Barriers

Ronan X57 IS Barriers

Ronan X57 Intrinsic Safety Barriers A Wide Selection of Models and Ronan's System Design Support Makes Intrinsic Safety Simple

MODELS The Ronan X57 Intrinsic Safety Barriers offer many benefits that make it easier for you to apply IS protection to your loops. An Intrinsically Safe Barrier is a device which limits the power (energy) which can be delivered from a safe area into a hazardous area. Explosions are prevented; not just contained in explosion-proof conduit and housings. Not only is electrical energy (voltage and current) held within safe limits, but also total energy, eliminating the possibility of an explosion due to excessive heat. Use of barriers and a total intrinsically safe design philosophy offers considerable advantages from cost and safety standpoints.   X57 I.S. Barriers Benefits Color-coded plug-in modules can be easily replaced without disconnecting wires or ground bars Required safe area / IS area separation distances are naturally provided and maintained by X57 design Surface mount chassis available in 1, 4, 10, 16, 20 module sizes DIN rail chassis holds 1 module and can be expanded as desired to any length Multiple channel barriers available to minimize number of modules needed and space required Handy on-line selection tool at www.ronan.com All appropriate foreign and domestic approvals Manufactured and stocked in the USA Why Use Intrinsic Safety Barriers? If Intrinsic Safety Barriers are so great, then why aren't they used everywhere?  - Pretty much for the same reason that there are still people who write letters on typewriters. It's what they've always done and they are afraid to learn how computers can make life easier for them. So, what are some of the reasons you should consider Ronan X57 Intrinsic Safety Barriers? Here are a few: All control loop components are immediately accessible - no time-consuming opening of explosion-proof housings. Personnel safety is assured because of low voltage operation. Standard wiring techniques in open cable trays or light gauge conduit save on material and labor costs during initial installation. Calibration and maintenance can be performed with the system in an operational status as though it were located in a general purpose area. Special skill levels are not needed to open heavy housings, test for gas, or shut down the process in order to service, or operate the instrumentation. Barrier replacement is accomplished by simple exchange of plug-in modules. There is no need to disconnect wiring. Barriers are manufactured in the U.S.A. and in England Intrinsic Safety Barriers in America Once found only in Europe, the use of Intrinsic Safety (IS) barriers to protect circuits in hazardous locations has grown throughout the US. Americans have found that barriers offer a lower cost, safer, easier installation and simpler maintenance solution than the old approaches of explosion-proof boxes, sealed conduit and purge systems. IS Barriers are devices that limit the energy that is allowed to exist on a control loop. This limit is below the energy that is needed to cause a spark or generate enough heat to ignite an explosive mixture that may be present. All of this means that you no longer need to worry about hot work permits, or whether all of the bolts on an explosion-proof box are properly installed and torqued, or whether purge air is clean and dry, or whether…  On top of all this, you don't need to worry about personnel safety because the energy levels of intrinsically safe circuits are too low to hurt anyone. Ronan X57 barriers are designed and built in America for American applications. Although Ronan barriers are available with all of the international approvals needed for non-American applications (Ex, CSA), they also have the American approvals needed for American applications (FM, UL). Passive or Active Barriers Ronan X57 Intrinsic Safety (IS) Barriers are available in both passive (zener diode) and active (isolated) varieties. For any given loop, you can usually achieve the desired protection with either type. So, why would you use one versus the other? How do you decide which type of barrier to use in a given application? The easiest answer is to just call AWC. But, to help you understand some of the differences for yourself, here are a few simple guidelines: Do you have a good, high-integrity ground where the barrier will be located?  - If you're not sure, then use an active barrier. Passive zener barriers won't offer much protection without a good ground. Are you concerned about possible ground loops?  - If so, the full isolation inherent in active barriers will eliminate any ground loop effects. Is the circuit relatively simple?  - If not, active barriers can be applied to more difficult circuits with less engineering effort. Do you have a need for additional signal conditioning (such as thermocouple or RTD signals to 4-20 ma)?  - If so, use an active barrier and save the cost of another device. Have you made it to this point without the need to use an active barrier?  - If so, then you can likely benefit from the lower cost and possible higher density of a passive barrier.

For additional information and pricing on these and other products call us at 1.800.413.6623 or email sales@awc-corp.com  or visit our Requests web page.