Planning and Designing GDS
Planning and Designing GDS
Planning and Designing GDS
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JANUARY 2002
PUTTING SENSORS TO WORK
With a grasp of gas sensor basics, and a methodical plan for installing the detectors, you can February 1, 2002
build a system smart enough to save your life.
Industry News
Wolfgang Jessel, Dräger Safety AG & Co. KGaA Updated Twice Weekly
Gases
Answering the first group of
questions will give a general outline
of the task at hand, clarifying the
operational conditions and the
intended purpose, i.e., whether toxic
gases (or gases that can have a
suffocating effect) need to be
detected to protect workers or
whether combustible gases (or
vapors) need to be detected to help
prevent explosions.
Gas Sensors
Generally speaking, three methods
of measurement have firmly
established themselves over many
years in the chemicals industry:
electrochemical, IR, and catalytic.
Electrochemical sensors are
particularly suited to the detection of
toxic gases in the lower ppm range.
IR and catalytic methods are used
to detect combustible substances in
concentrations below the lower
explosive limit.
Figure 2 and Photo 2. In an IR gas sensor, one IR light beam is of a wavelength that excites a particular
type of gas molecule and thus loses part of its energy to the resultant molecular vibrations. The intensity of
that beam is compared to a second beam of the original energy, and the differential is used to measure the
gas concentration. The Polytron IR is an explosionproof detector for combustible gases and vapors.
Photo 3 and Figure 3. In The Polytron 2 XP Ex flameproof catalytic detector, two ceramic beads are heated
to ~450°C. One is activated by a catalytic material that oxides the gas and forms additional heat that is
detected by measuring the resistance of a platinum coil. The bridge current of a Wheatstone bridge with a
second, deactivated bead as reference is approximately proportional to gas concentration at the lower
explosive limit.
Two ceramic beads (pellistors) with embedded platinum coils are heated to
~450°C. One pellistor is activated by a catalytic material that, at the given
temperature, oxidizes the gas and thus forms additional heat which can be
detected by measuring the resistance of the platinum coil. Using a
Wheatstone bridge with a second, deactivated pellistor as a reference, the
bridge current is approximately proportional to the gas concentration in the
0%–100% range of the lower explosive limit (LEL).
The correct lower alarm limit can be calculated only on the basis of the
sensor data and the actual operating conditions. The lowest limit should be
no less than six times the zero-point standard deviation under actual
operating conditions. Depending on the target gas, the type of sensor, and
the application, the lowest reasonable alarm threshold may be
predetermined by the gas concentrations present or by the properties of the
detection instruments or sensors. When lower alarm limits are desirable for
occupational health or safety reasons, they can be achieved only with
considerable effort and/or equipment. In such cases, a compromise
acceptable to everyone concerned must be worked out in the planning
phase.
Dr. Wolfgang Jessel is an Applications Engineer and Physicist, Dräger Safety AG & Co.
KGaA, Revalstrasse 1, D-23560 Leubeck, Germany; 49-451-8820, fax 49-451-882-2080,
[email protected].
For more information, contact Draeger Safety, Inc., Gas Detection Systems Division, 10450
Stancliff, Ste. 220, Houston, TX 77099; 281-498-1082, fax 281-498-5190.
Or contact Draeger Safety, Inc., 101 Technology Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15275; 800-922-5518, fax
800-922-5519, [email protected].
For further reading on this and related topics, see these Sensors articles.
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