Within the European Community, intrinsically safe pressure sensors may only be utilized in hazardous areas if they are installed together with an Ex barrier. The mix of pressure sensor and Ex barrier must meet the ?Proof of intrinsic safety? relative to the 94/9/EC ATEX directive. Not all combinations of sensor and barrier from different manufacturers fulfil this problem.
On the main one hand, it could be that the safety or Ex characteristic values do not match, alternatively, the functional characteristics must also match your application. So, even though the safety-related data match, the couple of Ex barrier and pressure sensor may not match since, for example, both components work ?passively?.
(Additional information about them ?active?/? Bottom Line ? are available in your blog article ?Electrical circuitry for pressure sensors: when is really a sensor active, so when passive??)
Therefore, factors to consider that you only use barriers and sensors together whose safety-related data and function-related data match each other. We therefore directly recommend, in our intrinsically safe pressure sensors? data sheets, a potentially compatible intrinsically safe Ex barrier.
If you have any further questions, our sales department will gladly offer you a detailed application consultation.g