INTRINSIC SAFETY AND POSITIVE SECURITY WITH AN EMBEDDED SOFTWARE SOLUTION FOR EQUIPMENT USED IN SPACES WITH AN EXPLOSIVE POTENTIAL ATMOSPHERE

In this paper intrinsic safety and positive security distance control with  an embedded software solution used in spaces with an explosive potential atmosphere is approached, in comparison to those which use just hardware technology. In sectors with an explosive potential atmosphere, a combined mixture of flammable materials, oxygen, and the presence of an ignition source (mostly caused by electric devices) can cause an explosion. For this reason, in areas with a risk of explosion the electrical equipment is made using an anti- explosive safety for the inputs and outputs called intrinsic safety. Currently this protection is made using a hardware solution which has a lot of drawbacks. To diminish or to get rid of these drawbacks and to ensure the safety of the workers and reduce material loses, the author developed and presented a method of protection for the electrical equipment using intrinsic safety and positive security combined with a software solution to create a safety area consisting in a device with a single button, controlled by a VLSI chip or PLC device and inserted into a metal housing.