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Press release
22.10.2014  |  10713x
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REMBE bursting discs - the very best in reliable explosion protection

Explosion protection meets SIL

When assessing the functional safety of a protection system it is above all important to ensure that its reliability matches the risks of a plant that is in danger. Such a SIL classification is based on a risk assessment that covers the probability of failure in a safety setup within a given scenario and the potential severity of any resulting damage. The defined tables and values, which can be found, for instance, in EN ISO 13849, lead to the required SIL level for the relevant (electronic) component. The higher the probability of occurrence and/or the potential severity of damage, the higher should be the requirements on the electronic componentry and also on the necessary SIL level. Any facilities with SIL level 4 certification thus offer the best risk minimisation and must be provided wherever probability and potential severity are especially high.
The risk assessment then forms the basis for an evaluation of measures designed to help reduce those two factors: probability of occurrence and potential severity of damage. The former is mitigated through preventive action, e.g. inertisation devices to prevent the occurrence of hazardous explosion-prone atmospheres). The severity of damage can be reduced through measures (e.g. explosion suppression systems).


SIL looks at the source which produces the functional safety of (E/E/PE) systems. The overall regulatory framework on which all certification is based is IEC 61508. Statements on the so-called “average probability of failure of the protective function at the point of requirement” have been available for quite a while as active protection systems, for instance, for REMBE’s Q-Bic suppression systems.

Mechanical protection systems are not covered in this directive and cannot therefore be certified under it. This has been the theory up to now. In practice, something else is required: Many plant manufacturers and operators in a variety of industries feel committed to SIL and demand that reliability parameters should also be available for mechanical protection systems, as they are often used in combination with (E/E/PE) systems and can only produce a consistent protection policy in its “overall effect”. Moreover a number of standards such as TRBS 2152-5 will expressly require certain SIL levels for protection systems in the future.

Based on these findings and its readiness for change, REMBE has worked with IQZ, the German Institute of Quality and Reliability Management, in Wuppertal. Together, they have developed a transparent and legally sound methodology to assign SIL equivalents to REMBE products despite their purely mechanical functions. The resulting PFD values (Probability of Failure on Demand) can thus be translated into “SIL language” under IEC 61508. It turned out that the company’s bursting disks had a SIL equivalent of 4, and the flameless venting devices a SIL equivalent of 2, due to the integrated electronic components of this SIL level.


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