DIN EN ISO 16852:2010-09

The International Standard has been prepared by ISO/TC 21 "Equipment for fire protection and fire fighting" (secretariat: Korea) and adopted by Technical Committee CEN/TC 305 "Potentially explosive atmospheres - Explosion prevention and protection". At DIN Working Committee NA 104-02-05 AA "Flammendurchschlagssicherungen und Tanklüftungseinrichtungen" ("Flame arresters and tank venting systems") at NA-Tank has been involved in the preparation of the standard. This standard specifies the requirements for flame arresters which prevent flame transmission when explosive gas/air- or vapour/air-mixtures are present. It establishes uniform principles for the classification, basic construction and information for use including marking of flame arresters and specifies test methods to verify the safety requirements and determine safe limits of use. The standard is valid for pressures ranging from 80 kPa to 160 kPa and temperatures ranging from -20 °C to +150 °C. It does not cover the following: - external safety-related measurement and control equipment which are required to keep the operational conditions within the established safe limits - flame arresters used for explosive mixtures of vapours and gases, which tend to self-decompose (for example, acetylene) or which are chemically instable - flame arresters used for carbon disulphide due to its special properties - flame arresters with intended use for mixtures other than gas-air or vapour-air mixtures (for example, higher oxygen-nitrogen ratio, chlorine as oxidant, and similar) - flame arrester test procedures for internal combustion engines with compression ignition systems - fast acting valves, extinguishing systems and other explosion isolating systems - flame arresters integrated or combined with explosion protected equipment line blowers, fans, compressors and pumps. The standard ISO 16852 was prepared based on the European Standard EN 12874 "Flame arresters - Performance requirements, test methods and limits for use". Essential changes in regards to EN 12874 are: - explosion group IIA1 is recorded with a methane-air test mixture; - the approval of in-line flame arresters (for deflagration or detonation) shall be limited based on operational pressures, which do not exceed the applied test pressure; - upper limit for short-term burning extended to 30 minutes; - calculation method changed for the critical volume flow during endurance burning from a temperature-based to a time-based criteria; - testing of dynamic flame arresters revised; - testing of flow monitoring systems struck; - the types of detonation flame arresters extended to 4. Regarding the fulfilment of this EC Directive, the standard has been positively evaluated by the CEN consultant for Directive 94/9/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 March 1994 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (ATEX). This means that EN ISO 16852 can be implemented into the Official Journal of the EU. Applying the standard means that it can be presumed that the essential requirements of the Directive are also fulfilled if the requirements of this standard are met.