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Customer application

Safe Underground

Electricity is one possible ignition source that carries enormous risk in underground coal mining: Even a small spark can ignite an explosion. Manufacturers of machines for underground use must therefore ensure that there are no ignition risks in their systems. That is why Hazemag & EPR relies on controllers and other products from WAGO.

Since the introduction of the European Directives, manufacturers of products intended for the European economic market have been required to provide them with the CE marking and a corresponding declaration of compliance. This legal requirement is found in Article 114 of the current valid European Treaty. For machines, that primarily means that they have to satisfy Machinery Directive – 2006/42/EC. If they are to be used underground in hazardous areas, such as in coal mining, then they must additionally satisfy the ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU. This serves to prevent any mine gas that may be present, like methane, from being ignited through the use of this equipment. The manufacturers must ensure that their equipment has no ignition risks.

Advantages of the intrinsically safe version of the WAGO-I/O-SYSTEM 750:

  • Fieldbus-independent, flexible and robust
  • Carries all internationally relevant approvals
  • Compact design favors use in tight spaces

Familiar Standards – Even in Hazardous Areas

That’s why Hazemag & ERP, whose machines are used for underground tunneling, equips its electrical switching devices with intrinsically safe automation components from WAGO. These components allow automated control of the machine’s electrical systems, even in hazardous areas, while satisfying the usual standards. Without safety measures like this, underground mining would be impossible, because methane is constantly being released. If the concentration of the released gas passes the so-called lower explosion limit (LEL), then it becomes an explosion hazard. If an ignition source is present, then a LEL of five percent can cause a firedamp explosion. According to safety policies, at a concentration of only one percent, methane in the air, any monitored electrical equipment must be deenergized. Specifically, the electronics in these machines must be designed and implemented in an explosion-proof version according to the relevant standards.

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