EXPLOSION PROTECTION SOLUTIONS Safety is no accident. With over 60 years of field experience and a team of in-house engineers, application specialists and combustion researchers, you can rely on Fike for effective, reliable explosion protection solutions that fit your growing safety needs. We stand behind our explosion protection products with a commitment to quality, full-scale explosion testing capabilities and unprecedented expertise.


 

 

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Why Not Explosion Doors?

 
An Explosion Door is a hinged door, mounted on the process component to be protected. It is designed to open at a predetermined pressure that is governed by a special latch arrangement. Generally explosion doors have a greater inertia than an explosion vent panel, reducing their efficiency. This reduced efficiency can result in the need for larger doors to achieve the same reduced pressure as a smaller, more cost-effective explosion vent.

Considerations:

  • Weighing over 5 lbs per square foot, can reduce the efficiency of the much heavier explosion doors. Additional relief area must be used (increasing the costs) or the resulting reduced pressure will be greater -- which can also increase costs of process equipment that must now be made to withstand the higher pressure.
  • Because explosion doors are hinged, a closing door may create a vacuum in the protected vessel, (resulting from cooling of the hot combustion gases) causing the vessel to collapse or implode. The poor sealing capability of explosion doors may require the use of vacuum breakers.
  • Explosion doors come in limited sizes and shapes.
  • Explosion doors are not suitable for all processes or materials
  • Vulnerability to natural forces (such as rust) and tampering, may inhibit explosion door performance.
  • Operation and opening pressure must be checked at intervals, requiring additional time and the ability to easily access the door.
  • Explosion doors may fragment during opening, creating a safety concern.