Fire protected hazardous area stainless steel electrical enclosures

03 June 2013

Hawke International, the hazardous area electrical termination and connection specialist, has added fire protected enclosures to their stainless steel instrument cabinet range. The S-Series enclosure, designed for Zone 1, 2, 21 and 22 hazardous environments, is now available with a K-Mass fire and chemically resistant coating.

The new enclosures, designated the SK series, provide up to 30 minutes fire protection from hydrocarbon fires of up to 1093 degrees C.

The new enclosures have been developed for use in offshore and onshore oil and gas installations, chemical and process plants. Applications may also arise in and any environment where life protection, critical security or process systems need safeguarding from fire.

Enclosures are suitable for low voltage control and instrumentation applications. Internationally approved Hawke cable glands are fitted as standard and installed through a 3mm gland plate. The standard configuration for gland installation is via the base plate, but side entry is available if required. To eliminate the need for any further fire protection to cable glands they are shielded by a secondary K-Mass protected box. This can be detached without affecting the integrity of the enclosure when periodic access is needed for inspection of the glands. The thermal performance of the enclosure is unaffected at normal temperatures, permitting excess heat from electrical equipment to be dissipated.

Factory installed, under quality assured conditions, the K-Mass insulation is based on a two-part polyamide cured epoxy that totally enrobes the cabinet. Under fire conditions the outer layer expands and chars to produce an insulating layer to minimise heat transmission. The internal temperature within the enclosure is kept below 60 degrees C when exposed to a 1093 degree C hydrocarbon fire.

The resilient K-Mass coating is suited to heavy duty applications in harsh environments and has a wide spectrum of chemical resistance including hydrocarbons, bases and acids. In addition, the coating is resistant to sun, rain and salt spray. The enclosures are rated IP66 for ingress protection and DTS01 deluge protection rated.

Part of the world-wide Hubbell Group, Hawke International products and technical support are available through their local offices and agents throughout the world.