IEC 60079-13:2017

Overview

IEC 60079-13:2017 - Explosive atmospheres - Part 13: Equipment protection by pressurized room "p" and artificially ventilated room "v" - gives requirements for the design, construction, assessment, verification and marking of rooms used to protect electrical and electronic equipment located in explosive atmospheres. The standard applies to single rooms, multi-room arrangements, whole buildings, acoustic hoods and similar enclosures that permit personnel entry and include inlet/outlet ducts. This is Edition 2.0 (2017) and represents a technical revision to the 2010 edition.

Key scope points:

• Protection of equipment inside rooms located in Zone 1/2 and Zone 21/22 explosive atmospheres using pressurization ("p"), artificial ventilation ("v"), or a combination of both.
• Rooms in non-hazardous areas that contain an internal source of gas/vapour release and are protected by artificial ventilation.
• Requirements for safety devices, control systems, purging, verification, marking and technical documentation.

Key topics and technical requirements

The standard addresses practical and technical elements necessary to achieve equipment protection in explosive atmospheres:

• Types of protection: Definitions and differences between pressurization ("p") and artificially ventilated ("v") rooms, and the introduced protection types such as pb, pc, vc.
• Design & construction: Room integrity, mechanical strength, penetrations, seals, personnel access doors, inlet/outlet ducts and HVAC considerations.
• Clean air supply: Sources of clean air, environmental conditions and integration with heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
• Pressurization-specific requirements: Pressurization systems, minimum pressure differentials, airlock arrangements, purging sequences, and actions on system failure.
• Artificial ventilation-specific requirements: Minimum flow rates, ventilation system design, safety actions for ventilation loss and purging procedures.
• Safety devices & controls: Gas detectors, safety interlocks, electrical disconnects, and verification of sequence of operations.
• Verification, testing & marking: Overpressure, purging, ventilation flow tests, confirmation of safety device ratings, marking and instruction documentation.

Practical applications and users

Who uses IEC 60079-13:

• Design and safety engineers specifying protective rooms for process plants, refineries, chemical and petrochemical facilities.
• Manufacturers and integrators of enclosures, acoustic hoods, packaged rooms, and modular onshore/offshore units.
• End‑users and facility operators implementing protected equipment rooms in Zones 1/2/21/22.
• Certification bodies, inspectors and maintenance teams responsible for verification, testing and periodic re‑assessment.

Typical applications:

• Enclosures for control and electrical equipment at gas turbine packages, pump skids, switchrooms, packaged plants and offshore modules where equipment must be isolated from surrounding explosive atmospheres.

Related standards

• IEC 60079 series (general explosive atmosphere standards) - consult IEC 60079-0 and other parts for complementary requirements, referenced normative documents and harmonized practices.
• National regulations on personnel air quality, toxicity and temperature may apply in addition to IEC 60079-13.