Poor handling of combustible dusts could potentially lead to devastating incidents.
A very important basis for managing the risk of combustible dusts is to understand their ignition and explosion properties by testing them so that you can avoid situations and conditions that could make those dusts explode.
Do you need testing for your dust?
The above diagram will help you determine whether you need to perform dust explosion properties testing for your dust or not. Other than complying with regulations, understanding the explosion properties of your dust will also help protect your personnel, facility, and the surrounding environment.
Gexcon offers a wide range of standardised tests for the determination of the ignition and explosion properties of dusts. Being aware of the properties of materials handled in your plant or used in your products will allow you to take the necessary safety precautions and to prevent explosions and reduce the consequences.
Gexcon performs tests to determine the explosion characteristics of dusts by following internationally recognised standards.
Gexcon’s testing solutions
Screening test
Explosibility test (yes/no)
Purpose: to determine whether a product has the potential for combustion.
Ignition sensitivity test
Minimum Ignition Energy test for dust cloud (MIE)
Purpose: to determine the minimum energy of an electric spark needed to initiate a dust explosion.
Minimum Ignition Temperature of dust cloud (MITdc)
Purpose: to determine the minimum temperature of a hot surface able to ignite a dust cloud.
Minimum Ignition Temperature of dust layers (MITdl)
Purpose: to determine the lowest temperature of a hot surface which can still ignite a dust layer.
Minimum ignition temperature of dust deposits (self-ignition) (SIT/AIT)
Purpose: to determine the minimum temperature required for self-ignition of a dust deposit as a function of the volume of the deposit.
Electrical resistance of dust deposits test
Purpose: the electrical resistance of dust deposits is especially used to assess whether there is a possibility for so-called cone discharges in hoppers and silos after a process where the dust entering the hopper or silos may have been charged electrostatically.
Severity test
Explosion pressure development
Purpose: to understand the reactivity of your dust (how fast it burns) and the maximum explosion pressure that could be generated by your dust in a closed volume.
Flammability limit test
Lower Explosion Limit (LEL)
Purpose: to discover the lowest dust concentration that can be ignited.
Limiting Oxygen Concentration (LOC)
Purpose: to determine the highest oxygen concentration that can be allowed in a process where inerting is used as a measure to prevent dust explosions from occurring.
Burning behaviour test
Dust Layer Flammability Test (DLFT)
Purpose: to determine the burning behavior of a dust layer.
Enquiry form
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