Oil and gas facilities and pipeline stations regularly store and dispense large quantities of flammable and combustible liquids. Given the potential for gas, vapor, or dust to collect in these areas, the electronic equipment installed for automation and control must be designed to prevent unintentional ignition of these elements by electrical arcing or other thermal means.
Although much attention is given to the automation system components used to control the process itself, these systems also require computing equipment such as thin clients, panel PCs, remote touch displays, keyboard/video/mouse options, and fixed and mobile operator workstations. Given the risks, this equipment must meet the requirements for use in areas classified as hazardous and be rugged enough to withstand the harsh chemical and high-humidity environments generated during refining and manufacturing.
“In the oil and gas industry, the manufacturing, processing, storing, and distribution of flammable materials release gases or vapors in the atmosphere, which can result in an explosion or hazard. To create a safe and secure working environment, the computing systems at the worksite must, by regulation, be designed to pass the explosion-proof certification and be able to withstand the corrosive environment,” said Paul Shu of Arista, a provider of computing platforms and visualization display products.
A hazardous-classified location is any area, building, or commercial or industrial premises likely to be exposed to fire or explosion because of the presence of flammable gases, vapors, flammable liquids, combustible dust, and other similar materials in high amounts. These can be classified into various categories according to the nature of flammable vapors or liquids. In North America, a class/division system is primarily used and regulations related to the design and manufacturing of industrial equipment are formulated by the National Electrical Code, the California Energy Commission, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the National Fire Protection Association. Outside of North America, a similar zone system is used to define and categorize hazardous areas and potential risk sources.
To meet the requirements of oil and gas and petrochemical industrial environments, several methods can be used to make equipment flame- and explosion-proof. For computing systems, equipment manufacturers that serve the market can design and manufacture thin clients, industrial panel PCs, and touch panel PCs that are non-incendive (i.e., equipment having electrical/electronic circuitry that is incapable, under normal operating conditions, of causing ignition of a specified flammable gas, vapor, dust, etc. by arcing or thermal means) and that meet the requirements for the various classes/divisions/zones within a plant or station.
Arista, for example, offers fully sealed touch-panel PCs for the oil, gas, and petrochemical industry. The fully enclosed version is constructed of stainless steel and has no external vents. This design protects the components from gases, dust, dirt, moisture, chemicals, oil, and other contaminants in an explosive environment.
Shu said touch-panel PCs in various sizes are routinely used at human/machine interface workstations in automated tank-farm and loading-rack operations. The company also offers fanless thin versions, which are increasingly popular in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries as a cost-effective way to develop a virtual desktop for more-centralized management. Remote accessibility makes managing, storing, and using the data easier, and IT administrators can access any device connected to the server and make changes. Moreover, thin clients are easy to configure, manage, and deploy.