The use of the aluminium alloy in the production of explosion-proof electrical equipment




Today, we use many different materials for producing equipment and components designed for areas with a potentially explosive atmosphere. They can be basically classified in the table below. Get more news about Aluminium-silicon Alloy,you can vist our website!

When choosing the best materials to be transformed into finished products, it is important to consider the limiting factors of nature. All materials, including the ones we use, have three enemies:

We are not talking about familiar potential hazards caused by an explosive atmosphere (which can be controlled by laboratory tests and guaranteed by certification), but rather deterioration caused by highly aggressive environments like chemical and petrochemical plants.

Corrosion resistance is a relative factor, as it depends on the actual environmental conditions that significantly influence the nature of the attack.

This is why Cortem Group constantly tests its materials in accordance with ASTM standards (American Society for Testing and Materials) – for example B117 in salt fog, G31 in hydrogen sulphide and hydrochloric acid, etc. - and carries out in-depth research into their resistance in outdoor environments. It is therefore able to choose the right material based on objective experience and to guarantee long-term product safety.
2. The aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloy is one of the world’s most widely used materials in the production of explosion-proof enclosures.

It is highly corrosion-resistant and, therefore, universally known as the most effective and versatile material for most applications. It is much lighter than cast iron, so it makes the equipment much easier to install and maintain; moreover, it is highly corrosion-resistant and does not require surface protection, unlike cast iron which has to be galvanized or coated.

Nevertheless, Cortem Group protects its products with a surface coating, RAL 7035, that contains stainless steel particles, a protection against mechanical impact, and characterizes our production avoiding imitations and fake products. Furthermore, the Coralum surface protection treatment based on an electro-ceramic coating applied by electrolytic deposition directly on the aluminium alloy is now available on request.
3. The corrosion resistance
The corrosion resistance is a relative factor, as it’s necessary to consider the environmental conditions that affect the nature of the attack.

Aluminium and its alloys have generally excellent corrosion resistance in various and different environments.

Despite of it’s a very chemically active metal, its behaviour is stabilized by the formation of a protective oxide film on its surface. This film, which in case of breakage is able to reproduce itself immediately, has a thickness, if formed in the air, ranging from 50 to 100 Å.
This oxide film is transparent, hard, adherent to the surface and not leafed. Accidental abrasion of the surface of the film are automatically repaired. Therefore, the conditions that cause corrosion of aluminium and its alloys are those that mechanically abrade the protective film or that favour chemical conditions that degrade it and minimize the availability of oxygen for its reconstruction.

In general, the protective oxide film is stable in aqueous solutions with Ph between 4.5 and 8.5, and it’s not attacked by acids and alkaline solutions, such as, for example, nitric acid, acetic acid, silicate sodium, ammonium hydroxide.

As for other metals, the corrosion phenomena are related to the passage of current between the anodic and cathodic areas, then the potential difference of the different areas. In this regard, it should be noted that the size and the morphology of the corrosive phenomena are related to many factors, including the composition of micronutrients, their localization and their quantity.