Near infrared borescope wins CSA Certification for hazardous locations

AMETEK Land has secured CSA Certification for its Near Infrared Borescope (NIR-B) 3XR for use in hazardous locations in the US and Canada.

The NIR-B 3XR, which was launched to the industrial gas sector in 2016, delivers continuous reformer tube wall temperature (TWT) measurement and furnace optimisation and monitoring, allowing highly accurate temperature point data to be measured, stored and trended over the lifetime of the furnace.

NIR-B 3XR has secured approval to Class 1, which covers locations made hazardous by the presence of flammable gases or vapours that may be present in the air in quantities sufficient to produce an explosive or ignitable mixture, and Division 2, which covers locations where a classified hazard does not normally exist but is possible to appear under abnormal conditions. The borescope is classified for gas groups A, B, C and D, temperature classification T4, and an ambient temperature range of -20 °C to + 60 °C (CSA Certificate: 70080206).

CSA Certification means that NIR-B 3XR meets the requirements of regulatory authorities in the US and Canada at federal, state and local levels. Along with its previous ATEX and IECEx certifications, the NIR-B 3XR can be used in most countries around the world, making it much easier for operators to specify a single technological solution for high-accuracy, safe, non-contact temperature measurement.

NIR-B 3XR provides a high-resolution image, combined with a wide-angle field of view (90°), that allows multiple reformer tubes to be imaged and measured simultaneously. This is critical to extending asset life and maximising efficiency, as a -10°C measurement error over time can result in either one per cent lost productivity or a +10°C error can result in 25 per cent reduction in tube life.

NIR-B 3XR’s high-resolution thermal image provides real-time high-accuracy temperature measurement of both the tube skin and the refractory surface. In addition, the product uses the shortest wavelength possible to minimise errors associated with varying emissivity.

AMETEK Land developed NIR-B 3XR in partnership with leading syngas catalyst manufacturers, global operators and reformer designers to give customers greater visibility and real-time temperature information.

Along with improved accuracy, NIR-B 3XR reduces risk to personnel by utilising infrared temperature measurement to remove the need for an operator or technician to be in a hazardous area on a regular basis. With advanced digital communications, the image and data can be viewed in real time from the safety of the control room.