Designing Sensors for Hazardous Environments

Some of the most common applications for hazardous duty sensors are in the oil and gas industry. Rotary encoders are frequently used to provide crucial feedback about moving machinery on the rig. Flammable agents are common in applications near the wellbore, so most electrical components on the rig require special hazardous area certification. Hazardous duty sensors are also used in applications such as paint spray booths because of the volatiles coming off the paint; grain silos because the dust environment is very explosive; chemical factories; explosives factories; and believe it or not, for cosmetics because the very fine powders that are used are highly explosive.