Recommended Acceptance Testing Criteria for Adhesives and Sealants for Explosion-Proof Electrical Enclosures

摘要

Factors that currently enter into the design, manufacture, and quality assurance of explosion-proof enclosures are reviewed with special emphasis given to sealing concepts and sealants-cements for lenses. The physical an d mechanical properties of a number of representative sealants and adhesives are measured, and found to exhibit great variance, with few descernible trends that might afford a firm base on which to establish minimum property standards. Acceptance criteria for adhesives and sealants are suggested based on the survivability of an explosion-proof enclosure as a structure rather than on the minimum material properties of its constituents. Procedures for surface preparation of adherends and quality assurance are also proposed.