G. Luttgens, STATIC ELECTRICITY HAZARDS IN THE USE OF FLEXIBLE INTERMEDIATE BULK CONTAINERS (FIBCS), IEEE transactions on industry applications, 33(2), 1997, pp. 444-446
Flexible intermediate built containers (FIBC's), usually made of highl
y insulating polypropylene fabrics, are used in large numbers worldwid
e. Concerning electrostatic ignition hazards relating to the insulatin
g fabric, precautions are to be taken in fire and explosion endangered
areas, There are different ways to meet this challenge by modifying t
he FIBC's antistatically. Therefore, tests must be conducted to ensure
that the provided measures reliably eliminate electrostatic hazards,
Usually, such tests are run in full scale, malting them very costly, I
n addition, the results are difficult to reproduce, as experience show
s, A reliable and replicatable method has been found, which is corona
charging of the FIBC to simulate the electrostatic charge build up by
the bulk. This paper presents and discusses the test method and its re
sults, especially in aspects of essential grounding.