Heat Treatment
Controlled atmospheres are decisive in heat treatment for process quality, plant safety and the protection of employees. GASYCO combines precise gas control, continuous process gas analysis and safety-related shutdown – for protective and reactive gases, forming gas applications and flammable gas mixtures containing hydrogen or natural gas.
The SGC monitors hydrogen, natural gas and other potentially hazardous gas streams and automatically brings the system into a safe state in critical conditions.
Gas composition, residual oxygen and residual moisture can be monitored continuously. This makes changes in the furnace and process atmosphere visible early and documentable.
Controlled atmospheres for stable and safe thermal processes
In heat treatment and industrial thermoprocessing equipment, the gas atmosphere influences process quality, reproducibility and safety. GASYCO systems enable the precise mixing of protective, reactive and process gases and the continuous analysis of gas composition, residual oxygen and residual moisture. Depending on the measuring point, the analysis can be carried out directly in the process, in a bypass or via customised sample or exhaust gas conditioning.
For flammable gases such as hydrogen or natural gas, a safety-related gas shutdown can also be integrated – as part of a safety concept that meets the requirements for industrial thermoprocessing equipment. As a result, our system can also help to continue operating existing furnaces and thermoprocessing equipment that have no Ex version of their own safely with flammable gases, within a tested safety concept.
Safety concepts to EN 746, ATEX and IEC 61511
In industrial heat treatment and thermoprocessing equipment, gas quality and safety are closely linked. The EN 746 series describes safety requirements for industrial thermoprocessing equipment; EN 746-2 deals in particular with combustion and fuel handling systems, EN 746-3 with the generation and use of protective and reactive gases. For applications with flammable gases such as hydrogen or natural gas, safety-related monitoring and shutdown may be required. The GASYCO SIL Gas Control (SGC) is designed as part of a Safety Instrumented Function and supports safety concepts to IEC 61511.
Analysing process, furnace or combustion chamber gases also requires the measurement task, measuring point and sample conditioning to be designed for each project. For official emission measurements from stationary sources, regulations such as EN 15259 for measurement sections, measurement sites, measurement planning and measurement report, and EN 14181 for quality assurance of permanently installed automated measuring systems, may also be relevant. GASYCO systems can be designed for process monitoring, safety assessment and quality documentation; whether a measurement can be used as evidence of emissions compliance has to be clarified in the respective project with the operator, the authority or an accredited measuring body.
Whether and to what extent explosion-protected components are required depends on zone classification, risk assessment, installation site and overall concept. However, an SIL-based gas shutdown is an essential part of the safety concept for reliably detecting hazardous gas mixtures and safely shutting off the gas supply.
Solutions for gas quality, process control and functional safety
Precise mixing of protective, reactive and process gases
Digital gas mixers control each gas stream separately and enable reproducible gas mixtures for controlled atmospheres in heat treatment and thermoprocessing equipment.
Continuous analysis of the gas atmosphere
Gas composition, residual oxygen and residual moisture can be monitored continuously to detect deviations early and to document quality-relevant process data verifiably.
Analysis of process or combustion chamber gases
If the measuring point has high temperatures, particles, moisture or interfering substances, suitable sample or exhaust gas conditioning is added upstream of the analyser.
Safety-related shutdown for flammable gases
With hazardous gas mixtures, the SIL Gas Control (SGC) detects critical conditions and automatically brings the gas supply into a safe state.
Integration into existing system concepts
GASYCO systems can be connected, according to the project, to furnace controls, process control systems, alarms, remote access, data recording and safety logic.
SGC variants for different requirements
The SIL Gas Control is available as pure monitoring of the gas streams (SGC Monitor), with two needle valves (SGC Manual), with a digital gas mixer (SGC Mix) and additionally with process gas analysis (SGC Sense) – each as a limit shutdown or as flow monitoring with automatic pre- and post-purge.
Which regulations apply here.
From our projects we know that these standards and guidelines come up again and again in the industry – at acceptance, in audits or during qualification. Gasyco systems provide the measured values, calibration data and records you need as evidence.
The right questions. The right answers.
Which gas mixer is suitable for heat treatment furnaces?
The Gas Mixer GAMI controls each gas stream separately and mixes protective, reactive and process gases reproducibly – including for forming gas applications and mixtures with hydrogen. To monitor the gas composition, residual oxygen and residual moisture of the furnace atmosphere continuously, we recommend the GAMI with integrated analysis – it is more economical and more compact than a separate device. The Gas Analyser GAN is also available on its own, for example for an existing mixer.
Do I need a safety shutdown for hydrogen or natural gas?
With flammable gases, safety-related monitoring and shutdown may be required, for example under EN 746. The SIL Gas Control (SGC) detects critical states and automatically brings the gas supply into a safe state – up to SIL 3, designed to IEC 61511, for 4 to 300 m³n/h. Whether explosion protection is needed as well depends on zoning and the risk assessment.
Can an existing furnace be retrofitted?
Yes. With the SGC, even older furnaces that are not approved for explosive atmospheres can continue to be used and operated with fuel gas safely and in compliance with regulations: in the limit shutdown version, the SGC monitors the flows of inert gas and fuel gas, calculates their ratio and shuts down safely as soon as a critical value is exceeded – so no explosive atmosphere can form. If a mixer is already in place, the SGC Monitor monitors the gas streams at its inlet; SGC Manual, SGC Mix and SGC Sense add two needle valves, a digital gas mixer or, in addition, process gas analysis. We design the connection to the furnace control, process control system and alarms for each project.
The devices from the system overview.
These devices are used.
Let’s talk about your system.
From design to commissioning – we plan your gas supply as a connected complete system.