H2 gas monitoring at Apollo Tyres Ltd. from India - one of the largest tyre manufacturers in the world

MSR-Electronic gas sensors monitor H2 concentration at lead-acid battery charging stations for forklift trucks. The gases hydrogen and oxygen are produced by electrolysis when batteries are charged. Both gases together form an explosive mixture (oxyhydrogen), which leads to an explosive atmosphere in the ambient air. The danger of the gases forming is greatest towards the end of the charging process and especially during overcharging. Even after the charging current has been switched off, gas formation can still be expected for an hour. Permanent H2 gas measurement in the ambient air is essential and protects human life and the system.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. from India is one of the largest tyre manufacturers in the world and has production facilities on several continents, including Hungary and the Netherlands. In the production facility in Sriperumbudur, south-eastern India, the truck fleet areas with the battery charging stations there are monitored for hazardous H2 gas leakage.

Gas sensors from MSR-Electronic react with utmost precision as soon as the permissible hydrogen concentration is exceeded. The ventilation system is automatically triggered to extract the harmful air and generate fresh air. In parallel, the alarm message is sent to the control centre to initiate the necessary safety measures.

Solutions from MSR-Electronic

The modern Multi-Sensor-Controller MSC2 for toxic and combustible gases monitors the measured values and activates the alarm relays if the set alarm thresholds for pre-alarm and main alert are exceeded. Various output and input options allow for easy integration into existing systems. The sensors are connected with the MSC2 directly on the circuit board. Up to 2 digital sensors can be plugged in here or 2 analog sensors can be connected remotely. The MSC2 can process up to 3 sensors in total. The controller is therefore a small, compact version with various applications. It is possible to conveniently exchange the sensors on site for recalibration.

The control unit of the gas warning system is the GC-06 controller from MSR-Electronic. The controller is designed in accordance with EN 50545-1, among others, and can monitor and evaluate up to 100 gas sensors, 96 of them PolyGard®2 digital and/or 4 of them analog (4–20 mA) sensors. 4 free adjustable alarm thresholds are provided per sensor. For the alarm messages the controller offers 4 alarm relays with potential-free change-over contact and 2 analog outputs with 4–20 mA signal. A separate relay is integrated for fault message. With the extension modules EP-06 the gas controller can manage up to 32 analog gas sensors, 32 alarm relays and 16 analog outputs. For the main and field bus outputs there is an integrated overload and reverse polarity protection. The freely configurable parameters and setpoints enable flexible use in many applications fields of the gas measuring technique. Simple and comfortable commissioning is granted by the configuration with default parameters.

The complete system was installed by the Indian partner ALVI Technologies Pty Ltd.

Further information on MSR products can be found here in the current MSR-Electronic online catalog or in the webshop: www.msr-24.com. 

MSR-Electronic is a manufacturer of fixed gas warning systems with decades of experience in the field of building automation and gas measurement technology. The international company with headquarters in Germany has a wide range of methods for the detection of toxic and combustible gases. On this basis MSR-Electronic develops individual gas sensors, controllers and warning devices for many applications, such as parking garages, tunnels, petrochemical industry or shipping. The products meet more than the general standards and regulations and can therefore guarantee the safety of the plant. www.msr-electronic.de