Pepperl+Fuchs Blog

In process automation, there are numerous applications in which analog field devices need to be controlled in hazardous areas. In this context, many signal circuits are subject to SIL 3 requirements, such as when supplying materials to reactors in process plants. When setting up a SIL 3 shutdown, Pepperl+Fuchs' innovative SIL 3 current drivers featuring Ex ia control circuits make complex workarounds implementing redundancy via two SIL 2 control circuits a thing of the past. Most importantly, the new isolated barriers can improve the test intervals of SIL 2 shutdowns. Read this blog article to find out exactly how.

The safety integrity level, or SIL for short, is an indicator that makes risk reduction quantifiable. Plant and machinery can pose risks that are so dangerous that people and the environment should not be exposed to them under any circumstances. If such a hazard exists, the associated risks must be mitigated to meet the need for safety.

SIL is a core element of functional safety and simultaneously the object of many misconceptions. Pepperl+Fuchs clarifies three of the most common misunderstandings.