Abstract
In December 2008 the VDI-Guideline Part 8 : 2008 was published. In this guideline the basic information regarding fire and explosion risks, fire and explosion protection measures are given and aims both the manufacturer’s and the user’s tasks.
In March 2011 the new the VDI-Guideline Part 8.1 : 2011 was published. The main information contains examples of preventive fire and explosion protection and constructional measures for fire and explosion protection in elevators.
Thanks to the results of extensive explosion trials on a bucket elevator conduced in the last years, important gaps in our knowledge have been filled and new findings regarding explosion venting and explosion suppression gained. These findings are also incorporated in this new guideline Part 8.1. Equations involving numerical values have been developed which represent an optimized mathematical matching of the innumerable experimental investigations, and which, as experience has shown, embrace the conditions of operational practice even for the most unfavourable cases.
Both guidelines are the basic for a European standard in form of a Technical Report on explosion protection on elevators.
