Combustible Dust Testing

Laboratory testing to quantify dust explosion and reactivity hazards

Safety Data Sheets

Develop critical safety data for inclusion in SDS documents

Gas and Vapor

Laboratory testing to quantify explosion hazards for vapor and gas mixtures

UN-DOT
Classification of hazardous materials subject to shipping and storage regulations
Hydrogen
Testing and consulting on the explosion risks associated with devices and processes which use or produce hydrogen
Safety Data Sheets

Develop critical safety data for inclusion in SDS documents

Thermal Stability

Safe storage or processing requires an understanding of the possible hazards associated with sensitivity to variations in temperature

Adiabatic Calorimetry
Data demonstrate the consequences of process upsets, such as failed equipment or improper procedures, and guide mitigation strategies including Emergency Relief System (ERS) design
Reaction Calorimetry
Data yield heat and gas removal requirements to control the desired process chemistry
Battery Safety

Testing to support safe design of batteries and electrical power backup facilities particularly to satisfy UL9540a ed.4

Safety Data Sheets

Develop critical safety data for inclusion in SDS documents

Cable Testing
Evaluate electrical cables to demonstrate reliability and identify defects or degradation
Equipment Qualification (EQ)
Testing and analysis to ensure that critical equipment will operate under adverse environmental conditions
Water Hammer
Analysis and testing to identify and prevent unwanted hydraulic pressure transients in process piping
Acoustic Vibration
Identify and eliminate potential sources of unwanted vibration in piping and structural systems
Gas & Air Intrusion
Analysis and testing to identify and prevent intrusion of gas or air in piping systems
ISO/IEC 17025:2017

Fauske & Associates fulfills the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 in the field of Testing

ISO 9001:2015
Fauske & Associates fulfills the requirements of ISO 9001:2015
Dust Hazards Analysis
Evaluate your process to identify combustible dust hazards and perform dust explosion testing
On-Site Risk Management
On-site safety studies can help identify explosibility and chemical reaction hazards so that appropriate testing, simulations, or calculations are identified to support safe scale up
DIERS Methodology
Design emergency pressure relief systems to mitigate the consequences of unwanted chemical reactivity and account for two-phase flow using the right tools and methods
Deflagrations (Dust/Vapor/Gas)

Properly size pressure relief vents to protect your processes from dust, vapor, and gas explosions

Effluent Handling

Pressure relief sizing is just the first step and it is critical to safely handle the effluent discharge from an overpressure event

FATE™ & Facility Modeling

FATE (Facility Flow, Aerosol, Thermal, and Explosion) is a flexible, fast-running code developed and maintained by Fauske and Associates under an ASME NQA-1 compliant QA program.

Mechanical, Piping, and Electrical
Engineering and testing to support safe plant operations and develop solutions to problems in heat transfer, fluid, flow, and electric power systems
Hydrogen Safety
Testing and consulting on the explosion risks associated with devices and processes which use or produce hydrogen
Thermal Hydraulics
Testing and analysis to ensure that critical equipment will operate under adverse environmental conditions
Nuclear Safety
Our Nuclear Services Group is recognized for comprehensive evaluations to help commercial nuclear power plants operate efficiently and stay compliant
Radioactive Waste
Safety analysis to underpin decomissioning process at facilities which have produced or used radioactive nuclear materials
Adiabatic Safety Calorimeters (ARSST and VSP2)

Low thermal inertial adiabatic calorimeters specially designed to provide directly scalable data that are critical to safe process design

Other Lab Equipment and Parts for the DSC/ARC/ARSST/VSP2 Calorimeters

Products and equipment for the process safety or process development laboratory

FERST

Software for emergency relief system design to ensure safe processing of reactive chemicals, including consideration of two-phase flow and runaway chemical reactions

FATE

Facility modeling software mechanistically tracks transport of heat, gasses, vapors, and aerosols for safety analysis of multi-room facilities

Blog

Our highly experienced team keeps you up-to-date on the latest process safety developments.

Process Safety Newsletter

Stay informed with our quarterly Process Safety Newsletters sharing topical articles and practical advice.

Resources

With over 40 years of industry expertise, we have a wealth of process safety knowledge to share.

UN-DOT Testing

When goods are to be transported, there are many regulations that need to be followed in order to assess and classify the hazards associated with the specific material. This can be an important factor in the design and commercialization of a specific good. Slight changes in the composition of the material may not change the overall end use of the product but could possibly result in a change in its hazard classification. 

Fauske and Associates (FAI) has extensive experience in characterizing the explosive, flammable, oxidizing nature of solids, liquids, vapors and gases.  With this expertise, we are proud to offer a suite of UN/DOT testing of potentially dangerous goods.  “Dangerous goods” may be pure chemical substances, mixtures, or manufactured articles. 

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Testing Services

FAI offers the following testing services to help determine the proper shipping classification for the following types of hazards.

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Class 2: Aerosols

  • Ignition Distanceused to determine the ignition distance of an aerosol spray to assess the associated flame risk in an open environment.  The aerosol is sprayed in the direction of an ignition source at intervals of 15 cm to observe if an ignition, sustained combustion, or flashback of the spray takes place.
  • Enclosed Space Ignition — used to determine the propensity for an aerosol spray to ignite in an enclosed or confined space. The aerosol is sprayed into an enclosed cylindrical test vessel containing a burning candle to observe whether an ignition occurs.

  • Foam Flammability used to determine the flammability of an aerosol spray emitted in the form of a foam, mousse, gel, or paste. The aerosol is sprayed onto a watch glass and an ignition source is introduced in the vapor space above the aerosol contents. If the aerosol ignites, the height of the flame and the duration of the combustion are recorded.
  • Heat of Combustion — used to determine the heat released, or energy, when the liquid components of an aerosol undergo complete combustion with oxygen at standard conditions.

The results from the Ignition Distance, Enclosed Space Ignition, Foam Flammability, and/or Heat of Combustion tests characterize an aerosol as either being non-flammable, flammable, or extremely flammable. The classification of aerosols is critical in determining proper packaging and shipping groups for transportation purposes.

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Class 3: Flammable Liquids

  • Flash Point Test – used to classify liquids as either flammable, combustible, or non-flammable in conjunction with a boiling point test. These tests are also used to assigned Model Regulations Packing groups and GHS category for flammability.

  • Fire Point or Sustained Combustion Tests – used to regard flammable liquids as non-flammable for some regulatory purposes if they do not sustain combustion

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Class 4: Flammable Solids

Division 4.1: Flammable Solids, Self-Reactive Substances, and Solid Desensitized Explosives

  • Burning Rate Testused to classify materials as “flammable solids”. The test involves exposing a powder train (250 mm x 20 mm x 10 mm) to a flame or hot wire with a temperature of 1000°C.  Classification is then based on the materials burning rate.

Division 4.2: Substances Liable to Spontaneous Combustion

  • Self-Heating Substancesused to determine if substances are “spontaneously combustible”.  The test involves exposing various quantities of sample to temperatures of 100°C, 120°C and 140°C for a period of 24 hours.  During the exposure time, the temperature of the sample is monitored for exothermic activity.  Classification is then based on the occurrence of exothermic activity and the size and temperature at which it occurred.

Division 4.3: Substances, which in Contact with Water, Emit Flammable Gases

  • Dangerous When Wetused to determine if the material is capable of generating flammable gases when it comes into contact with water.  This is a multistep test that involves exposing the material to small quantities of water and evaluating if flammable gases are generated.  Classification is then based on the evidence of flammable gas evolution and the rate at which these gases evolve.

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Class 5: Oxidizing Substances

Division 5.1: Oxidizing Solids

  • Oxidizing Solidsused to identify if a material has hazardous oxidizing properties.  The test involves mixing the sample with various quantities of a known combustible material and comparing the burning characteristics to that of a known oxidizer/fuel mixture.  Classification is then based upon how intensely the sample burns.

Division 5.2: Oxidizing Liquids

  • Oxidizing Liquidsused to identify if a material has hazardous oxidizing properties. Specifically, this test method is designed to measure the potential for a liquid substance to increase the burning rate or burning intensity of a combustible substance. The test involves mixing the sample with a known combustible material and comparing the burning characteristics to that of a known oxidizer/fuel mixture.  Classification is based upon how quickly and intensely the sample burns which then determines the necessary packing group for the sample.

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Training

Our team is happy to help train your staff in the understanding of technical issues, process safety programs or audits, regulations and more.  We perform process safety audits as part of a comprehensive hazards analysis and can work with you to make sure your staff is supplied with skills training needs in many ways including: 

    • Level I - Gap Analysis
    • Level II - training & consulting
    • Level III - Program Development and Implementation

Partial List of Services Offered:

    • Reviews and upgrades of all your safety process systems and regulatory requirements
    • VPP Consulting
    • Audits, reviews, and upgrades of all your Operating, Safety, and Maintenance Procedures
    • Training program evaluations for both completeness and effectiveness (from technical skills to professional development) and upgrades where
      needed
    • Reviews and upgrades of your program elements such as Employee Participation and Process Safety Information for effectiveness and completeness
    • Work process effectiveness evaluations and upgrades
    • Overall organizational development (e.g., motivation, work processes)
    • Stress reduction
    • Evaluations of the effectiveness of communication

We design, custom develop and deliver any site specific training materials needed by your organization. Our Consultants, Engineers and Technical Specialists are available to deliver the classroom, lab or on-the-job training your staff needs. In addition, we will assist with the identification and procurement of commercially available training materials where available.

Training & Custom Training

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