Flame Arresters

Overview

In installations handling flammable gases or vapours, an ignition outside the protected system can create a rapidly travelling flame front. A flame arrester is designed to stop that flame before it can propagate further into the piping system or protected vapour space.

PRECON® Flame Arresters use a carefully engineered flame arresting element developed to absorb and dissipate heat from the advancing flame front, reducing its temperature below the level required to sustain combustion. The result is a passive safety device that provides continuous protection without requiring external power or active intervention.

Our certified product range reflects third-party testing and validation in accordance with applicable international flame arrester requirements.

How It Works

At the heart of every PRECON® Flame Arrester is a precisely engineered corrugated wound matrix flame arresting element, manufactured by winding corrugated and flat metallic strips together to create a dense matrix of narrow, uniform flow passages.

During normal operation, process gases and vapours pass through these channels with controlled pressure drop. If a flame front enters the arrester, the narrow passages and large metallic surface area rapidly absorb and dissipate heat from the flame — reducing its temperature below the level required to sustain combustion and preventing it from propagating through to the protected side.

The geometry of the corrugated wound matrix is carefully controlled to achieve the required balance between flame quenching performance, flow capacity and pressure drop.

Vapour passes through.Heat is absorbed.Flame propagation is stopped.

Applications

• Atmospheric and low-pressure storage tank vents
• Process vent lines
• Vapour recovery systems
• Flare and vent header systems
• Loading and unloading facilities
• Marine vapour transfer systems
• Chemical and petrochemical process lines
• Refinery and hydrocarbon storage installations