All fired up for the LIFT-O-MAT BF gas spring – safety in case of fire

Damage control and hazard confinement: with the LIFT-O-MAT BF (Bonfire) gas spring from STABILUS GmbH (www.stabilus.de). This patented technology is ideally suited for hazardous materials logistics – especially hazmat transport containers and automotive cargo carriers that need to pass UN bonfire test 6 (c). LIFT-O-MAT BF was specifically designed for these applications and has a safety feature for degassing the gas spring automatically in case of fire. This prevents the uncontrolled behaviour of the gas spring, allowing it to pass any fire test without problems.

As an example, hazmat containers are used for transporting airbags. These containers must pass the so-called bonfire test – an external fire test according to UN test 6 (c), which tests the behaviour of the container materials and contents in a fire. Uncontrolled diffusion of components presents a health hazard. In conventional gas springs, excessive internal pressure resulting from the temperature increase due to a fire in the gas spring’s environment may destroy the pressure tube or push the piston rod out of the pressure tube.

This risk has been eliminated in the LIFT-O-MAT BF, the hydropneumatic gas spring from STABILUS. This patented technology features a safety element providing manufacturers, freight forwarders and users of hazmat containers with the necessary safety. It is based on the following principle: If the temperature and, subsequently, the pressure inside the cylinder rises, the safety element will automatically start reduce the pressure. The gas escapes safely from the gas spring, whose structure will remains intact and, consequently, does not pose a fire hazard.

Patented integrated automatic protection feature

The thermal overload causes the safety element integrated in the gas spring to change its shape, creating an escape opening for the gas from the spring interior to the environment.The safety element is made from a material that melts and is located in the gas spring’s seal guide area.

The seal is supported axially by this safety element. If the defined temperature range is exceeded, resulting in an increase in internal pressure, the safety element will melt and flow outward. The resulting lack of support for the seal allows the nontoxic gas (nitrogen) to flow outside, lowering the internal pressure.

Michael Garton, Manager Industrial Sales at STABILUS, explains: Our gas springs help to conveniently open and close airbag load carriers – all while improving ergonomics and safety. With our LIFT-O-MAT BF gas spring, we offer a patented technology that has a proven track record, for example in the automotive industry for daily use in hazmat transportation containers worldwide.”