Standard Practice for Evaluating Response Characteristics of Safety Products in an Electric Arc Exposure

Importancia y uso:

5.1 This practice can be used for a range of purposes including incident replication, development of improved arc rated protective products, and the determination of the response characteristics and design integrity of new or used arc rated finished products intended for use as protection for workers exposed to electric arcs.

5.1.1 In-service garments can have very different wash and wear histories. Caution must be used when applying test results from a particular used garment. Factors to consider include the garments’ wear histories, work environments, and tasks for which the garments were worn; the methods and facilities for garment maintenance; the number of launderings or processings the garments have been subjected to; and other factors that could impact the protective performance of different garments. Test results from specific used garments should be considered only an approximation of results that might be obtained from other used garments of the same type.

5.1.2 When using the practice for evaluating flame resistance, great care should be taken since ignition by electric arc is a statistical phenomenon. An exposure of 20 cal/cm² has been consistently shown to evaluate most ignitable materials but some may require higher energy to reach the breakopen point of the fabric depending on coatings or specific fiber types. Consider using a vertical flame test such as Test Method D6413 to evaluate for ignition and use this practice for illustration.

5.2 This practice maintains the specimen in a static, vertical position and does not involve movement except that resulting from the exposure.

Subcomité:

F18.65

Volúmen:

10.03

Número ICS:

13.260 (Protection against electric shock. Live working)

Palabras clave:

arc flash; personal protective equipment; arc rated finished products; electric arc; ignition; face protective equipment; faceshield; flame resistant systems; garment closures; garment interface areas; gloves; hood; hood shield window; incident energy; multi-layer ensemble; multi-layer garment; product design integrity; rainwear;