ASTM F2621-12

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.

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

1.1 This practice provides procedural guidelines for conducting arc testing on finished products intended for use as thermal protection by workers who may be exposed to electric arcs.

1.2 This practice shall be used to measure and describe the response characteristics or design integrity of arc-rated materials, products, or assemblies in the form of finished products when exposed to radiant and convective energy generated by an electric arc under controlled laboratory conditions.

1.3 This practice can be used to determine the integrity of closures and seams, the protective performance of arc-rated products in areas where garment overlap occurs or where heraldry is used, and response characteristics such as afterflame time, melting, dripping, deformation, shrinkage, electric arc ignition, or other damage, or combination thereof, of fabrics, systems of fabrics, flammable undergarments when included as part of a system, sewing thread, findings and closures.

1.4 This practice can be used to identify the effectiveness of finished product specimens in attenuating heat, sound or pressure waves, or combination thereof.

1.5 This practice can be used for incident reenactment, training demonstrations and material/design comparisons.

1.6 The values stated in either SI units or in other units shall be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system must be used independently of the other, without combining values in any way.

1.7 This standard shall not be used to describe or appraise the fire hazard or fire risk of materials, products, or assemblies under actual fire conditions. However, results of this test may be used as elements of a fire assessment, which takes into account all of the factors, which are pertinent to an assessment of the fire hazard of a particular end use.

1.8 This standard does not purport to describe or appraise the effect of the electric arc fragmentation explosion and subsequent molten metal splatter, which involves the pressure wave containing molten metals and possible fragments of other materials except to the extent that evidence of projectile damage is assessed and reported, and an optional determination of the attenuation of sound or pressure wave, or both, due to the presence of the finished product specimen may be reported.

1.9 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.