Portwest - Do You Know Booklet

DO YOU KNOW 36

WHAT IS EN 511? EN511:2006 IS THE EUROPEAN STANDARD SPECIFYING THE REQUIREMENTS AND TEST METHODS FOR GLOVES WHICH PROTECT AGAINST CONDUCTIVE COLD DOWN TO -50 DEGREES CELSIUS. THIS COLD CAN BE LINKED TO CLIMATE CONDITIONS OR AN INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY. EN 511 HAS 3 PERFORMANCE TESTS: PROTECTIVE GLOVES AGAINST COLD

SAMPLE MATERIAL OF A GLOVE

HOT METAL PLATE

COLD METAL PLATE

B. CONTACT COLD A sample material of a glove is placed into a test chamber between 2 metal plates, one heated and one cold. A Thermal Resistance (R) formula measures the temperature drop across the test sample which is then compared to that of a control sample (non thermal material) in order to calculate its thermal resistance. There are 4 levels ranging from 1-4, the higher the thermal resistance the greater the insulating capacity of the glove to insulate against cold.

C. WATER PENETRATION The Water Penetration test or water Impermeability test is a straight forward test based on a pass/fail basis. The glove sample is submerged into water, if after 30 minutes no water has managed to penetrate the glove then it is deemed to have passed the test, otherwise it is classed as a fail.

A. CONVECTIVE COLD A glove is placed on a hand model which is heated between 30-35 degrees Celsius in a test chamber. The amount of energy required to maintain this heat determines the performance level of the glove. This is calculated by applying a specific formula known as the resultant thermal insulation formula or (ITR) as outlined in the table below. There are 4 performance levels overall. The higher the performance level the greater the insulation properties of the glove.

The results are indicated by either 0 or 1.

Thermal insulation (ITR) in m2 K/W 0,10 ≤ ITR < 0,15 0,15 ≤ ITR < 0,22 0,22 ITR 0.33 0,33 ITR

Thermal Resistance R in m2 K/W 0,025 ≤ R< 0,050 0,050 ≤ R< 0,100 0,100 ≤ R< 0,150 0,150 ≤ R

Performance Level 1 2 3 4

Result

Duration of test

Performance Level 1 2 3 4

0 = Fail

Water penetration before 30 minutes.

1 = Pass

No water Penetration before 30 minutes.

22 PORTWEST STYLES ARE TESTED TO THE EN 511 STANDARD