The ASTM Committee F18 on Electrical Protective Equipment for Workers has published updates to ASTM F2675-22 Standard Test Method for Determining Arc Ratings of Hand Protective Products Developed and Used for Electrical Arc Flash Protection.
This standard was updated with changes in both 2021 and 2022.
The 2021 edition of this standard introduced the terms “base product” and “finished product” to help manufacturers better understand the sampling requirements needed for testing and how to evaluate the areas of the gloves that cover the entirety of the hand. It is important to remember that while determining arc rating of hand protective products, the ‘base product’ samples are as close as possible to the finished product but include only the materials used in construction that cover the entire hand (for example, leather and a liner), and may exclude trims, labels, coatings, or accessories located in the area of the calorimeter sensor on the palm or dorsal side which may skew test results. The base product does not include heat sealed labels, impact protection or coatings that do not cover the entire product but would interfere with the calorimeter reading. Finished product samples are representative of the product as sold. While base products are used to determine arc ratings, the finished product samples are used to verify compliance with ignition withstand per Table 1 and to check for ignition or melting and dripping at a level above the arc rating of the base product.
The ignition withstand section was edited to support the concept of “derating” through testing on specimens that exhibit ignition and to introduce the term Arc Rating Limit (already used in ASTM F2178 for face protection). If specimens show ignition through testing to Table 1, additional exposures may be performed in subsequent, lower tiers listed in Table 1 and if ignition is not observed, an arc rating limit may apply.
More specific details were also added to the apparatus section of ASTM F2675.
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