Teijin Aramid

E-mail: personalprotection@teijinaramid.com

Up-Date on standards for the

evaluation of hand protection

• Trend to engineered yarns and new technologies lead to

significantly improved performance in cut protective gloves

• Existing standards are not designed for measuring and

classifying the performance of highly cut resistant PPE/gloves

• Globally different standards and concepts are used for

determination of performance

• ASTM F 1790 Standard test method for Measuring Cut

Resistance of Materials Used in Protective Clothing

• ISO 13997 Protective Clothing – Mechanical Properties –

Determination of resistance to cutting by sharp objects

• EN 388 Protective Gloves against Mechanical Risks

• Need for revision of standards to follow the trends of the

protective glove market

Introduction

American National Standard for Hand Protection Classification

• Voluntary industry standard

• Classification and testing of hand protection for chemical and

industrial application

• Performance levels for different properties based on standardized

test methods (American Society for Testing and Materials and

European Norm)

ANSI/ISEA 105 - 16

Classification of:

• Mechanical protection

• Cut resistance

• Puncture resistance (hypodermic needle)

• Abrasion resistance

• Chemical protection

• Chemical permeation resistance

• Chemical degradation resistance

• Heat and Flame Protection

• Ignition resistance and burning behavior

• Heat degradation resistance

• Conductive heat resistance

• Vibration reduction

• Dexterity

ANSI/ISEA 105 - 16

Cut protection

ASTM F 1790 ASTM F2992

ANSI/ISEA 105-16 Mechanical Protection

Blade

Weight

Specimen

Sample holder

• Tomo Dynamo Meter – 100 tester

• Load vs. distance concept

• each cut is obtained by using an

unused blade

• Cut resistance defined as load (g)/

reference distance 20 mm

Force Force

ASTM F2992

ANSI/ISEA 105 Mechanical Protection

LOAD (GRAMS) LEVEL

< 200 0

201 - 499 1

500- 999 2

1000 -1499 3

1500 - 3499 4

> 3500 5

LOAD (GRAMS) LEVEL

< 200 --

201 - 499 A1

500 - 999 A2

1000 - 1499 A3

1500 - 2199 A4

2200 - 2999 A5

3000 - 3999 A6

4000 - 4999 A7

5000 - 5999 A8

> 6000 A9

ANSI/ISEA 105-16

New

classification

levels

ANSI/ISEA 105-16 Mechanical Protection

Cut protection

ASTM

F2992

ANSI/ISEA 105-11

```

• EN 388: 2003 Puncture resistance (other than hypodermic needles)

• New: ASTM F 2878 -10 resistance against a 25G hypodermic needle

Puncture resistance

30°± 2°

S O 1 ± 0,02 mm

O 4,5 ±

0,05 mm

EN 388

O 0,5 mm

25 G

ASTM F 2878

ANSI/ISEA 105-16 Mechanical Protection

Hypodermic needle

Performance level

ANSI/ISEA 105 Mechanical Protection

N LEVEL

< 2 0

> 2 1

> 4 2

> 6 3

> 8 4

> 10 5

Performance level

N LEVEL

< 10 0

> 10 1

> 20 2

> 60 3

> 100 4

> 150 5

Probe

Puncture test EN 388 Puncture test ASTM F 2878

Revison prEN 388: 2016

Protective gloves against mechancial risks

• PPE in Europe needs to be marked according to the relevant standards e.g. EN 388

• Testing needs to be done by an accredited testing facility

• EN standards are valid throughout the EU and are often globally recognized

• Used pictograms are for example

European regulations

EN388 ABCD

EN407 ABCDEF

EN1149-5 2008

• Coupe Tester

• blade is loaded with a constant force

of 5 N and moved with a constant

speed

• blade is re-used, but calibrated after

each cut

• cut resistance defined as lowest

average cut index

EN 388 Cut resistance testing

Blade

Force

Sample Holder

5 N

New blade

EN 388 Cut resistance testing

with Coupe Tester

Used blades

(after testing glass filament reinforced yarns)

SEM pictures show the degradation of the blade of the Coupe Tester by a glass filament reinforced yarn.

This degradation is impacting the cut test results. Therefore additionally the cut test according to ISO

13997 (TDM test) was introduced.

EN 388 vs. ISO 13997

ISO 13997 only

recommended for highly

cut resistant materials

ISO 13997 as alternative or

additional test method

EN 388

classification of cut resistance

EN 388: 2003

CUT INDEX LEVEL

1,2 1

2,5 2

5 3

10 4

20 5

prEN 388: 2016-5

N LEVEL

> 13 N 4

> 23 N 5

CUT INDEX LEVEL

1,2 1

2,5 2

5 3

10 4

20 5

N LEVEL

2 A

5 B

10 C

15 D

22 E

30 F

The new standard is introducing as additional protection impact resistance

• Testing and classification according to EN 13594:2015

(Protective gloves for motorcycle riders – Requirements and test methods)

• According to prEN 388:2016 the gloves have to fulfill the requirements of protection level 1

IMPACT RESISTANCE PROTECTION LEVEL 1 PROTECTION LEVEL 2

Single result ≤ 9,0 kN ≤ 5,0 kN

Average force ≤ 7,0 kN ≤ 4,0 kN

Revision prEN 388:2016

Protective gloves against mechancial risks

Revision prEN 388:2016

changes of pictogram

2443X EN 388

2 4 4 3 X

2X42C prEN 388:2016

Revision prEN 388:2016

changes of pictogram

LEVEL

Abrasion 2

Cut (Coupe test) 3

Tear 4

Puncture 2

2342 EN 388:2003

* Additional protection

LEVEL

Abrasion 2

Cut (Coupe test) X

Tear 4

Puncture 2

Cut (TDM) C

Impact resistance

3443EP prEN 388:2016

Revision prEN 388:2016

changes of pictogram

LEVEL

Abrasion 3

Cut (Coupe test 4

Tear 4

Puncture 3

3443 EN 388:2003

* Additional protection

LEVEL

Abrasion 3

Cut (Coupe test 4

Tear 4

Puncture 3

Cut (TDM) E

Impact resistance P

Teijin Aramid solutions

for cut protection

1.50

Typical yarn cross section

More comfort combined with

maximum protection

The benefit for the end user is a longer lasting, more comfortable product with maximum protective properties.

Teijin promotes a finer 1.5 denier Twaron fiber for use in protective gloves compared to 2.25 denier fiber commonly used in the market. A coarse fiber of 2.25 denier is stiffer compared to Twaron 1.5 denier fiber. To compensate for this, 2.25 denier para-aramid yarns are often spun having less twist which could result in a weaker yarn. The finer staple fiber in combination with a higher twist produces a tighter yarn bundle.

2.25

Due to its patented

manufacturing process Twaron is

showing less change of color

after UV exposure. This visual

perception builds confidence of

inherent quality and performance

characteristics.

Effect of exposure to UV light (Xenontester)

for 48 hours constant exposure

after exposure

Maximum color retention,

minimal UV degradation

common para-Aramid

before exposure

after exposure

TWARON

before exposure

• Does not burn

• Does not melt or drip

• Decomposing starts at 450°C/ 842°F

• Has low heat shrinkage

• Retains dimensional stability at high temperatures

• Release little smoke under extreme conditions

Thermal characteristics of

Twaron

Comparative study by ASTM (ASTM F 1790-97) medium-heavy weight gloves 450 g/m ²

Comparative study cut resistance

PRODUCT HEAT RESISTANCE CUT RESISTANCE ABRASION RESISTANCE

Cotton + ++ +

Leather +++ + ++

Nylon (Polyamide) ++ ++ +++

Polyethylene (UHMW-PE) + +++ ++++

Polyester ++ + +

Twaron® (para-Aramid) ++++ ++++ +++

If a combination of heat, cut and abrasion resistance is required, para-aramid such as Twaron® is the choice material

Characteristics of most

common glove materials

E-mail: personalprotection@teijinaramid.com

Thanks for your attention