SATRA STM 524 Molten metal splash tester
Protective products often need to protect against the effects of impact from molten metal droplets. Safety standards, such as ISO 11611 and EN ISO 20349, have been developed to assess garments worn by personnel carrying out welding and cutting operations, against these effects.
Assessment of products being subjected to small quantities of molten metal – typical of that produced during welding – is carried out using a rig incorporating an oxyacetylene torch to project molten metal drops onto a vertically-oriented test specimen as detailed in EN 348.
A welding rod is fed automatically to the torch for continuous melting and the behaviour of materials is characterised by the number of molten drops sufficient to cause a 40°C temperature rise behind the specimen. The ability of the drops to 'run off' the material, rather than stick, is critical to good performance.
Although this test is suitable for testing welders' clothing, gloves and footwear, it is not intended to simulate all the conditions in which splashes of molten metal may come into contact with protective materials.
As a standard test, it gives an indication of material performance and is generally used with other tests to provide a more complete picture of suitability for use.