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[Amazing_fireworks]

Hi all,

Anyboday knows this test?Please post here,thanks!

[spectrum]

Hi all,

Anyboday knows this test?Please post here,thanks!

The UN Series 6 (bonfire) test is one of a series conducted to establish the hazard type of an explosive article of substance for the purposes of classification and authorisation.

To conduct the test, in very basic terms, the test subject is exposed to the effects of a substantial and intense fire and its behavious observed to establish how it would behave in a real situation, i.e. a vehicle fire etc.

The fire may be fuelled by gas, oil or timber. Timber is the preferred method because it is easier to rig than gas and less smokey than oil. I personally consider it to be more representative. The fire has to be constructed in a specific way, 1m high and extending 1m beyond the test subject in all directions, so it is a big event as you can imagine. The timber should be air dried seasoned lengths, 50mm by 50mm by 500mm and stacked with 100mm air gaps all around, a bright orange fire is indicative of a core temperature in the region of 1000 degrees c which is where you want to be.

The test sample must comprise a minimum of three cartons positioned to produce the worst effect possible, i.e. if you are testing something which fires projectiles you need to angle them outwards, witness screens need to be set up to record such projections at 4m points on three sides. The entire test must be filmed from two positions. Incidentally, if the volume of the three cartons is less than 0.15 cubic metres then the sample needs to be expanded to meet this volume.

The test provides a straightforward demonstration of what you might expect to see if the load were to catch fire in an accident, the behaviour recorded will be judged to award a hazard code to the package, i.e. if it goes up in one big bang it will be regarded as 1.1, if it does very little beyond its own packaging it may be considered 1.4s. the definitions are set out and you simply need to line your results up with these definitions and submit all evidence with an application to HSE in the course of Classification and Authorisation.

Incidentally, it is a legal requirement to go through the process before putting any product on the market or transporting outside the boundaries of an explosives factory in the U.K. Alternatively the HSE have drafted guides (default lists) which may be referred to in place of the tests, some of the assumptions are somewhat draconion largely, I suspect, due to the inherent dishonesty of certain members of the fireworks trade in the past. The list is not always accurate but it covers a multitude of products, if you have a product which is not as bad as the list would suggest then you may conduct the test and challenge that.

We conduct tests at our facility and have been very busy doing so, our testing this year has involved automotive air bags though.

Good luck.