Arc Testing of Foam Lined Hard Hats

ASTM Committee F18 on Electrical Protective Equipment for Workers is developing a new arc exposure test method for hard hats - in part due to concerns in the industry that the foam inside insulated hard hats can melt and/or ignite.

Recently, Oberon conducted arc tests on Type 2, Class E hard hats with foam liners.

For arc flash protection, hard hats are worn with an arc rated face shield or an arc rated hood with a shield window. In the NFPA 70E Hazard/Risk Categories (HRC) I, 2 and 2-star designated for incident energy levels from 1.2 to 8 cal/cm2, hard hats are equipped with an arc rated face shield. For HRC3 and HRC4, designated for incident energies above 8 cal/cm2 and up to 40 cal/cm2, arc rated hoods are required.

Within the utility industry, which is excluded from the NFPA 70E standard, hard hats can be directly exposed well above an incident energy of 8 cal/cm2 when used with a balaclava hood and an arc rated face shield or arc rated goggles. The intent of these Oberon tests was to conduct arc exposures in the range of 25 cal/cm2 with and without an arc rated face shield protecting the hard hat liner.

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