CEN/TC 88/WG 1 - Common general test methods

This document describes a laboratory test method to determine the susceptibility of thermal insulation products used for construction against mould growth under specified climatic conditions.
The method is applicable to both factory-made products and in situ formed products. Factory-made products include panels, mats and rolls.
NOTE   In situ formed products are usually those that are delivered loose and installed by blowing-in, pouring, or spraying-on, eventually using water and/or binder, whether or not they are also treated using additives.
The test is carried out with one of the conditions described in Table 1.
This test method determines the susceptibility of a thermal insulation material to mould growth, but it does not determine the suitability for use in a given design (wall, roof, etc.).
This method does not predict the resistance of an insulation product to water damage.

This document specifies a test method for the determination of settlement of loose-fill insulation applied horizontally in ventilated attics. This test method measures the effects of humidity and temperature cycling.

This document specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the tensile strength of a product parallel to its faces. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
This document can be used to determine whether the product has sufficient strength to withstand stresses during transportation and application.

This document specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the compression behaviour of specimens. It is applicable to thermal insulating products and can be used to determine the compressive stress in compressive creep tests and for applications in which insulation products are exposed only to short-term loads.
The method can be used for quality control purposes and can also be employed to obtain reference values from which design values can be calculated using safety factors.

This document specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the thickness of full‑size products. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
This document provides the reference method. Other methods can be used (e.g. for quality control), provided a correlation has been established with this reference method; Annex B gives some examples of such methods.

This document specifies the characteristics and choice of measuring equipment and the procedure for determining the linear dimensions of test specimens that are taken from thermal insulating products. The procedures for measuring the dimensions of full-size products are specified in ISO 29465 and ISO 29466.

This document specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the length and width of full‑size products. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.

This document specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the thickness of thermal insulating products for impact sound insulation in floating-floor applications.

This document specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the deviation from flatness for full-size products. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.

This document specifies the equipment and test method for determining the compressive creep of specimens under various conditions of stress.
This document is applicable to thermal insulating products.

This document specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the apparent overall density and the apparent core density under reference conditions. This document is applicable to full size thermal insulating products and test specimens. This document can also be applied to the individual layers of multi‑layered products.

This document specifies the equipment and test method for determining the effects of successive cycling from dry conditions at −20 °C to wet conditions at 20 °C on the mechanical properties and moisture content of thermal insulating products.
This document is intended to simulate the freeze?thaw effects on thermal insulating products which are frequently exposed to water and low temperature conditions, e.g. inverted roofs and unprotected ground insulation.

This document specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the short‑term water absorption of specimens by partial immersion. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
NOTE       It is intended to simulate the water absorption caused by a 24 h raining period during construction work.

This document specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the long-term water absorption of test specimens by diffusion. It is applicable to thermal insulating products. It is intended to simulate the water absorption of products subjected to high relative humidities, approximating to 100 %, on both sides and subjected to a water vapour pressure gradient for a long period of time e.g. inverted roof or unprotected ground insulation.
The test is not applicable for all types of thermal insulating products. The relevant product standard should state for which of its products, if any, this test is applicable.

This document specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the long-term water absorption of test specimens. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
This document specifies two methods:
—         Method 1: Partial immersion;
—         Method 2: Total immersion.
The long-term water absorption by partial immersion is intended to simulate the water absorption caused by long-term water exposure.
The long-term water absorption by total immersion is not directly related to the conditions on site, but has been recognized as a relevant condition of test for some products in some applications.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the bending behaviour of full size products (Method A) and test specimens (Method B) under the action of three-point loading. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
The test is designed to determine the bending strength of products and their deflection at a given load.
The method can be used to determine the resistance of the product to bending stresses during transport and application.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining shear behaviour. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
NOTE   The tests described in this standard do not determine pure shear behaviour, but measure the effects of applying two opposite parallel forces to the major faces of the test specimen. The test is however called shear in this text by convention. The application of a force tangentially to the major surface of the test specimen is considered to represent more closely the stresses imposed upon thermal insulation products in many building applications, particularly walls, than other methods of measuring shear performance e.g. bending tests.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the water vapour transmission rate, water vapour permeance and water vapour permeability of test specimens in the steady state under different sets of specified test conditions. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
It is intended to be used for homogeneous materials and for products which may contain integral skins or facings of different material(s).
A material is considered to be homogeneous, with regard to mass distribution, if its density is approximately the same throughout, i.e. if the measured density values are close to its mean density.
This test method is not normally used for determining the water vapour transmission properties of single, separate vapour barriers (of high diffusion resistance), such as prefabricated films, foils, membranes or sheets, due to the long duration of the test. For products with a vapour retarder or barrier with a water vapour diffusion equivalent air layer thickness sd  1 000 m (see 3.6) other test methods e.g. IR-detection can be used for measuring the single separate vapour retarder or barrier, provided that the results obtained are in the same range as the values measured in accordance with this standard.
The water vapour transmission rate and permeance values are specific to the test specimen (i.e. the product) thickness tested. For homogeneous products, the water vapour permeability is a property of the material.

This European Standard specifies equipment and procedures for determining the behaviour of products under a force applied to a small area of a test specimen at a given speed. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
This European Standard can be used to determine whether the products have sufficient strength to withstand forces applied directly to them either during installation or during application, mainly caused by pedestrian traffic.
NOTE   The test methods given in the main body of the standard and in Annex A are reported and interpreted in different ways. The similarities that exist between the methods are not sufficient to permit reasonable comparisons to be made.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures to evaluate irreversible dimensional changes of test specimens and full size products with time under constant normal laboratory conditions. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedure for determining the deviation from squareness for length, width and/or thickness of full-size products. It is applicable to thermal insulating products. The method is normally applicable to products with straight edges. For products of other shape, e.g. profiled edges, the method can be adapted accordingly.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for evaluating dimensional changes of test specimens under specified conditions of temperature, relative humidity and duration of exposure. This European Standard proposes a range of conditions from which one or more desirable test conditions can be selected. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the tensile strength of a product perpendicular to its faces. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the deformation occurring under specified conditions of compressive load, temperature and time. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.

This European Standard specifies equipment and procedures for determining behaviour of test specimens under cyclic loading conditions. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
The selection of the conditions of the test shall be derived from the specific requirements of the intended application.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the organic content of thermal insulating materials.
The method is aimed at determining the organic content for products which are inorganic, i.e. products containing a low percentage of organic compounds, either unfaced products or the insulating material of a faced product.
NOTE 1   It can be used to verify that a thermal insulating product complies with the requirements in prEN 13501-1 Fire classification of construction products and building elements - Part 1: Classification using test data from reaction to fire test to be in Euroclass A1 without testing.
NOTE 2   The standard is not intended for the determination of organic content in the presence of water of hydration and/or combined carbonate, sulphate etc.
NOTE 3   The standard is not intended for the determination of organic content of adhesives, facings and/or coatings.

This European standard specifies equipment and procedures to condition a thermal insulating product to equilibrium moisture content at (23+/-2)°C and (50+/-5)% relative humidity. The standard is also applicable to thermal insulating products with moulded skins but is not normally relevant for faced products or for products with other surface treatments.

ISO 18393-1:2012 specifies a test method for the determination of settlement of blown loose-fill insulation applied horizontally in ventilated attics.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the apparent overall density and the apparent core density under reference conditions. It is applicable to full size thermal insulating products and test specimens. This standard can also be applied to the individual layers of multi-layered products.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the effect of successive cycling from dry conditions at -20 °C to wet conditions at 20 °C on the mechanical properties and moisture content of the product. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
It is intended to simulate freeze-thaw effects on thermal insulating products which are frequently exposed to water and low temperature conditions, e.g. inverted roofs and unprotected ground insulation.
This test method is not recommended for all thermal insulating products. If relevant, the product standards will state for which products this standard is applicable.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the compressive creep of specimens under various conditions of stress. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the tensile strength of a product parallel to its faces. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
This European Standard can be used to determine whether the product has sufficient strength to withstand stresses during transportation and application.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures to be used when determining the compression behaviour of test specimens. It is applicable to thermal insulating products and can be used to determine the compressive stress in compressive creep tests and for applications in which insulation products are only exposed to short-term loads.
The method can be used for quality control purposes. It may also be employed to obtain reference values from which design values can be calculated using safety factors.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the thickness of full-size products. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.

This European Standard specifies the characteristics and choice of measuring equipment and the procedure for determining the linear dimensions of test specimens which are taken from thermal insulating products. The procedures for measuring the dimensions of full size products are specified in EN 822 and EN 823.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the length and width of full-size products. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the thickness of thermal insulating products for impact sound insulation in floating floor applications.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the deviation from flatness for full-size products. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the short-term water absorption of test specimens by partial immersion. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
NOTE   It is intended to simulate the water absorption caused by a 24 h raining period during construction work.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the long-term water absorption of test specimens by diffusion. It is applicable to thermal insulating products. It is intended to simulate the water absorption of products subjected to high relative humidities, approximating to 100 %, on both sides and subjected to a water vapour pressure gradient for a long period of time e.g. inverted roof or unprotected ground insulation.
The test is not applicable for all types of thermal insulating products. The product standard should state for which of its products, if any, this test is applicable.
NOTE   For unprotected ground insulation, the temperature of 50 C might be replaced by a lower temperature, when more data is available.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the long-term water absorption of test specimens. It is applicable to thermal insulating products.
This European Standard specifies two options:
-   Method 1 - partial immersion
-   Method 2 - total immersion
The long-term water absorption by partial immersion is intended to simulate the water absorption caused by long term water exposure.
The long-term water absorption by total immersion is not directly related to the conditions on site, but has been recognised as a relevant condition of test for some products in some applications.

This European Standard specifies the equipment and procedures for determining the thickness of thermal insulating products for impact sound insulation in floating floor applications.