ISO 13995:2000 PDF

Overview

ISO 13995:2000 - Protective clothing - Mechanical properties - Test method for the determination of the resistance to puncture and dynamic tearing of materials - defines a laboratory test method to evaluate how protective clothing materials resist puncture and the dynamic tearing that follows a puncture. Developed in collaboration with CEN and based on ASTM D 2582-90, the standard establishes repeatable conditions to compare woven and knitted fabrics, coated textiles and leather used in PPE where barrier integrity is critical.

Key topics and requirements

• Test principle: A specimen is clamped over a curved mounting block. A falling mass carrying a tearing blade punctures the specimen and a blunt lower surface creates a dynamic tear; the vertical tear length is measured.
• Tearing blade geometry: The blade has a ground wedge-shaped (not sharp) end, a main body ~3 mm thick and a half‑round lower surface that causes the blunt tear.
• Apparatus elements: falling mass, blade holding block, test specimen mounting block and clamps - all specified to give comparable impact energy and geometry.
• Measurements: Tear length (vertical dimension of hole) is recorded. The method is intended to emphasize dynamic tear resistance rather than just initial puncture (a 40 mm end‑point is discussed as an example to focus on tearing).
• Performance classification: The standard provides four performance levels and requires that product standards citing ISO 13995 specify energy/velocity, specimen orientation, sample preparation, number of tests, measurement technique, and pass/fail criteria.
• Informative guidance: Annex A gives hazard identification, risk analysis and guidance for specifying performance levels appropriate to end‑use.

Applications and users

ISO 13995 is intended for:

• PPE manufacturers and material suppliers selecting or validating materials for chemical, biological, spray, foul‑weather and firefighting garments where breach size matters.
• Product standards writers who must reference a puncture/tear test and define application‑specific parameters (energies, number of replicates, pass criteria).
• Third‑party test laboratories performing compliance and comparative testing of fabrics, coated materials and leather.
• Safety engineers and specifiers conducting risk analysis to set performance levels tied to potential harm from barrier breaches.

Keywords: ISO 13995:2000, protective clothing, puncture resistance, dynamic tearing test, test method, PPE materials, performance levels.

Related standards

• Based on ASTM D 2582-90 (puncture‑propagation test for film and sheeting).
• Published in parallel as EN ISO 13995:2000 under the CEN/ISO cooperation (Vienna Agreement).