[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 16, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 16CFR1209.4]
[Page 283-286]
TITLE 16--COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
CHAPTER II--CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
PART 1209--INTERIM SAFETY STANDARD FOR CELLULOSE INSULATION--Table of Contents
Subpart A--The Standard
Sec. 1209.4 Test procedures for determining settled density.
The settled density of lose fill insulation must be determined
before the corrosiveness test (Sec. 1209.5) and the smoldering
combustion test (Sec. 1209.7) can be performed. This section describes
the procedure for determining the settled density of loose fill
insulation.
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(a) Apparatus and materials. (1) An insulation specimen container
with a flat bottom and an inside diameter of 15.01 cm,
straight sides [without a flared lip or spout, (Apparatus 1)].
The height of the beaker shall be such that the distance between the
bottom of the cyclone and the top edge of the beaker is 8.5
cm1.0 cm. (3.39 in.39 in).
(2) A flat-rigid disc with a total weight of 755 g
(2.650.18 oz) and of a suitable diameter to fit loosely into
the specimen container. Weight may be added to the center of the disc to
bring the total weight to the required 755 g (Apparatus
2).
(3) A balance of 2 kg (4.4 lbs) capacity accurate at least to 0.2 g
(0.007 oz) (Apparatus 3).
(4) Blower apparatus, two units (supply and overflow) meeting the
following specifications: (The Commission staff has found that a Breuer
Electric Manufacturing Co., Model 98805 blower is suitable for this
purpose, although other blowers may be suitable.) (Apparatus
4).
(i) Each blower apparatus shall be capable of blowing an average of
272.2 kg (600 lbs.) of insulation per hour.
(ii) Each blower apparatus shall have a nominal air flow of 2.1
cm\3\/min. (75 ft\3\/min.)
(iii) Each blower apparatus shall have a nominal motor speed of
16,450 revolutions per minute at 115 VAC.
(5) A shaker unit capable of shaking 4.5 kg (10 lb) of weight with a
vertical motion of 0.5 g Root Mean Square (RMS) acceleration at an
approximate frequency of 9 Hertz (Hz) and displacement of approximately
1.17 cm (\15/32\\1/32\ in.) .08 cm peak to peak.
(The Commission staff has found that a Tyler Industries, Portable Sieve
Shaker Model Rx-24 is suitable for this purpose, although other shakers
may be suitable.) (Apparatus 5).
(6) Fill chamber with inside dimensions of 45.7 cm (18 in) high x
38.1 cm (15 in) wide x 38.1 cm (15 in) deep, with covered openings that
will allow a radiant panel tray to be slid through the chamber, (see
Figure 1 for details) (Apparatus 6).
(7) A cyclone receiver (see Figure 2 for complete details).
(Apparatus 7).
(8) Various lengths of nominally 2-inch diameter hose (see Figure 1
for details), as follows:
(i) A supply source hose, 274.35.1 cm (9 ft2
in) (Apparatus 8(i)).
(ii) A cyclone receiver hose, 182.95.1 cm (6
ft2 in) (Apparatus 8(ii)).
(iii) A fill chamber exit hose, 91,.45.1 cm (3
ft2 in) (Apparatus 8(iii)).
(iv) An overflow exhaust hose, length as needed (Apparatus
8(iv)).
(9) Blower Control(s) capable of operating the two blowers at 40
volts RMS. As an example, a variac for each of the two blowers with
sufficient rating to operate at 40 volts and 12 amperes RMS would be
acceptable (Apparatus 9).
(10) An insulation holding container to hold a sufficient quantity
of insulation to fill the specimen container four times.
(11) A garden rake, 50.8 cm (20 in) wide (Apparatus 11).
(12) A shovel (Apparatus 12).
(b) Conditioning. Specimens shall be conditioned to equilibrium at
215 deg.C (69.89 deg.F) and 505 %
relative humidity. A less than 1% change in net weight of the specimen
in two consecutive weighings with two hours between each weighing
constitutes equilibrium.
(c) Test specimen preparation--(1) Insulation intended for pneumatic
applications. If the insulation is intended for pneumatic applications,
the test specimens shall be prepared in the following manner:
(i) If ambient laboratory conditions are different from the
conditioning requirements specified in (b) above, begin testing the
specimen for settled density within 10 minutes after it has been removed
from the conditioned area.
(ii) Pour the conditioned insulation into the holding box (Apparatus
10) in sufficient quantity to fill the specimen container
(Apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1) four times. Manually break up
any large clumps of material that might cause feeding problems.
(2) Insulation intended for pouring applications. If the insulation
is intended for pouring applications, the test specimens shall be
prepared in the following manner:
(i) If ambient laboratory conditions are different from the
conditioning requirements specified in (b) above, begin
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testing 10 minutes after it has been removed from the conditioned area.
(ii) Pour loose fill insulation into a simulated attic space until
full. The attic space shall be formed by two nominal 2 x 6 (243 cm) (8
ft) long joists placed 40.6 cm (16 in) on center with 1.27 cm (\1/2\ in)
plywood nailed to the ends and bottom. Fluff the material with a garden
rake (Apparatus 11), applyilng a series of small amplitude
strokes while moving the rake slowly along the joist. Repeat the
fluffing process six times.
(d) Procedures--(1) Procedures for insulation intended for pneumatic
applications. If the insulation is intended for pneumatic applications,
conduct the following procedures:
(i) The test shall be conducted in an area conditioned to the
requirements of Sec. 1209.4(b).
(ii) The apparatus shall be set up as shown in Figure 1. (Apparatus
9 and 10 are not shown in Figure 1, but are described
at Sec. 1209.4(a)). Connect one end of the supply source hose (Apparatus
8.i) to the intake of the supply blower (Apparatus 4).
The other end will be used to pick up insulation from the holding
container (Apparatus 10). Connect one end of the cyclone
receiver hose (Apparatus 8.ii) to the outlet of the supply
blower and the other end to the cyclone receiver (Apparatus 7).
Connect one end of the fill chamber exit hose (Apparatus 8.iii)
to the intake of the overflow blower (Apparatus 4) and the
other end to the fill chamber (Apparatus 6). The fill chamber
shall be placed on a flat and level surface. Connect one end of the
variable length overflow exhaust hose (Apparatus 8.iv) to the
outlet of the overflow blower. The other end should be conveniently
placed to reduce insulation dust in the test area.
(iii) Weigh the empty insulation specimen container and record its
weight.
(iv) Place the empty insulation specimen container in the fill
chamber (Apparatus 6) centered under the cyclone receiver
(Apparatus 7), and close the front cover.
(v) Adjust the blower control(s) (Apparatus 9) such that
the supply and overflow blowers will operate at a no load voltage of 40
volts RMS.
(vi) Turn on the blowers simultaneously and proceed to fill the
insulation specimen container by picking up material from the holding
container using the supply source hose.
(vii) The container may fill unevenly, i.e. a void may tend to form
off center in the container. If this occurs, stop the blowing process
and rotate the container 180 degrees and continue the blowing process
until the container just begins to overflow. If, for any reason, the
filling process is interrupted for more than one minute or for more than
the one time allowed to rotate the container, begin the process again.
(viii) Gently screed the excess material using a straight edge so as
to leave a uniform surface of the insulation flush with the top of the
container.
(ix) Weigh the filled and leveled container and record the weight.
Take care not to bump or jar the container so as not to introduce any
extraneous settling of the insulation.
(x) Cover the container to prevent spilling and secure the container
to the shaker. Operate the shaker for a period of 5
minutes15 seconds.
(xi) Remove the container from the shaker and uncover, taking care
not to bump or jar it. Lower the disc (Apparatus 2) very slowly
into the container until it starts to contact the insulation. At this
point, release the disc and allow it to settle onto the insulation under
its own weight.
(xii) Measure the volume of the space occupied by the settled
insulation using the bottom edge of the disc as the upper datum point.
If the disc is not level, measure the high and low points of the bottom
of the disc and average the readings and use this as the height
measurement in calculating the volume (Vs). This settled
insulation volume and insulation weight (w) shall be used to calculate
the settled density.
(xiii) Repeat this procedure [steps (i through xi)] using another
specimen of the insulation until four settled densities are obtained for
a given material. Then average these figures to arrive at a final
settled density.
[[Page 286]]
(2) Procedures for insulation intended for pouring applications. If
the insulation is intended for pouring applications, conduct the
following procedures:
(i) Weigh the empty insulation specimen container and record its
weight.
(ii) Using a shovel (Apparatus 12) remove insulation from
the simulated attic space and place it into the specimen container until
the container just begins to overflow.
(iii) Follow steps (vi) through (xii) as specified under Procedures
for insulation intended for pneumatic applications.
(iv) Repeat this procedure (steps (i) through (iii)) using another
specimen of the insulation until four settled densities are obtained for
a given material. Then average these figures to arrive at a final
settled density.
(e) Insulation intended for pouring and pneumatic applications. If
the insulation is intended for both pouring and pneumatic applications,
or if it is uncertain whether the insulation will be poured or installed
pneumatically, the insulation shall be tested for settled density using
the test specimen preparation and test procedures at Sec. 1209.4 (c) and
(d) for each of the applications. The larger of the two settled density
values shall be used in performing the corrosiveness test at Sec. 1209.5
and the smoldering combustion test at Sec. 1209.7.
(f) Calculations. Calculate the settled density of each specimen
using the following formula:
Settled Density in kg/m\3\=W/Vs, where
W=combined weight of the container and insulation in grams, minus the
weight of the container in grams.
Vs=volume of insulation in liters after shaking.