December 28, 2009

Safety and certification of ECE 22.05 Testing

Safety and certification of ECE 22.05 Testing

It is recommended to replace the helmet at least every 5 years or if it was involved in a crash or after a violent impact. Even if the helmet doesn't seem to have suffered, the energy absorbed during an impact has undoubtedly transformed the EPS form (expanded polystyrene inner liner) making it useless. High quality motorcycle helmets have to comply with approved international standards defining the minimum safety levels. For use throughout Europe helmets need to meet the regulation ECE 22.05. Lazer helmets meet this standard, and mostly our own quality and safety criteria go beyond it. Lazer helmets also satisfy other international standards.

Each year thousands of helmets are tested and destroyed by certified labs (10 helmets for every 3200 manufactured) in order to guarantee Lazer helmets are safe, comfortable and of high quality.

Lazer sends an arbitrary set of helmets from the production chain to the certification body. During 24 hours these helmets are subjected to extreme conditions, some of them are placed in a fridge at – 20°, some in an oven at 50° and others are exposed to spraying for several tens of minutes with water, creating different simulation environments for helmets.

Subsequently, a series of tests is carried out in these 3 conditions (cold, heat and humidity).

ECE 22.05 certification tests

Shock absorption test

The helmet is placed on a dummy head. It is then dropped from a height of 3 meters and falls onto an anvil. Three-dimensional sensors inside the dummy head measure the acceleration transmitted to the head. 4 points on the helmet are tested one after another. The standard defines a value threshold which is not to be exceeded by the helmet.

Retention system test

A 10 kg weight attached to the helmet strap falls from3/4 meter height in order to test the retention system's resistance. The temporary elongation is measured during this dynamic test followed by the permanent elongation afterwards. Both elongations have to remain within the limits defined by the standard.

Roll-off test

A 10 kg weight attached to the front or back of the helmet is dropped from a defined height in order to measure its tendency to come off the head, either front to back or back to front.

Slipping test
The helmet is firmly pressed down against a plate representing the ground with a 2 cm edge. It is then horizontally launched at great speed against this edge in order to verify if no protruding ridge gets caught on it.

Visors test

A projectile is launched at high speed against the visor which shouldn't break. Then sand is projected under high pressure to verify the helmet's scratch resistance. For optimal vision under all circumstances, the visor's optical quality is scrupulously measured in laboratories.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Newer Post Older Post Home