Carpet Tile Testing（II）

Let’s continue our talk about carpet tile testing.
Castor Chair Test

Castor chairs are particularly damaging, and the ragged holes they wear in floor coverings can represent a tripping hazard. The results of this test should be an essential part of the office carpet specification.
The test rig rolls a three-castored chair, carrying a weight of 90kg, across the carpet. Two samples are used, one run for 5,000 and one for 25,000 cycles.
The tested samples are visually assessed against standard samples and are rated on a scale of 1-5. The final result for the test is given according to the formula below;
Total Result = 0.75 x Result after 5,000 rotations + 0.25 x result after 25,000 rotations
ISO/DIS 10965 - Electrical Resistance

This test is particularly important for contract carpet that could well find itself in computer rooms where a build up of static electricity could damage valuable equipment.
The carpet sample to be tested must be acclimatized for at least 7 days before the test at a temperature of 23+/-1°C and 25+/-2% relative humidity. This is because humidity impacts so greatly on conductivity of textiles and must be controlled rigorously to get a meaningful test.
In this test regime the horizontal resistance and vertical resistance of the carpet is measured (in Ohms).
Horizontal resistance: An isolating underlay is placed under the carpet tile sample which should be pile upward. 2 electrodes are connected to the tile 200 mm apart and the resistance in Ohms is measured between them.
Vertical resistance: Here the electrodes are above and below the carpet tile and the resistance in Ohms is measured between them.
Measurements of less than 1010 Ohms are necessary for computer rooms.
ISO 3415 - Static Loading (Compression test)

This test is designed to see how much the carpet is compressed by a weight placed on it. It replicates the effect of furniture on the carpet.
The thickness is measured before compression
A pressure of 220 kPa is applied for 15, 30 and 60 minutes.
The result is simply given in the loss of thickness in mm after
a recovery period of 1 hour.
ISO 140-8 Acoustic Properties
The test equipment for this standard consists of two spaces, one above the other and 5 hammers, each of 500 gr. The first test is to measure impact absorption - i.e. how much impact noise is absorbed by the carpet sample.
First of all the hammers are allowed to free fall onto the floor of the upper space from a height of 4 cm, each striking the floor 10 times / second. The noise in decibels is recorded in the space below.
The test is then repeated with the addition of the sample carpet to the floor of the higher space.
The difference in decibels is the amount of impact noise that has been absorbed by the carpet sample. This test is interesting in that it shows how well carpet performs to stop noise transmission compared to other floor coverings like wood or vinyl.
For ISO 354 the absorption of ambient noise is measured. Noise of different frequencies; (125 - 250 - 500 - 1000 - 2000) are broadcast down into a room of 200m³ and the amount of noise bounced back from the floor is measured. This is then compared with the noise reflected by the floor when covered with sample material. A result of 0.5 in this test shows that 50% of the noise that would have been reflected was absorbed by the test sample and that the remaining 50% was reflected by it.
ISO 2551 - Dimensional Stability and EN 986 for tiles

Carpet tiles must maintain their dimensions ±0.02% after the following treatments:
Heating to a temperature of 60°C for 2 hours
Bathing in water at a temperature of 20°C for 2 hours
Further heating to a temperature of 60°C for 24 hours
Conditioning in normal atmospheric conditions for 48 hours
These treatments demonstrate that the tiles will retain their integrity in the toughest conditions like hot water cleaning and extreme temperatures.
Cost of Ownership

All floor coverings carry a hidden expense in the form of replacement costs. In commercial premises this cost is raised further by the business disruption of installing new carpet tiles. Buying unwisely will inevitably lead to higher expense. A reputable supplier should respond positively to a request for test data. Hopefully the information in this article will help make sense of the test specifications and support a properly informed choice.

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