ISO 17491-5:2013

Protective clothing - Test methods for clothing providing protection against chemicals - Part 5: Determination of resistance to penetration by a spray of liquid (manikin spray test)

ISO 17491-5:2013 specifies an alternative test method to the one described in ISO 17491-4. The method for determining the resistance to chemical spray penetration differs from the method in ISO 17491-4 in that it uses a static manikin instead of a test subject. It also uses a different spray configuration and duration.

Vêtements de protection - Méthodes d'essai pour les vêtements fournissant une protection contre les produits chimiques — Partie 5: Détermination de la résistance à la pénétration par vaporisation de liquide (essai au brouillard à l'aide d'un mannequin)

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 07-Nov-2013
• ICS: 13.340.10 - Protective clothing
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 94/SC 13 - Protective clothing
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 94/SC 13/WG 3 - Protective clothing against chemicals agents
• Current Stage: 9599 - Withdrawal of International Standard
• Start Date: 18-Jul-2024
• Completion Date: 13-Dec-2025

Relations

• Revised: ISO 17491-5:2024 - Protective clothing - Test methods for clothing providing protection against chemicals - Part 5: Determination of resistance to penetration by a spray of liquid (manikin spray test)
• Effective Date: 06-Jun-2022
• Revises: ISO 17491:2002 - Protective clothing - Protection against gaseous and liquid chemicals - Determination of resistance of protective clothing to penetration by liquids and gases
• Effective Date: 03-Oct-2009

Overview

ISO 17491-5:2013 defines the manikin spray test for evaluating the resistance of complete chemical protective clothing to penetration by a spray of liquid. This part of ISO 17491 provides an alternative to ISO 17491-4 by using a static human-form manikin (rather than a live test subject) and a different spray configuration and duration. The test determines whether liquid penetrates the garment onto an inner absorbent overall; garments pass if no liquid is detected on the absorbent layer.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Test principle: Protective clothing is fitted on a water-resistant manikin dressed in an absorbent overall. A test liquid is sprayed from five nozzles in a specified orientation sequence.
• Test agent: A non-toxic, non-foaming water solution containing a wetting agent and fluorescent or visible dye. Surface tension requirement: (30 ± 5) × 10⁻³ N/m (≈30 ± 5 mN/m); stability of surface tension must be verified before and after tests.
• Spray system: Five low-flow nozzles positioned around the manikin (one directly above, four at corners). Typical supply rate: 3.0 ± 0.2 L/min per nozzle. Nozzle geometry and spray plate details are specified to ensure reproducible droplet distribution.
• Duration and orientations: Each specimen is exposed for 15 minutes in each of four orientations (total 60 minutes per specimen).
• Absorbent overall & calibration stain: An inner absorbent garment collects any penetrating liquid. A calibration stain (e.g., dispensing a controlled 25 µL droplet) is used as a reference for pass/fail evaluation; calibration verifies absorbent response and spot-area consistency.
• Pass/fail criterion: The garment passes if no liquid reaches the inner absorbent layer; it fails if penetration is detected. Test setup, specimen preparation, and blocking of non-tested areas (e.g., open sleeves) are required to ensure repeatability.

Applications and users

ISO 17491-5 is used by:

• PPE manufacturers for design validation and quality control of chemical-protective garments
• Accredited test laboratories performing standardized penetration and integrity testing
• Certification bodies and compliance assessors evaluating protective ensembles for industrial, emergency response, and laboratory use
• Safety engineers and procurement specialists specifying protection levels against liquid sprays and splashes

Practical value: the manikin spray test offers a reproducible, controlled method to assess whole-ensemble integrity under spray exposure without subjecting humans to hazardous agents.

Related standards

• ISO 17491 (other parts): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 (spray test using human subjects)
• ISO 13688 - Protective clothing: general requirements
• ISO/TR 11610 - Protective clothing vocabulary
• Complementary material tests: ISO 6529, ISO 13994, ISO 6530

Keywords: ISO 17491-5, manikin spray test, protective clothing test, chemical protective clothing, spray penetration, PPE testing, absorbent overall, surface tension.

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 17491-5
First edition
2013-11-15
Protective clothing - Test methods
for clothing providing protection
against chemicals —
Part 5:
Determination of resistance to
penetration by a spray of liquid
(manikin spray test)
Vêtements de protection - Méthodes d’essai pour les vêtements
fournissant une protection contre les produits chimiques —
Partie 5: Détermination de la résistance à la pénétration par
vaporisation de liquide (essai au brouillard à l’aide d’un mannequin)
Reference number
©
ISO 2013
© ISO 2013
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form
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Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Principle . 1
5 Test agent and test subject . 2
6 Apparatus . 2
7 Specimen preparation . 4
8 Procedure. 5
9 Test report . 6
Bibliography . 7
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
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ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity
assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the WTO principles in the Technical Barriers
to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: Foreword - Supplementary information
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/TC 94, Personal safety — Protective clothing and
equipment, Subcommittee SC 13, Protective clothing.
ISO 17491 (all parts) cancels and replaces ISO 17491:2002, which has been technically revised.
ISO 17491 consists of the following parts, under the general title Protective clothing — Test methods for
clothing providing protection against chemicals:
— Part 1: Determination of resistance to outward leakage of gases (internal pressure test)
— Part 2: Determination of resistance to inward leakage of aerosols and gases (inward leakage test)
— Part 3: Determination of resistance to penetration by a jet of liquid (jet test)
— Part 4: Determination of resistance to penetration by a spray of liquid (spray test)
— Part 5: Determination of resistance to penetration by a spray of liquid (manikin spray test)
iv © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

Introduction
Chemical protective clothing is worn in conjunction with appropriate respiratory protective devices
when required in order to isolate the body of the wearer from the environment. Several tests exist
for determining the resistance of chemical protective clothing materials to either the permeation or
penetration of gaseous or liquid chemicals.
However, the effectiveness of the overall protective clothing item in preventing exposure from chemical
hazards depends on the integrity of the clothing item’s design in eliminating or reducing inward leakage
of chemicals.
The selection of the appropriate integrity test method will depend on the application of the chemical
protective clothing and the exposure hazards present. Usually, the integrity test method will be specified
in the overall chemical protective clothing specification.
Evaluations of protective clothing material chemical resistance are carried out by the appropriate test.
ISO 6529 specifies methods for measuring the resistance of the protective clothing materials, seams,
and assemblages to permeation by either liquids or gases. ISO 13994 specifies a method for determining
the penetration resistance of protective clothing materials under conditions of continuous liquid contact
and pressure, and can be applied to microporous materials, seams, and assemblages. ISO 6530 specifies
a procedure for measuring the penetration resistance of protective clothing materials from the impact
and runoff of liquids. General protective clothing requirements are specified in ISO 13688.
This International Standard specifies different test methods for determining the resistance of complete
protective clothing to inward leakage of either gaseous or liquid chemicals (protective clothing
integrity). These test methods apply to either liquid or gaseous chemicals, or aerosols, and range in the
level of severity.
The integrity test methods specified by this International Standard are as follows:
— Part 1 specifies a method to be performed either at minimum test settings (method 1) or at more
rigorous test settings (method 2), for assessing the resistance of a gas-tight suit to outward leakage
of air through, for example, essential openings, fastenings, seams, interface areas between items,
pores, and any imperfections in the materials of construction.
— Part 2 specifies two different methods for determining the inward leakage of chemical protective
clothing in an aerosol environment (method 1) or gaseous environment (method 2). The procedure
is applicable to gas-tight suits and non-gas-tight suits according to ISO 16602 and provides an
evaluation of chemical protective suit integrity, particularly leakage in the breathing zone, under
dynamic conditions through the use of human subjects.
— Part 3 specifies a method for determining the resistance of chemical protective clothing to
penetration by jets of liquid chemicals. This procedure is applicable to clothing worn where there
is a risk of exposure to a forceful projection of a liquid chemical and intended to be resistant to
penetration under conditions which require total body surface cover but not gas-tight clothing.
— Part 4 specifies a method to be performed either at minimum test settings (method A, low-level
spray test) or at more rigorous test settings (method B, high-level spray test), for determining
the resistance of chemical protective clothing to penetration by sprays of liquid chemicals. This
procedure applies to protective clothing intended to be worn when there is a risk of exposure to
slight splashes of a liquid chemical or to spray particles that coalesce and run off the surface of the
garment and intended to be resistant to penetration under conditions which require total body
surface cover but not gas-tight clothing.
— Part 5 specifies an alternative test method for determining the resistance to spray penetration. It uses
a static manikin instead of a test subject; it also uses a different spray configuration and duration.
The methods specified in this International Standard are not appropriate for evaluating the permeation
or penetration of liquid chemicals through the material from which the clothing is made.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 17491-5:2013(E)
Protective clothing - Test methods for clothing providing
protection against chemicals —
Part 5:
Determination of resistance to penetration by a spray of
liquid (manikin spray test)
1 Scope
This part of ISO 17491 specifies an alternative test method to the one described in ISO 17491-4.
The method for determining the resistance to chemical spray penetration differs from the method
in ISO 17491-4 in that it uses a static manikin instead of a test subject. It also uses a different spray
configuration and duration.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 13688, Protective clothing — General requirements
ISO/TR 11610, Protective clothing — Vocabulary
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes
...