Fixed, vertical road traffic signs - Part 6: Performance of retroreflective sign face materials

This Part 6 of EN 12899 describes the performance requirements for retroreflective sign face materials.

Ortsfeste, vertikale Straßenverkehrzeichen - Teil 6: Lichttechnische Mindestanforderungen an Reflexstoffe mikroprismatischer Materialien

Signaux fixes de signalisation routière verticale - Partie 6 : Performances des matériaux rétroréfléchissants constituant des faces de panneaux

La présente Partie 6 de l'EN 12899 décrit les exigences de performances relatives aux matériaux rétroréfléchissants des faces de panneaux.

Stalna vertikalna cestna signalizacija - 6. del: Lastnosti materialov za retroreflektivne znake

General Information

Status
Not Published
Public Enquiry End Date
14-Feb-2013
Technical Committee
Current Stage
98 - Abandoned project (Adopted Project)
Start Date
11-Oct-2013
Due Date
16-Oct-2013
Completion Date
11-Oct-2013

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2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.Stalna vertikalna cestna signalizacija - 6. del: Lastnosti materialov za retroreflektivne znakeOrtsfeste, vertikale Straßenverkehrzeichen - Teil 6: Lichttechnische Mindestanforderungen an Reflexstoffe mikroprismatischer MaterialienSignaux fixes de signalisation routière verticale - Partie 6 : Performances des matériaux rétroréfléchissants constituant des faces de panneauxFixed, vertical road traffic signs - Part 6: Performance of retroreflective sign face materials93.080.30Cestna oprema in pomožne napraveRoad equipment and installationsICS:Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z:FprEN 12899-6kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013en,fr,de01-februar-2013kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013SLOVENSKI
STANDARD



kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013



EUROPEAN STANDARD NORME EUROPÉENNE EUROPÄISCHE NORM
FINAL DRAFT
FprEN 12899-6
September 2012 ICS 93.080.30 English Version
Fixed, vertical road traffic signs - Part 6: Performance of retroreflective sign face materials
Signaux fixes de signalisation routière verticale - Partie 6 : Performances des matériaux rétroréfléchissants constituant des faces de panneaux
This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for unique acceptance procedure. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 226.
If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.
This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are aware and to provide supporting documentation.
Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without notice and shall not be referred to as a European Standard.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
Management Centre:
Avenue Marnix 17,
B-1000 Brussels © 2012 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CEN national Members. Ref. No. FprEN 12899-6:2012: EkSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013



FprEN 12899-6:2012 (E) 2 Contents Page Foreword .3Introduction .41 Scope .42 Normative references .43 Terms, definitions, symbols and abbreviations .54 Retroreflection of sign face materials .74.1 General .74.2 Application classes for signal colours .84.3 Retroreflection performance classes for signal colours . 104.4 Derivation of the RA index for secondary mounting axes . 124.5 Requirements for contrast colours . 134.6 Testing of the retroreflection of sign face materials for factory production control . 145 Daylight chromaticity coordinates and luminance factor of retroreflective sign face materials . 146 Durability . 176.1 Resistance to weathering . 176.2 Accelerated natural weathering . 186.3 Accelerated artificial weathering . 187 Adhesion test . 18Annex A (normative)
Methods for deriving the coefficient of retroreflection RA and its symmetries . 20A.1 General . 20A.2 Method for deriving RA,C(αααα,ββββ) values by thorough testing . 21A.3 Method of deriving RA,C(αααα,ββββ) values by simplified testing . 24A.4 Establishment of mounting axis reversal symmetry . 25A.5 Establishment of mounting axis rotation symmetry . 25A.5.1 General . 25A.5.2 Optical elements with complete rotational symmetry . 25A.5.3 Optical elements without complete rotational symmetry . 26Annex B (normative)
Colorimetric testing . 27B.1 Luminance factor and chromaticity of non-fluorescent materials . 27B.1.1 General . 27B.1.2 Reference method for microprismatic sign face materials . 27B.1.3 Secondary method for microprismatic sign face materials . 28B.2 Luminance factor and chromaticity of fluorescent materials . 28Annex C (informative)
Guidelines for the selection of application and retroreflection performance classes . 29C.1 Introduction . 29C.2 Application classes . 29C.3 Retroreflection performance classes . 30C.4 Vehicles other than the passenger car . 30C.5 Signs at other locations . 32C.6 Other factors . 33C.7 Guidelines . 34Bibliography . 37 kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013



FprEN 12899-6:2012 (E) 3 Foreword This document (FprEN 12899-6:2012) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 226 “Road equipment”, the secretariat of which is held by AFNOR. This document is currently submitted to the Unique Acceptance Procedure. No existing European Standard is superseded. This European Standard consists of the following Parts under the general title: Fixed, vertical road traffic signs —  Part 1: Fixed signs  Part 2: Transilluminated traffic bollards (TTB)  Part 3: Delineator posts and retroreflectors  Part 4: Factory production control  Part 5: Initial type testing  Part 6: (This part) Performance of retroreflective sign face materials It is based on performance requirements and test methods published in CEN, CENELEC, CIE (International Commission on Illumination) and ISO documents together with standards of the CEN member organizations.
kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013



FprEN 12899-6:2012 (E) 4 Introduction The visual performance of retroreflective sign face materials is dependent on their luminance and chromaticity. Retroreflection is the relevant characteristic for the legibility and visibility of road signs during night time driving, while luminance factor and chromaticity are relevant characteristics for the legibility of signs during the daytime (and for illuminated signs at night).
A legend or a symbol on a sign face is presented in one colour against the background of another colour. Bright colours serve generally as signal colours, while dark colours generally serve as contrast colours. A few colours may sometimes serve as signal colours and at other times as contrast colours. The signal colour is considered to be the more important in terms of retroreflective performance. The situations in which road traffic signs are used are grouped into a number of application classes, and individual signs can be specified using the range of retroreflection performance classes provided. The system of classes is complex - and has to be complex - in order to make good use of retroreflection. A single material cannot supply optimum or even adequate sign legibility in all applications, but some materials can do so in some applications and other materials in other applications. Test methods for retroreflection are provided in Annex A and for luminance factor and chromaticity in Annex B. Both annexes are of a complex technical nature, as they deal with retroreflective sign face materials of both known technologies - glass beaded and microprismatic - and because the fluorescence of fluorescent sign face materials has been taken into account. These normative annexes are primarily intended to be studied by experts working at test laboratories. It is a particular feature of retroreflection that it has limitations. Consequently, application and retroreflection performance classes cannot in practice be selected independently of each other. Some guidelines for the selection of application and retroreflection performance classes are offered in the informative annex. These are intended as the basis for forming national policies for retroreflective road traffic signs, in which various interests are weighed against each other in a suitable manner. 1 Scope This Part 6 of EN 12899 describes the performance requirements for retroreflective sign face materials. 2 Normative references The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies. EN ISO 877-2:2010, Plastics - Methods of exposure to solar radiation — Part 2: Direct weathering and exposure behind window glass (ISO 877-2:2009) EN ISO 4892-1, Plastics — Methods of exposure to laboratory light sources — Part 1: General guidance
(ISO 4892-1) EN ISO 4892-2, Plastics — Methods of exposure to laboratory light sources — Part 2: Xenon-arc lamps
(ISO 4892-2) ISO 11664-2, Colorimetry — Part 2: CIE standard illuminants IEC 60050-845:1987, International Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV) — Chapter 845: Lighting NOTE CIE Publication 17.4 International Electrotechnical Vocabulary is identical to IEC 60050-845:1987. kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013



FprEN 12899-6:2012 (E) 5 CIE 15:2004, Colorimetry
CIE 54.2:2001, Retroreflection: definition and measurement
3 Terms, definitions, symbols and abbreviations
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions given in IEC 60050-845:1987 and
CIE 54.2:2001 and the following apply. 3.1 signal colour the brightest colour of the sign face of a retroreflective sign NOTE The signal colour is white for most signs, but may be yellow, orange, fluorescent yellow, fluorescent yellow/green or fluorescent orange. 3.2 contrast colour any colour of the sign face of a retroreflective sign (including non-retroreflective black) that is not the signal colour 3.3 coefficient of retroreflection (of a plane retroreflecting surface), symbol RA
ratio of the luminous intensity of a plane retroreflecting surface in the direction of observation to the illuminance at the retroreflecting surface measured on a plane perpendicular to the direction of the incident light in proportion to the area of the retroreflecting surface NOTE The value of the coefficient of retroreflection depends in principle on four angles, this being the number of angles needed to describe the directions of observation and incident light relative to the retroreflecting surface. Refer to CIE 54.2 for the definition of such angles and their combination into angular systems. RA is expressed in cd.lx-1m-2 units.
3.4 RA,C(αααα,ββββ) value a calculated value of the coefficient of retroreflection RA for a combination of the observation angle . and the entrance angle
Definitions of the observation angle α and entrance angle β are provided in CIE 54.2. NOTE 1
A value of the observation angle α relates, among other things, to the distance to a road sign, and a value of the entrance angle β relates to the obliqueness at which the sign is illuminated. NOTE 2
The RA,C(α,β) value is calculated from various RA measurements in which two additional angles have been varied.
One additional angle relates to the location of a headlamp on a vehicle relative to the driver, for instance directly below the driver, below to the right and below to the left. The other additional angle relates to the location of a sign relative to the vehicle, for instance to the right, above or to the left of the vehicle. The calculation of the RA,C(α,β) value is carried out in two steps: I: RA values are averaged for three different headlamp locations. II: the smallest of these values for some relevant locations of a road sign relative to the vehicle is selected to be the RA,C(α,β) value. This calculation ensures that the RA,C(α,β) value is a reasonable representation of the coefficient of retroreflection RA taking account of variation in vehicle type and sign location. kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013



FprEN 12899-6:2012 (E) 6 3.5 application class a class defining the geometrical circumstances in which a road sign is to be read, comprising a set of combinations of observation angles α and entrance angles β NOTE
The application class which is the most suitable for drivers of small vehicles may be less suitable for drivers of large vehicles.
3.6 RA index an index providing a single measure of the general level of retroreflective performance of a sign face material for the geometrical circumstances of an application class NOTE
The RA index value is obtained in three steps. These are numbered III, IV and V in continuation of two steps I and II used to derive RA,C(α,β) values above: III: The proportions between the RA,C(α,β) values of a sign face material and a set of RA,R(α,β) reference values are calculated. IV: For each of the entrance angle values included within the application class, the harmonic average of the above-mentioned proportions are calculated for those cases of the observation angles that are included within the application class. V: The smallest of the harmonic averages is selected to be the RA index. The RA,R(α,β) reference values correspond to a constant sign luminance of 1 cd/m2. 3.7 retroflection performance class a classification based on the RA index value of a signal colour for a given application class 3.8 mounting axis a direction relative to a retroreflective sign face material indicating the orientation with which the sheeting is to be mounted on a road sign so that the mounting axis is pointed upwards NOTE 1
A mounting axis can be indicated by a datum mark on the material or can be the direction of the roll of the material or can be indicated in other ways and should be declared by the manufacturer of the sheeting. NOTE 2
If the manufacturer declares more than one mounting axis, one mounting axis is distinguished as the primary mounting axis while the others are secondary mounting axes. 3.9 family of retroreflective sign face materials a family of retroreflective sign face materials consists of sheetings in various colours (including non-retroreflective black) with identical optical design and similar manufacturing processes and raw materials (except dyes or pigment) and includes materials with process colour or coloured overlay film and with clear overlay film 3.10
fluorescence fluorescence is primarily a daylight appearance attribute based on absorption of light at shorter wavelengths and emission at longer wavelengths kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013



FprEN 12899-6:2012 (E) 7 4 Retroreflection of sign face materials 4.1 General
The performance of retroreflective sign face materials is dependent on the properties of the sheeting, which are affected by the geometry of viewing, luminance factor and chromaticity. Because the geometry of viewing is important it is essential that the material is applied to the substrate correctly.
To this end, datum marks and mounting axes are required to be included in the construction of sheeting. Information about datum marks and mounting axes are provided in Annex A.
Chromaticity and luminance is covered in Clause 5. The standard defines a number of application classes which are described in 4.2 and specified in Tables 2 and 3. Each application class is defined by five observation angles covering the reading distance range.
With each observation angle there are entrance angles to represent the angle of illumination of the sign that will occur. A performance value is determined for each application class for each sign face material by means of an average value which represents the performance of that sign face material. The process starts with selecting an application class to match the site of the proposed installation. The next step is to calculate a representative RA value denoted the RA,C(.,) value for each of these application classes.
This is described in Annex A. From this, an RA index is calculated for a particular application class, which in turn leads to the performance class (P1 to P8) for that application class.
The manufacturer of a sheeting material may provide the retroreflection performance classes for one, more or all of the application classes. For those application classes, where the retroreflection performance classes are not provided, the testing need not be carried out. NOTE A sheeting material may be designed to perform well for some application classes and less well for other application classes, for which it may not comply with the lowest retroreflection performance class (P1) or it may not be competitive to other sheeting materials.
Purchasers should use this system of application and retroreflection performance classes to specify their requirements. Some colours are used for both signal and contrast colours, and non-retroflective black is also used as a contrast colour.
Separate test methods are specified for signal and contrast colours (see 4.3 and 4.5 respectively).
Requirements for non-retroreflective black are specified in EN 12899-1. The signal colour is the more important in terms of retroreflective performance. Guidelines for the selection of application and performance classes are given in Annex C. The manufacturer of a sheeting material shall declare the mounting axis. The manufacturer can declare more than one mounting axis, refer to 4.4. If so, one mounting axis is distinguished as the primary mounting axis while the others are secondary mounting axes. Secondary mounting axes are defined by clockwise rotations relative to the primary mounting axis. A material that has been assigned multiple mounting axes can be mounted on signs with rotations corresponding to the different mounting axes. However, within a sign, the mounting has normally to correspond to a single mounting axis with the exceptions provided in the next two paragraphs.
kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013



FprEN 12899-6:2012 (E) 8 A specific way to declare more than one mounting axis is to declare mounting axis reversal symmetry or mounting axis rotation symmetry, meaning respectively that the material can be applied with a 180° rotation, or with any rotation. Symmetries of this nature allow not only that a material can be mounted on signs with rotations corresponding to the different datum axes, but normally also mounting with more than one mounting axis within a sign. 4.2 Application classes for signal colours The classifications are based on comparison of RA,C(α,β) values of the signal colour with the RA,R(α,β) reference values provided in Table 1 for particular cases of α and β. Table 1 — RA,R(α,β) reference values for white parts of road signs Observation angle α Entrance angle β 5° 15° 30° 40° 0,20° 66,4 64,4 57,7 51,0 0,33° 32,9 31,9 28,6 25,3 0,50° 18,4 17,8 16,0 14,2 0,70° 11,5 11,1 9,99 8,84 1,00° 6,97 6,76 6,06 5,36 1,50° 3,95 3,83 3,44 3,04 2,00° 2,64 2,56 2,30 2,03
NOTE 1 The observation angle α relates to the distance between a sign and a vehicle (small α corresponds to a large distance), while the entrance angle β relates to the obliqueness with which the headlight of the vehicle illuminates the sign.
NOTE 2 The RA,R(α,β) reference values correspond to a constant sign luminance of 1 cd/m2. These values are provided in Table 1 and come from the function RA = 6,99×α-1,4×cosβ (see Annex C for further details). kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013



FprEN 12899-6:2012 (E) 9 The comparison between RA,C(α,β) values of the signal colour and RA,R(α,β) reference values is limited to one or more selections of cases of α and β as indicated in Table 3. These selections correspond to the application classes given in Table 2: Table 2 — Road descriptions for application classes Class Reading distance description Values of entrance angle A11 Long 5º A12 15º A13 30º A21 Medium 5º A22 15º A23 30º A24 40º A31 Short 5º A32 15º A33 30º A34 40º Long, medium and short distances relate to ranges of distances that are relevant for signs on different types of roads depending on driving speeds and other matters. Narrow, medium, wide and extra wide entrance angularity refers to the need to ensure performance in situations with oblique light incident on the signs.
Two or more classes of entrance angularity can be requested simultaneously. EXAMPLE In recognition that the majority of signs are positioned at small entrance angles, the 5° entrance angularity class can be applied with a high retroreflection performance class. Simultaneously a lower retroreflection performance class can be applied for the 15° and 30° entrance angularity class, as there are likely to be some signs viewed at larger entrance angles. This would emphasise the performance requirement for the majority of signs that are positioned at small entrance angles and still require a level of performance for those signs viewed at wider entrance angles. The classes A11, A21 and A31 shall only be requested in combination with other application classes with wider entrance angularity, as the narrow entrance angularity is not sufficient in itself. Refer to C.7 for further information. kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013



FprEN 12899-6:2012 (E) 10 Table 3 — Selections of cases for application classes A11, A12, A13, A21, A22, A23, A24, A31, A32, A33 and A34 α 0,20º 0,33º 0,50º 0,70º 1,00º 1,50º 2,00º β
5º Class A11
5º Class A12
15º
5º Class A13
15º
30º

Class A21

Class A22
15º

Class A23
15º
30º

Class A24
15º
30º
40º

Class A31 5º
Class A32 15º

Class A33 15º
30º

Class A34 15º
30º
40º
4.3 Retroreflection performance classes for signal colours For a particular signal colour and application class, an RA index is derived in three steps. These are numbered III, IV and V in continuation of steps I and II used to derive RA,C(α,β) values, refer to A.2: III:
the ratios are calculated between RA,C(α,β) values of the signal colour and RA,R(α,β) reference values for each of the cases in the selection corresponding to the class
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FprEN 12899-6:2012 (E) 11 IV:
for each column of β cases within the selection, the harmonic mean of the ratios calculated in step III is calculated V:
the RA index value is selected as the smallest of the harmonic means calculated in step IV. The harmonic means to be determined in step IV include five ratios R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5. The harmonic mean is determined as
NOTE The RA index is a single measure of the general level of retroreflection of a sign face material as compared to the RA,R(α,β) reference values. An RA index applies for a particular application class; the value will in general depend on the application class. EXAMPLE 1
(applies to application class A23): The RA index is determined in three steps. In step III the ratios between the RA,R(α,β) reference values and the RA,C(α,β) values of the signal colour are calculated, in step IV the harmonic means of the ratios are calculated for each relevant case of the entrance angle β and in step V the smallest of these harmonic means is selected. RA,R(α,β) reference values
RA,C(α,β) values of the
signal colour Observation angle α Entrance angle β
Entrance angle β 5° 15° 30° 5° 15° 30° 0,20° - - - - - - 0,33° 32,9 31,9 28,6 432 370 183 0,50° 18,4 17,8 16,0 340 306 151 0,70° 11,5 11,1 9,99 230 198 97,4 1,00° 6,97 6,76 6,06 103 89,1 44,0 1,50° 3,95 3,83 3,44 28,2 25,2 11,3 2,00° - - - - - -
Step III
ratios: RA,C(α,β)/RA,R(α,β)
Entrance angle β 5° 15° 30° - - - 13,1 11,6 6,40 18,5 17,2 9,44 20,0 17,8 9,75 14,8 13,2 7,26 7,14 6,58 3,28 - - -
Step IV
harmonic means:
12,9 11,7 6,19 Step V minimum: 6,19 kSIST FprEN 12899-6:2013



FprEN 12899-6:2012 (E) 12 For a particular application class, the RA index is used to decide the retroreflection performance class in accordance with the minimum requirements of Table 4. An RA index is valid only for a particular means of obtaining the signal colour (e.g. inherent colour, use of an overlay film of a particular type or process colour with a particular dye according to a particular procedure) and shall be determined separately for other means of obtaining the signal colour. Table 4 — Minimum requirements for retroreflection performance classes Retroreflection performance class Signal colourWhite YellowFluorescent Yellow and Yellow-green Orange Fluorescent Orange P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 RA index ≥
1,4 RA index ≥
2,0 RA index ≥
2,8 RA index ≥
4,0 RA index ≥
5,6 RA index ≥
8,0 RA index ≥ 11,3 RA index ≥ 16,0 RA index ≥
1,0 RA index ≥
1,4 RA index ≥
2,0 RA index ≥
2,8 RA index ≥
4,0 RA index ≥
5,6 RA index ≥
8,0 RA index ≥ 11,3 RA index ≥
0,7 RA index ≥
1,0 RA index ≥
1,4 RA index ≥
2,0 RA index ≥
2,8 RA index ≥
4,0 RA index ≥
5,6 RA index ≥
8,0
EXAMPLE 2
(for application class A23): Further to EXAMPLE 1, the highest retroreflection performance class that can be met by a product with an RA index of 6,19 for the signal colour white is P5 (i.e. RA
index ≥ 5,6). 4.4 Derivation of the RA index for secondary mounting axes For the signal colour white, the RA index shall be derived independently in accordance with 4.3 for the primary mounting axis and for any secondary mounting axis resulting in RA index (white, primary) and RA index (white, secondary). For other signal colours of the same material, including other versions of white created for instance by use of protective coatings, the RA index shall be derived independently in accordance with 4.3 for the primary mounting axis resulting in RA index (signal colour, primary). The RA index for a secondary mounting axis may also be derived independently in accordance with 4.3. However, it is permissible instead to derive the RA index by means of scaling using the following expression, in order to make substantial savings in the test work: RA index (signal colour, secondary) = F(white)×RA index (signal colour, primary)
where F(white) = RA index (white, secondary)
...

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