Flexible PolyuNthane Foam Order, 1985

I..N. 39 of 1985

QUALITY CONTROL (EXPORTS, IMPORTS AND

LOCAL GOODS) ACT. 1971

(ACT NO. XIII OF 1971)

Flexible PolyuNthane Foam Order, 1985

(Order No. M 14 of 1985)

IN exercise of the powers conferred by seetion 3 of the Quality

Control (Exports. Imports and Local Goods) Act. 1971. and in accord-

ance with that section. the Malta Board of Standa rds has made the fol-

lowing orocr;-

1 Th is order may be cited as the F1exible Polyurethane Foam

Order. 1985 and may be referred to as Order No. M 14 of 1985.

1.2 T his order shaH become operative on a date after the lapse

of 20 days from the day OIl which it is laid on tbe table of the House of

Representatives. which date shall be notified by the Board in the

Gazette.

1 Th is order applies to f1e:tible load bearing polyurethane foam

(polyether type) manufactured in various colours in block. sheet or

strip fonn. and in moulded or fabricated shapes.

1

In this order:-

3.1.1 "flexible polyurethane foam" means flexible plastic

foam made by reacting polyisocyanate with a polyol and water in

the presence of catalysts.

3. 1.2 "B.S." Nfers to the British standard of the British Stan-

dards Institution.

For the purposes of this order. flexible polyurethane foam

1

sball be graded according to its indentation hardn ess index detennined

by the method referred to in paragraph 8.1 of this order. and the grade

sha11 then be decided in accordance with the table hereunder. The figure

"8" in the first colum n of the said table for the hudness grade indicates

the diameter in inches of the indenter used in the indenta tion hardness

under test.

F irst Column

Second Column

Hardness Grade

Indentation Hardness

Index (Kg)

7 -

8A

9 _

BB

se

11 -

13 -

8E

16 -

19 -

8F

8G

23 -

27 _ 33

8H

"

33-40

1 The finished felexible polyurethane foam shall comply with Specifie.tiono.

the following specifications

5.l.! Tt shall consist of a network of cells of uniform

character which are essentially open and interconnected: the strm;-

ture shall be homogeneous.

5.1.2 There shall be no loose skin on significan t surfaces;

mould parting marks and other blemishes shall no t be excessive.

5.1.3 T he odour shall be as slight as possible and shall not

be objectionable.

5.1.4 The dimensions of pieces shall be as specified by the

purchaser and subject to thc plus tolerances given in Table I and

Table 11 hereunder unless otherwise agreed between the purchaser

and supplier; no negative tolerances are however permitted.

TABLE I

Tolerances on Length and Width

Dimensions

Plus Tolerance

(=l

(mm)

Up to and including 250

(e;o;cept for fabricated

components)

Up 10 and including 250 (fabricated componenu

only)

Over 250 up 10 and including 500

2. Over 500 up to and incl uding 1.000

3. Over 1.000 up 10 and including 1.500

Over 1,500 up 10 and including 2.000

5. Over 2.000

T ABL E 11

T olerance. on Thickness

Dimensions

Plus T oleranC<!

(mm)

(mm)

Up to and including 25

Over 25 up to a nd including 100

Over 100

5.1.5 The elongation at breaking shall not be less than 150

per centum when determined by the method referred to in para-

graph 8.2 of this order.

5.1.6 The tensile strength after humidity ageing shall nOI be

less than 70 per cenlum of the initial strength; and in no case less

than 69 Kpa for grades SA. 8B and 8C or less than 82 Kpa for

grades 80. 8E. SF. SG, SH and 8J when determined by the method

referred [0 in paragraph S.3 of this order.

5. 1.7 The tensi le strength after the heat ageing. shall not be

less than 70 per centum of the initial tensile Slrengtll and in no

ease less than 69Kpa for grades 8A. S8 and SC or less than S2Kpa

for gralks SD. SE. SF, SO. 8H and SI when determined by the

method referred to in paragraph S.4 of this order.

5. 1.8 The compression set shall not be more than IQ per

centum when determined by the method referred to in paragraph

S5 of this order.

1 Flexible polyuTethane foom shall be kept by the manufactur-

er in well ventilated stores in a n atmosphere free from solvent vapours.

and shaded from direct sunlight or ultra violet light.

7,1 No imported or local polyurethane foam sh3ll be !;Old. offered

or exposed. for sa le unless it bears a label ~how;ng clearly and "",sHy

legi ble the following information

1.1

The brand name or trade mark:. Of

7.1.2

The name and address of the manufacturer

7.1.3 Where the brand namc is not entered in a list kept by

the Dite<:tor of Industry nor is the T radc Mark registered with the

Comptroller of Industrial Property. the inclusion in the label of

the na me and address of the manufacturer shall be compul!;Ory.

7.1.4

The indentation on hardness grade of tile material.

1 Indentation hardness index shall be determined by the method

described in 8 .S. 3667 Pa rt i: 1963.

8.2 Tensile strength and elongation at breaking shall be deter-

mined by method 3A of B.S. 4443 Part f: 1979.

Humidity ageing shall be determined by method 1I of

8.3

B.S. 4443 Pa rt 4: 1976 at a temperature of lO5 Q C for 3 hours.

8.4 Heat ageing shall be determined by method 12 of B.s. 4443

Part 4: 1976 at a temperature of 140 I"C for 16 hours.

8.S Compression set shall be determined by method 68 of 8 .s.

4443 Part I : 1979 using a compression of 75 % of the original thickness.

Note

In preparing this order. reference was made to the follow-

ing

B.S. 3667 Part 1: 1963

B.S. 4443 Part 1: 1979

B.S. 4443 Par t 4: 1976

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