EN 12572-1, 2 Impact test on surface elements (panels)
Safety is the most important thing in an artificial rock wall for sport climbing, and for this, the integrity of the structure must also be guaranteed. This completeness means that the artificial rock wall ensures adequate stability against environmental factors such as wind, snow and rain, as well as stress from climbing activities. Therefore, this standard measures and evaluates various factors in various ways to determine the adequacy of this part.
Among these, the impact test on the surface element, the panel, evaluates whether the panel that is directly exposed to the impact produced by the climber falls has adequate resistance. Normally, when a climber falls, the rope is first impacted and absorbed to some extent, and the remaining stress is transferred back to the anchor. The securement transfers its force back to the structure that becomes the skeleton of the artificial rock wall. In this case, the stress is not the surface of the artificial rock wall called the panel, but the skeleton hidden behind it must absorb.
On the other hand, when a fallen climber hits a panel directly, the force of the impact exerts direct stress on the panel. The impact test on the surface element is a measure of whether the panel has adequate resistance to this impact force.
While the EN.12572-1 standard is mainly to test the proper design and stability of structures, the panel impact test is a direct method of measuring the quality level of a panel manufacturer.
Method of impact test
In this standard, impact test methods are described in Appendix D.
First of all, the panel used for the test may be attached to the target artificial rock wall, or a panel produced together or a panel with a width of 1 meter produced in the same manner may be used. The metal weight used to apply the impact is a metal weight weighing about 22 kg, and the area that directly hits the panel must be covered with a thick silicone.
In the test, this weight is dropped from a height of 1.5 meters so that a force of approximately 0.8 kN is applied to the center of the target panel. When targeting panels of artificial rock walls, fall and swing from an additional 1.5 meters suspended from a string and hit the surface, and when using samples, drop a weight at a height of 1.5 meters above the panel raised on the floor for evaluation. .
Either way, test No. 3 in the same way, but the target panel should not be deformed or damaged, such as cracking or flaking, excessive bending, etc.
Sample test / Factory test
Field test / Factory test
Understanding the impact test
This test is for panels, an important component of an artificial rock wall. Therefore, it is not possible to evaluate whether the corresponding artificial rock wall has stability or is a good facility based on the results of this test alone. As explained earlier, in order to properly measure the stability of an artificial rock wall, several parts must be tested in an appropriate manner.
However, it is an inaccurate exaggeration to say that it has passed this impact test and that the company's artificial rock walls are all excellent. This test is an important metric, but it is still only a factor that tests some of it. Some manufacturers announce that they have received an EN certificate for this test result and use it for marketing publicly, but in these cases it is usually issued by a non-internationally recognized test and evaluation agency. Of course, there cannot be such a certificate, so consumers should be aware of this. I'll explain it over and over again, but since EN standards are for specific individual rock installations, to say that a specific company's product is good means that every rock wall being built must be subjected to a panel impact test each time.
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