NFPA Hosts U.S. Filtration Standards Technical Advisory Group

Thirty-one members of the U.S. technical advisory group (TAG) on filtration standards met in Minneapolis last week to discuss hydraulics, fuel, lube oil, and air filtration test standards related to fluid power and automotive engines. Members of this group are from various parts of the filtration industry: media suppliers (Ahlstrom, H&V, Lydall), filter manufacturers (Donaldson, Mann+Hummel, Kuss, Pall, Parker, Cummins), test system manufacturers, and independent test labs.

Committee members were given project updates and discussed the next steps for 15 current projects – including how the U.S. should cast its vote for each of the projects in the upcoming ISO meetings.

Work was continued on a new work item for a technical report related to ISO 11171, the calibration of automatic particle counters for liquids.  Committee members also continued their discussion on an international inter-laboratory testing being conducted to determine the particle contamination level by the gravimetric method (ISO 4405.)

The committee ended the meeting with a nomination of U.S. delegates for the fall international ISO/TC 131 filtration subcommittee and working group meetings being held at Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) in Frankfurt, Germany the week of October 24-26, 2016.

Once the meeting was officially adjourned, participants had the opportunity to tour the fluid power for wind power lab, fluid power energy conversion lab, and the particle technology lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota.  Thanks to Nick Stanley from Donaldson and Professors Kim Stelson and David Pui from the University of Minnesota for arranging and giving us a guided tour of the labs.

Members interested in participating on the filtration standards development committee should contact Denise Rockhill in the NFPA office at drockhill@nfpa.com.