On 27 and 28 February 1996, an ad-hoc OECD-IGUS-EOS working group met in Pullach, Germany. Representatives from authorities and industry from Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America participated. During that meeting, it was agreed that the expert from The Netherlands would inform the Sub-Committee of the outcome of the discussions and the course of future work. After bilateral deliberation, it was agreed to submit a joint Japanese-Netherlands proposal.
In principle, two tests are candidate for development:
(a) Modified Thermal Explosion Vessel Test (formerly UN test E.5),
(b) Modified Closed Pressure Vessel Test (Japan).
At the meeting, Japanese documents concerning the MCPVT were distributed and the latest MTEVT results were presented by experts from Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The merits and the drawbacks of both tests were discussed extensively. A list of features and a comparison of MCPVT and MTEVT was agreed, which is the starting point for an action plan.
The list of features includes, but is not limited to:
- ease of use,
- protection needed,
- heating system and heating rate,
- sample size,
- availability of current data,
- reproducibility and repeatability,
- position of pressure probe,
- data acquisition rate,
- test preparation time,
- open/closed vessel,
- cost.
In view of the remaining uncertainties, even after extensive discussions, it appeared to be not appropriate to come to a final decision and make a choice between the MCPVT and the MTEVT without further data: Nevertheless, all members of the working group expressed their preparedness to work towards one harmonized UN pressure vessel test.
