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 BRITISH STANDARD BS EN
25580:1992
ISO 5580:1985

Specification for

Minimum requirements
for industrial
radiographic
illuminators for
non-destructive testing
Licensed Copy: Tom Magee, Howden Power, 30 May 2003, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

This European Standard EN 25580:1992 has the status of a

British Standard
 BS EN 25580:1992

Cooperating organizations

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN), under whose supervision

this European Standard was prepared, comprises the national standards
organizations of the following countries.

Austria Oesterreichisches Normungsinstitut

Belgium Institut belge de normalisation
Denmark Dansk Standardiseringsraad
Finland Suomen Standardisoimisliito, r.y.
France Association française de normalisation
Germany Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.
Greece Hellenic Organization for Standardization
Iceland Technological Institute of Iceland
Ireland National Standards Authority of Ireland
Italy Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione
Luxembourg Inspection du Travail et des Mines
Netherlands Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut
Norway Norges Standardiseringsforbund
Portugal Instituto Portuguès da Qualidade
Licensed Copy: Tom Magee, Howden Power, 30 May 2003, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

Spain Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación

Sweden Standardiseringskommissionen i Sverige
Switzerland Association suisse de normalisation
United Kingdom British Standards Institution

This British Standard, having

been prepared under the
direction of the General
Mechanical Engineering
Standards Policy Committee,
was published under the
authority of the
Standards Board and
comes into effect on Amendments issued since publication
15 June 1992
Amd. No. Date Comments
© BSI 02-1999

The following BSI references

relate to the work on this
standard:
Committee reference GME/23
Draft for approval 90/80071 DC

ISBN 0 580 20471 5

 BS EN 25580:1992

Contents

Page
Cooperating organizations Inside front cover
National foreword ii
Foreword of EN 25580 2
1 Scope and field of application 3
2 Characteristics of radiographic illuminators 3
3 Determination of certain characteristics 4
4 Marking 4
5 Recommendations for use 4
Figure — Light luminance measurement 5
National appendix NA (informative) Inside back cover
Licensed Copy: Tom Magee, Howden Power, 30 May 2003, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

© BSI 02-1999 i
 BS EN 25580:1992

National foreword

This British Standard has been prepared under the direction of the General
Mechanical Engineering Standards Policy Committee and is the English
language version of EN 25580:1992 “Non-destructive testing — Industrial
radiographic illuminators — Minimum requirements” published by the European
Committee for Standardization (CEN).
EN 25580:1992 is identical with ISO 5580:1985 published by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO).
National appendix NA gives the constitution of the committees responsible for
UK participation in the preparation of this standard.
A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a
contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.
Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity
from legal obligations.
Licensed Copy: Tom Magee, Howden Power, 30 May 2003, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

Summary of pages
This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii,
the EN title page, pages 2 to 6, an inside back cover and a back cover.
This standard has been updated (see copyright date) and may have had
amendments incorporated. This will be indicated in the amendment table on
the inside front cover.

ii © BSI 02-1999
 EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 25580
NORME EUROPÉENNE
April 1992
EUROPÄISCHE NORM

UDC 620.179.152.05:620.186

Descriptors: Non-destructive tests, industrial radiography, radiographic illuminators, equipment specifications, screens: Display,
luminance, divergence, lighting, optical measurements, marking

English version

Non-destructive testing Industrial radiographic

illuminators Minimum requirements
(ISO 5580:1985)

Essais non destructifs — Négatoscopes utilisés Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung —

en radiographie industrielle — Exigences Betrachtungsgeräte für die industrielle
minimales Radiographie — Minimale Anforderungen
Licensed Copy: Tom Magee, Howden Power, 30 May 2003, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

(ISO 5580:1985) (ISO 5580:1985)

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 1992-03-27. 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.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any
CEN member.
This European Standard exists 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
Central Secretariat has the same status as the official versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and
United Kingdom.

CEN
European Committee for Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation
Europäisches Komitee für Normung
Central Secretariat: rue de Stassart 36, B-1050 Brussels

© CEN 1992 Copyright reserved to all CEN members

Ref. No. EN 25580:1992 E
 EN 25580:1992

Foreword
In 1990, ISO 5580:1985 was submitted to the CEN
Primary Questionnaire procedure.
Following the positive result of this procedure, the
CEN Technical Board, agreed to submit
ISO 5580:1985, without modifications, to Formal
Vote. The result of the Formal Vote was positive.
National standards identical to this European
Standard shall be published at the latest
by 92-10-31 and conflicting national standards shall
be withdrawn at the latest by 92-10-31.
In accordance with the CEN/CENELEC Common
Rules, the following countries are bound to
implement this European Standard:
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
Licensed Copy: Tom Magee, Howden Power, 30 May 2003, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

2 © BSI 02-1999

1 Scope and field of application
This International Standard specifies the minimum
requirements for industrial illuminators used for
viewing radiographs.
The function of the illuminator is to allow the
viewing of radiographs.
The illuminator shall guarantee the same safety of
personnel as an electric apparatus with maximum
voltage, insulation and earthing which is required
by corresponding safety standards of electrotechnics
in each country where these are applied.
2 Characteristics of radiographic
illuminators
2.1 Mechanical construction
An illuminator consists of the housing with one of
the sides being the viewing screen illuminated from
the inside. This screen can itself be the diffusing
screen. This housing may also contain a system for
thermal protection of the radiographs; this system
Licensed Copy: Tom Magee, Howden Power, 30 May 2003, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI
may or may not be ventilated.
For the viewing of wet radiographs, the illuminator
shall be so designed as to prevent penetration of the
liquid if the radiograph comes into contact with the
screen.
2.2 Viewing screen
The screens shall be easy to clean and shall be made
of a material which is resistant to scratching during
cleaning processes recommended by the
manufacturer and during film viewing.
NOTE The screen may be a combination of elements, all of
which should be resistant to heat in terms of deformation and
discoloration.
The size of the screens shall allow the viewing of a
radiograph without excessive glare reaching the
eyes of the operator. Should the illuminator be used
for viewing radiographs of different sizes, a system
of covering masks shall be provided.
2.3 Luminance
The screen luminance required depends on the
density of the radiographs. The following luminance
levels are recommended for the perception of
information at various density levels.
© BSI 02-1999
EN 25580:1992
The luminance (or brightness) of the illuminated
radiograph shall be not less than:
— 30 cd/m2 for film densities < 2,5
— 10 cd/m2 for film densities > 2,5
and, wherever possible, approximately 100 cd/m2 or
higher. These minimum values require the
following screen luminance:
Minimum screen luminance
Film density
cd/m2
1 300
1,5 1 000
2 3 000
2,5 10 000
3 10 000
3,5 30 000
4 100 000
4,5 300 000
NOTE The illuminator may be provided with a device for
continuous control of screen luminance.
2.4 Colour of light
The colour of the light used to illuminate the
radiograph is normally white. However, in the case
of a film with an emulsion type yielding a
monocoloured image, light with adapted colours
may be used if they have been recommended by the
film manufacturers.
2.5 Diffusion of light
If the illuminator has a diffusing screen, the light
shall be sufficiently divergent so that both eyes of
the observer receive rays from all parts of the
screen. The diffusion factor s9 shall exceed 0,7
(see 3.1).
2.6 Uniformity of illumination
The screen shall be uniformly illuminated, the
uniformity factor g being higher than 0,5 (see 3.2).
2.7 Disturbing light
The housing, blinds and covering masks shall be
constructed in such a manner that no disturbing
light hinders the viewing of the radiographs
(see clause 3).
2.8 Anti-glare device
Each illuminator shall be fitted with an anti-glare
device which, by manual or automatic operation,
prevents the operator from being subjected to
excessive glare when the radiograph is removed.
3
 EN 25580:1992
2.9 Heating
Appropriate precautions shall be taken to ensure
that the temperature of the housing does not
exceed 60 °C at the usual contact surfaces after 1 h
of intermittent operation (50 % switched on with
maximum of 15 s duration at an ambient
temperature of 20 °C). Further precautions shall be
taken to ensure that a radiograph of density 2 does
not warp after a continuous viewing time of 1 min
and 1 h of intermittent operation of the illuminator.
3 Determination of certain
characteristics
All photometric measurements shall be carried out
in a dark room. The luminance meter has to be used
in the middle part of its measuring scale. Moreover,
light escaping from the illuminator even when the
viewing screen is completely masked shall not affect
the measurements.
3.1 Divergence and dispersion of light
Licensed Copy: Tom Magee, Howden Power, 30 May 2003, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI
(of diffusing screens)
The luminance shall be measured on a semi-circle,
the centre of which is the centre of the screen and
the diameter of which is approximately the same as
the maximum dimension of the screen, but at
least 50 cm. The luminance shall be measured with
the aid of an appropriate luminance meter, the
sensitive surface of which is a tangent to the curve
of the circle (see the Figure).
These measurements shall be made at angles
of 45° (L45), 20° (L20) and 5° (L5) related to the
normal. The diffusion factor s9 shall be calculated
according to the formula
L45 + L 20
s9 = ------------------------
-
2 L5
The measurements shall be made successively in
both senses of rotation.
3.2 Uniformity of screen luminance
The measurements shall be made with the aid of an
illumination photometer or other suitable
instrument. If the screen is rectangular, it shall be
divided into squares, each side of the squares
measuring 3,5 cm, the luminance of each being
measured separately. If the screen is circular, the
same basic procedure shall be followed. In both
cases, the network of the squares shall be so
arranged that the middle square is centred in the
middle of the screen.
4 © BSI 02-1999
The average of the four highest and the average of
the four lowest results shall be found, which give the
average arithmetical values of the luminance L max
and L min. The uniformity factor g shall then be
calculated according to the formula
L min
g = ------------
-
L max
3.3 Nominal power consumption
The nominal power consumption is the number of
watts being consumed by the illuminator after it has
been in continuous operation at full luminance for a
minimum period of 30 min.
4 Marking
A plate which is attached to the illuminator shall
give the following information :
a) nominal operating voltage or permissible
voltage range;
b) nominal main frequency or permissible
frequency range;
c) whether for use with both direct and
alternating current or only with one or the other;
d) nominal power consumption;
e) maximum luminance in candelas per square
metre.
5 Recommendations for use
Operating instructions shall be provided with each
illuminator to indicate:
a) the operation of the apparatus;
b) instructions for the mounting and replacement
of lamps and screens;
c) care and maintenance;
d) safety precautions;
e) frequency of checking luminance levels.
Licensed Copy: Tom Magee, Howden Power, 30 May 2003, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

© BSI 02-1999
Figure — Light luminance measurement

5
BS EN 25580:1992
Licensed Copy: Tom Magee, Howden Power, 30 May 2003, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

6blank
 BS EN 25580:1992

National appendix NA (informative)

The United Kingdom participation in the preparation of this European Standard was entrusted by the
General Mechanical Engineering Standards Policy Committee (GME/-) to Technical Committee GME/23
upon which the following bodies were represented:

Aluminium Federation
Associated Offices Technical Committee
Association of Consulting Engineers
BEAMA Ltd.
BNF Metals Technology Centre
British Airways
British Chemical Engineering Contractors’ Association
British Gas plc
British Institute of Non-destructive Testing
British Photographic Association
British Steel Industry
Electricity Industry in United Kingdom
Health and Safety Executive
Institute of Physics
Institute of Quality Assurance
Light Metal Founders’ Association
Licensed Copy: Tom Magee, Howden Power, 30 May 2003, Uncontrolled Copy, (c) BSI

Lloyd’s Register of Shipping

Ministry of Defence
NAMAS
Power Generation Contractors’ Association (BEAMA Ltd.)
Royal Society of Chemistry
Society of British Aerospace Companies Limited
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited
Steel Casting Research and Trade Association
The Welding Institute

© BSI 02-1999
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