EN 13938-2:2025

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-december-2025
Eksplozivi za civilno uporabo - Pogonska (smodniki) in raketna goriva - 2. del:
Preverjanje odpornosti trdnih pogonskih sredstev proti elektrostatičnim
razelektritvam za topove
Explosives for civil uses - Propellants and rocket propellants - Part 2: Verification of the
resistance to electrostatic discharge of solid gun propellants
Explosivstoffe für zivile Zwecke - Treibladungspulver und Raketentreibstoffe - Teil 2:
Bestimmung der Widerstandsfähigkeit gegen elektrostatische Energie
Explosifs à usage civil - Poudres propulsives et propergols pour propulseurs - Partie 2 :
Vérification de la résistance à la décharge électrostatique des poudres pour armes
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 13938-2:2025
ICS:
71.100.30 Eksplozivi. Pirotehnika in Explosives. Pyrotechnics and
ognjemeti fireworks
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN 13938-2
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
October 2025
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 71.100.30 Supersedes EN 13938-2:2004
English Version
Explosives for civil uses - Propellants and rocket
propellants - Part 2: Verification of the resistance to
electrostatic discharge of solid gun propellants
Explosifs à usage civil - Poudres propulsives et Explosivstoffe für zivile Zwecke - Treibladungspulver
propergols pour propulseurs - Partie 2 : Vérification de und Raketentreibstoffe - Teil 2: Bestimmung der
la résistance à la décharge électrostatique des poudres Widerstandsfähigkeit gegen elektrostatische Energie
pour armes
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 29 September 2025.

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 CEN-CENELEC Management Centre 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 CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2025 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 13938-2:2025 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
4 Principle . 5
5 Apparatus . 5
6 Preparation of test sample . 8
7 Procedure . 8
8 Expression of results . 9
9 Test report . 9
Annex A (normative) Procedure for the calibration of the electrostatic discharge generator
................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Annex B (informative) Screening method for electrostatic discharge generator . 15
Annex ZA (informative) Relationship between this European Standard and the essential
requirements of Directive 2014/28/EU relating to the making available on the
market and supervision of explosives for civil uses aimed to be covered . 16
Bibliography . 17

European foreword
This document (EN 13938-2:2025) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 321 “Explosives
for civil uses”, the secretariat of which is held by UNE.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by April 2026, and conflicting national standards shall be
withdrawn at the latest by April 2026.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN 13938-2:2004.
a) the document title has been changed from “Part 2: Determination of resistance to electrostatic
energy” to “Part 2: Verification of the resistance to electrostatic discharge of solid gun propellants”;
b) the Scope has been revised to clarify that the document is only applicable to solid gun propellants;
c) the normative references have been updated;
d) the terminology entries 3.1 and 3.2 have been removed;
e) the Clause 4 “Principle” has been added;
f) the Clause “Apparatus” has been revised and completed;
g) the Clause “Test pieces” is now called “Preparation of test sample” and has been revised to simplify
the sieving procedure;
h) the Clause “Procedure” has been revised so that no longer the resistance against electrostatic
discharge is determined, instead, a verification of the resistance to electrostatic discharge at an
energy level of 0,5 J is carried out;
i) the Clause 8 “Expression of results” has been added;
j) the Clause “Test report” does no longer require conformity with EN ISO/IEC 17025 and the
information to be provided has been revised in accordance with the revised procedure;
k) the former Annexes A “Range of applicability of the test method” and B “Sieving method” have been
removed;
l) the former Annex C is now Annex A and the former Annex D is now Annex B – both Annexes have
been revised for clarification purposes;
m) the Annex ZA has been updated;
n) the Bibliography has been added and lists EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017.
This document has been prepared under a standardization request addressed to CEN by the European
Commission. The Standing Committee of the EFTA States subsequently approves these requests for its
Member States.
For the relationship with EU Legislation, see informative Annex ZA, which is an integral part of this
document.
A list of all parts in the EN 13938 series, published under the general title Explosives for civil uses —
Propellants and rocket propellants, can be found on the CEN website.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body.
A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North
Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United
Kingdom.
1 Scope
This document specifies a test method for the verification of the resistance of solid gun propellants to
electrostatic discharge.
This document is applicable to solid gun propellants containing at least 5 % by mass of particles with a
particle size ≤ 1 mm.
This document does not apply to solid rocket propellants, powder cake or black powder.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 13857-1:2025, Explosives for civil uses — Part 1: Vocabulary
ISO 565:1990, Test sieves — Metal wire cloth, perforated metal plate and electroformed sheet — Nominal
sizes of openings
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in EN 13857-1:2025 apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
• IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
4 Principle
Solid gun propellants can be subjected to the effect electrostatic discharge during handling and can
undergo unintended ignition. Particles of a size up to 1 mm are most sensitive to electrostatic discharge
so that only solid gun propellants that contain at least 5 % by mass of particles with a particle size ≤ 1 mm
are tested. The test described in this document simulates the effect of electrostatic discharge by the
means of capacitive discharge. A test sample is placed in a test cell between two copper electrodes. The
capacitive discharge is generated by the means of electrostatic energy supply and driven through a test
sample. By the means of this test, it is verified that the tested solid gun propellant is resistant to
electrostatic discharge at an energy level of 0,5 J.
5 Apparatus
5.1 Test cell, as shown in Figure 1.
5.1.1 Two copper discs, with
a) a lower copper disc forming the cell base having with a material purity of at least 99,0 %, a thickness
of (1 ± 0,05) mm and a diameter of (19 ± 1) mm;
b) an upper copper disc serving as cover for the plastic disc (5.1.2), having with a material purity of at
least 99,0 % a thickness of (0,1 ± 0,05) mm and a diameter of (16 ± 1) mm.
5.1.2 Plastic disc, that serves as insulator, with a thickness of (3,0 ± 0,1) mm, a diameter of
(32 ± 1) mm, and with a centred hole with a diameter (6,3 ± 0,1) mm.
5.1.3 Glue, suitable to fix the plastic disc (5.1.2) to the lower copper disc (5.1.1 a) along the outer edge
of the lower copper disc. It shall be possible to apply the glue in layers thinner than the thickness of the
lower copper disc. It is recommended to use glue of a low strength to allow for a possible reuse of the
plastic disc and the copper disc.
Dimensions in millimetres
Key
1 upper copper disc (5.1.1 b)
2 plastic disc (5.1.2)
3 lower copper disc (5.1.1 a)
4 portion of the test sample (see Clause 6)
5 layer of glue (5.1.3)
Figure 1 — Test cell (the upper drawing is a top view)
5.2 Electrostatic discharge generator (ESD generator), as shown in Figure 2.
5.2.1 High voltage power supply, capable of applying a continuous voltage of up to 10 kV;
5.2.2 Capacitor, with a capacitance of 0,01 µF having a relative tolerance of ± 10 %.
NOTE A capacitance of 0,01 µF charged to a voltage of 10 kV corresponds to an energy level 0,5 J.
5.2.3 Coaxial cable, with a length of (1,85 ± 0,1) m, a characteristic impedance of 50 Ω, a capacitance
−3
of max. 100 pF/m and an attenuation 95 × 10 dB/m at 200 MHz.
5.2.4 Two brass electrodes.
5.2.5 Switch, suitable for the use together with the other components of the electrostatic discharge
tester (5.2.1 to 5.2.4).
Key
1 high voltage power supply (5.2.1)
2 switch (5.2.5)
3 test cell (see Figure 1)
4 electrodes (5.2.4)
5 coaxial cable (5.2.3)
NOTE 1 See Annex A for explanation of the variables U , R , C, L and 𝛴𝛴 .
o d R
NOTE 2 The position of the switch (5.2.5) is shown in NC, i.e. normal closed.
Figure 2 — Circuit diagram of the electrostatic energy supply
5.3 Sieve, in accordance with ISO 565:1990, Clause 5, having an aperture size of 1 mm. The sieve shall
be made of stainless steel.
5.4 Conditioning chamber, for maintaining a temperature of (20 ± 5) °C and a relative humidity of not
greater than (55 ± 10) %.
5.5 Balance, readable to the nearest 0,1 g.
6 Preparation of test sample
The test sample consists of at least 5 g of the mass fraction of the solid gun propellant to be tested ≤ 1 mm.
In order to obtain the test sample, take portions of up to 100 g of the solid gun propellant. Weigh the
portion using the balance (5.5). Pass the portions through the sieve (5.3) for 1 min. Weigh the amount of
sample that passed through the sieve using the balance (5.5). Grounding and safety measures during
sieving shall be taken into account.
The fraction that passes through the sieve (5.3) shall be used for the test procedure (test sample) un
...