ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

Shadecloths are often made from high density polyethylene material and are available in both knitted and woven constructions and in a variety of colours and shade ratings so you can choose an appropriate product for your particular application.

Shadecloth testing at ARPANSA

ARPANSA operates a service for measuring the transmission of shade materials. Shadecloth testing request form and charge schedule are available from the ARPANSA UPF Testing Service on +61 3 9433 2309 or can be downloaded below:

• Shadecloth Testing Request Form - PDF 185kb
• Schedule of Charges for Shadecloth Testing - PDF 58kb || RTF 466kb

For methods of payment - see Payment Methods and Enquiries.

Shadecloth testing is performed in accordance with the UV-visible transmission requirements of section 5.3 of Australian/New Zealand standard AS/NZS4174:1994, Synthetic shadecloth.

Copies of this standard are available from Standards Australia. ARPANSA shadecloth reports contain the following results:

• Cover Factor: The percentage area of the cloth covered by the yarns and fibre of the structure of the material.
• Designation: The designated weight of the shadecloth according to the calculated cover factor as per Table 1 of the shadecloth standard.
• Colour Code: The colour according to the designated colour code shown in Table 1 of the shadecloth standard shall be knitted, woven or attached to the edge of the shadecloth.
• Shade Factor: The percentage of normally incident UV-visible radiation in the range 290nm to 770nm not transmitted by the material.
• %UVA: The average UVA (315 to 400 nm) radiation passing through the test specimens.
• %UVB: The average UVB (290 to 315 nm) radiation passing through the test specimens.
• %UVR: The average ultraviolet radiation (290 to 400 nm) passing through the test specimens.
• %PAR: The average photosynthetically active radiation (400 to 700 nm) passing through the test specimens.
• %UVR Block: The average UVR (290 to 400 nm) not transmitted by the test specimens.
• Protection Factor (optional):  The protection factor (PF) is calculated by comparing the photo-biologically effective irradiance without and with the test material in place for each sample and then averaged for the number of specimens analysed. The protection factor is calculated in accordance with UVR Protection offered by Shadecloths and Polycarbonates (PDF 726kb) published in Radiation Protection in Australia 1995, 13 (2) 50-54. If you want a protection factor result you must select it on the testing request form.
• Calculated PF (optional): The mean protection factor minus the standard deviation.
• Number of Specimens Analysed: This shows how many measurements (or scans) were made on the test sample.
• Material Sample: For positive identification, a sample of the material tested, or an image of the product, is attached to the report.
• Transmission Characteristics: The graph shows the average of the measured transmissions.

Download a Sample Shadecloth Test Report (PDF 65kb).

Important considerations about interpretation of shadecloth results

As well as direct radiation from the sun, there is an additional possibility of sun exposure that is known as indirect, or diffuse, radiation. This is solar radiation that does not reach us directly from the sun but is scattered and reflected by particles and molecules in the atmosphere. This indirect radiation, because it is reflected from the sky, can reach the ground from quite low angles. When using shade structures for sun protection as well as considering the radiation directly from the sun overhead we need to also consider the indirect radiation that can enter the shade structure from the sides. Also consider reflections from nearby surfaces such as buildings or water. This means that if we are underneath a shade structure but can see some open sky we may still be receiving some UV exposure due to indirect radiation.

Important factors relating to UV exposure when using shade structures are:

• the ability of the fabric to block UV
• the positioning of the shade structure in relation to the sun and the people it is protecting
• the angle of the sun.

Note that in the laboratory shadecloth is tested in close proximity to the detector of the measuring equipment and these measurements cannot account for the additional effects of indirect radiation.

Top of Page