U.S. Department 

of Tramportation 

Federal Highway 

Administration 

1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. 

Washington, DC 20590 

December 6,2007 

In Reply Refer To: 

HSSDlWZ26 1 

Mr. Shawn Kim 

President 

HUB International Trade/ACOPAN 

210-1 103, Samsan 2 Town, Samsan 2 Dong 

Bupyeong-Gu, Incheon, 403-909 

South Korea 

Dear Mr. Kim: 

Thank you for your correspondence requesting the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) 

acceptance of Acopan 2 mm, 3 rnm, and 4 mm thick sign substrate. AccompAnying your letter 

were product specification certificates and samples of the substrate. You requested acceptance 

of Acopan as a sign substrate for use with accepted sign stands on the National Highway System 

(NHS) under the provisions of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) 

Report 350 "Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway 

Features." 

Upon request, you provided samples of the Acopan sign substrate to the FHWA and a copy of 

the product specifications. The Acopan product specifications are enclosed. The Acopan sign 

substrate is a brand name of aluminum laminate material. The material properties of the 2 mm, 

3 mm, and 4 mm Acopan substrate are nearly identical and considered to be equivalent to other 

previously accepted 2 mm, 3 mm, and 4 mm aluminum laminate sign substrates. Our records 

indicate that 2 mm, 3 mrn, and 4 mm aluminum laminate signs have been successfully crash 

tested on portable stands made by a number of manufacturers and are limited to use on the tested 

and accepted stands. Therefore, the FHWA accepts the use of Acopan 2 mm, 3 mm, and 4 mm 

aluminum laminate sign substrates for use on the NHS under the range of conditions that 

equivalent materials have been tested and accepted, when proposed by a State. 

Please note the following standard provisions that apply to the FHWA letters of acceptance: 

This acceptance is limited to the crashworthiness characteristics of the devices and does not 

cover their structural features, nor conformity with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control 

Devices. 

AMERICAN 

ECONOMY 
Any changes that may adversely influence the crashworthiness of the device will require a 

new acceptance letter. 

Should the FHWA discover that the qualification testing was flawed, that in-service 

performance reveals unacceptable safety problems, or that the device being marketed is 

significantly different from the version that was crash tested, it reserves the right to modify or 

revoke its acceptance. 

You will be expected to supply potential users with sufficient information on design and 

installation requirements to ensure proper performance. 

You will be expected to certify to potential users that the hardware furnished has essentially 

the same chemistry, mechanical properties, and geometry as that submitted for acceptance, 

and that they will meet the crashworthiness requirements of the FHWA and the NCHRP 

Report 350. 

To prevent misunderstanding by others, this letter of acceptance, designated as number 

WZ-261, shall not be reproduced except in full, This letter, and the test documentation upon 

which this letter is based, is public information. All such letters and documentation may be 

reviewed at our office upon request. 

The Acopan material is a patented product and considered proprietary. If proprietary devices 

are specified by a highway agency for use on Federal-aid projects, except exempt, non-NHS 

projects, they: (a) must be supplied through competitive bidding with equally suitable 

unpatented items; (b) the highway agency must certify that they are essential for 

synchronization with the existing highway facilities or that no equally suitable alternative 

exists; or (c) they must be used for research or for a distinctive type of construction on 

relatively short sections of road for experimental purposes. Our regulations concerning 

proprietary products are contained in Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 635.41 1. 

This acceptance letter shall not be construed as authorization or consent by the FHWA to use, 

manufacture, or sell any patented device for which the applicant is not the patent holder. The 

acceptance letter is limited to the crashworthiness characteristics of the candidate device, and 

the FHWA is neither prepared nor required to become involved in issues concerning patent 

law. Patent issues, if any, are to be resolved by the applicant. 

Sincerely yours, 

Enclosure 

George E. Rice, Jr. 

Acting Director, Office of Safety Design 

Office of Safety 

FHWA:HSSD:MLupes:tb:x66994: 1 1/29/07 

File: s://directory folder/mlupes/WZ26 1 -Acopan.doc 

cc: HSSD (Reader, HSA; Chron File, HSSD; M.Lupes, HSSD 

M.Bloschock, HSSD; M.McDonough, HSSD) 
e ACOPAN

ACOPAN

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF STANDARD PRODUCT

MEHACHICAL PROPERTIES OF STANDARD PRODUCT

ggestlon Toruse ana app. . best information available to us and are believed to are reliable. We urge that user of our materials

conduct confirmatory tests to determine final suitability for their specific end uses.

PAINT FINISH

Top Polyester: 15 microns (1 coat), Service coat 5 to 7 microns

- 5-

HUB International Trade

210.1103, Samsan 2 Town, Samsan 2 Dong, Bupyeong-Gu, Incheon, 403-909, South Korea

TEL) +82.11.9260-1108, Fax) +82-32.232-0146, Email: skim.ga@gmail.com

PROPERTY STANDARD UNIT ACOPANACP

3mm/0.3 4mm/0.5

Specific gravity ASTM D792 1.30 1.38

Panel weight ASTM D792 Kg/m2 3.83 5.46

Apparent thermal ASTM C1363 Kcal/m.hr.oC 0.41 0.40

conductivity

Deflection ASTM D648 °C 105 115

temperature

Modulus of ASTM E8 N/mm2 70,000 70,000 elasticity (skin)

PROPERTY STANDARD UNIT ACOPAN ACP

3mm/0.3 4mm/0.5

Tensile strength ASTM D638 N/mm2 30 40

Elongation ASTM D638 % 8 11

Flexural Rigidity ASTM C393 (*105) N/mm2 16 35

Flexural Modulus ASTM D790 N/mm2 25000 30000

of Elasticity

Punching Shear ASTM D732 N/mm2 18 22 Resistance - - .- ... - -. - -

DESCRIPTION STANDARD PROPERTIES

PVDF Paint Thickness (Microns) ASTM D1400 24

Pencil hardness ASTM D3363 Above 2H

T-bend ASTM D4145 2T

Cross HatchAdhesion ASTM-D3359-B PASSES 100/100

Impact resistance ASTM D2794 PASSES27 Joules

Abrasion resistance ASTM D4060 Max 32 mg.

Chemical resistance ASTM D1308 PASSES

Detergent resistance ASTM D2248 PASSES

Humidity resistance ASTM 02247 PASSES

Salt spray resistance ASTM B117 PASSES

Chalking resistance ASTM D4214 PASSES

Colour retention (6 E) ASTM D2244 5.00 (maximum)

Gloss Retention ASTM G153 & 154 50% (minimum)