.
D signation: F 88 - 94
Standard Test Method for
Seal Strength of Flexible Barrier Materials1
This standvd is issued under the fixed designation F 88; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision. the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last rcapproval.A
superscript epsilon (,) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1, Scope
1.1 This test method covers the measurement of the seal
strength of flexible barrier materials.
J .2 The techniques and equipment used to form these
seals are not covered. . .
t .3 This test method does not measure seam continuity or
any other seam properties beyond the force required to tear
apart a seal of standard width.
J .4 This standard does not purport to address all of the
safety concerns, 1/ any, associated with its use.· It is the
responsibility of whoever uses this standard to consult and
establish appropriate safety and health practices and deter-
''? the applicabilit;; of regulatory limitations prior to 11se.
'oTE-A former edition of this test method covered a Static Load
Test 'as an alternative to the Dynamic Load Test covered herein. Since
the property measured by static load may not be the same as dynamic
load, it is inappropriate to include both in the same test method.
2. Referenced Documents
2.1 ASTM Star.c:ards:
D 685 Practice for Conditioning Paper and Paper Products
for Testing2
D882 Test Methods for Tensile Properties of Thin Plastic
Sbeeting3
D 1898 Practice for Sampling of Plastics3
E 691 Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study
to Determine the Precision of a Test Method5
J. Significance and Use
3.1 The force required to pull open a seam is of obvious
relevance to the integrity of a package. At times it is desirable
to control the seal strength of packages to facilitate opening..
(t 3.2 A significant ponion of the force measured when·
r: ] materials may actually be a bending component and
Cl.i, strictly seal·strength alone. A number of fixtures and
"hemes have been devised to hold samples at various angle·s
ld the pull direction in order to control this bending force.
The design and applicability of these techniques is beyond
the scope of this test method.
-i. Apparatus
4.1 Tensile T;sting Machine, conforming to the require-
1
" between clamps of25 to 50 mm (I to 2 in.) is recommended,
_ ·Tois test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee F-2 on
' \ibie Barrier Materials and is the direct responsibilit)' of Subcomm1t1ce F02.J0
"' T ctt Methods.
Current edition approved Nov. t5; 1994. Published January 1995. Originally
lubed as F 88 - 68. Last pmious edition F 88 - 85 ( 1994).
:-◄n,11,a/ Book of ASTM Standurds, Vol 15.09.
',◄nnua/ Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 08.0 I.
• -◄nnua/ Book of ASTM Standuids, Vol 14.02.
893
ments of 5.6 of Test Methods D 882 with app'ropriate
gripping system to minimize slippage and uneven stress
distribution.
4.2 Specimen Cutter, conforming to the requirements of
5.4 of Test Methods D 882. Generally, samples of 25.4-mm
{I-in.) width are used.
5. Sampling
5.1 The number of test specimens shall be chosen to
permit an adequate determination of representative perfor
mance. Practice D 1898 provides guidance to test specimen
selection.
5.2 Testing of specimens with visual defects or other
deviations from normality may or may not be appropriate
depending on the purpose of the investigation. Indiscrimi nate
elimination of defects can bias results.
6. Conditioning
6.1 Condition heat-sealed or adhesive-sealed test speci
mens in accordance with Method D 685. In_place of other
requirements, use 23 ± 2-C (73.4 ± 3.6°F) and 50 ± 5 %
relative humidity as the standard conditioning atmosphere.
A minimum conditioni'ng time of 40 h is recommended for
most materials. Some materials may require longer condi
tioning times and judgement should be exe·rcised as to the
selection of sufTtcienr conditioning time.
6.2 Modification of conditioning practices may be neces
sary to meet spec1lic test objectives, such as the measurement
of seal strength at specified storage or handling temperature.
7. Procedure
7. I Calibrate the tensile testing machine in accordance
with the manufacturer's recommendations.
7.2 Prepare sealed test specimens for testing by cutting to
dimensions shown in; Fig. I. Edges shall be clean-cut and
perpendicular to the direction of seal.
7.3 Clamp each leg of the test specimen -in-the tensile
testing machine. The ·sealed area of the specimen shall be
approximately equidistant between the clamps. A distance
but under most circumstances is not critical. Align the
specimen in the clamps so that the seal line is perpendicular
to the direction of pull, allowing sufficient slack so that the
seal is not stressed prior to the initiation of the t st. The rate
of loadine. shall bl! between 250 and 300 mm/min (10 to 12
in./min). . . - .
7.4 It mav be appropriate to hold the fin seal tail
perpendicula ly to the direction of pull as the specimen is
'
L
 ITT}, F 88

--, _l

7
X
X

l
.
zM

J
M

'•-;;-; J
I
lllNj l}IN
FIN SEAL
11ilN HOT WIRE SEAL

(Rec ended)
Hinimun
11'-

LI !I I-
L31N J J. X JIN I
Non-Seal dimension marked X Is left undefined to allow inclusion ol various machines and various laboratory sealers.
·FIG. 1 Recommended Sample Dimensions

It . :/ .essed. Alternately the tail can be allowed to hang freely. A
significant differencc in results has been shown to be
dependent on how the tail is oriented and, therefore, the final
f , report should cover which method was used.
7.5 Generally, only the maximum force required to tear
apart the seal is reported. This valve can be read directly
from the chart recorder.
7.6 Additionally, determination of percent elongation,
force tension relationship, and energy to cause separation
may be appropriate.
8. Report
8.1 Report the following information:
8.1 :I Complete identification of materials being tested.
8.1.2 Test method and equipment used to fonn seals,
including seal width. Equipment used to test seals. . 9. Precision and Bias
8.1.;3 Test conditions-, such as temperature and humidity.
8.1.4 Any and all deviations from standard such as jaw
separation rate and jaw separation distance.
8.1.5 · Method of holding tail and any special fixtures
used to hofd test specimens.
8.1.6 Type of failure (that is, delamination, peel, film
break).
8.1.7 Number of specimens tested and method of sam
pling.
8.1.8 Any other pertinent information that may affect tes!
results.
8.1.9 Maximum force required to cause seal failure for
each test specimen (expressed in pound-force per inch of
width or newtons/metre).
8.1.10 Any statistical calculations deemed appropriatt_
(most commonly mean, range, and standard deviation).
8.1.11 Other data including percent elongation, for<::.
extension curves, and integration values. if such data JS
relevant to the specific test purpose.
9.1 Three different materials (sampled at various IOC2"
tions across their seals) were tested by six laboratories. Pouch
samples were taken from large production runs in order to
ensure minimal sample to sample variation, selected ran
domly, cut into one-inch strips by a siQgle laboratory in
 4@, F 88
o'eli? d locations within the seal, and distributed to the
c1pants. TABLE 1 Summary of lnterlaboratory Test Results
Repeatability
9.2 Twenty replicates of each material/position were Average
Deviation
Standard Within Repro-
Material Position Between
rested by each laboratory and analyzed in accordance with Strength
Laboratories,
Laboratories, dudbility,

practice E 691. Results are shown in Table I, expressed in S,.b

s, SR

grams-force per inch of seal width. Metallized A 639 49 58 76

9.3 A review of the above data shows the coefficient of Metallized B 648 42 67 79
Paper/LOPE A 1498 179 184 257
variation is consistent among materials and positions tested Clear film A 6460 316 422 527
with values as follows: Clear film B 6486 468 381 604
Coefficient of Variation &sis Average Value,%
Clear film C 6501 403 446 601
Repcai.abiiity 8.S
Reproducibility 11.3

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