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To test film for packaging purposes, German standard DIN 55529 “Packaging – Determining the strength of seals in flexible packaging material” has been available since September 2005. This standard applies to the testing of heat sealed seams in flexible packaging materials such as plastics, composites and coated or printed aluminum foil and paper. In this test, a 15 mm-wide film strip is cut orthogonal to the sealed seam and clamped in a tensile testing machine. The force required to separate the sealed seam at a test speed of 100 mm/min and tear angle of 90° is measured. ASTM D1876 additionally takes different tear angles into account.

The result of the DIN 55529 and ASTM D1876 packaging test is influenced by the packaging material, the sealing material and the sealing parameters. In this test the sealed seam geometry is not taken into account.

Fraunhofer AVV Dresden has developed a practical test method for determination of opening forces on peelable packages.

This allows reproducible measurements and can be used for quality assurance in packaging or TUL processes as well as for comparative studies.

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