Grab Tensile Strength

• This technique is used to test the strength of coated fabrics before they burst. The materials include those found in clothes or furniture. The technique starts by cutting the material down to small strips. The size of the strips varies, depending on the material. There are too many materials tested to list all of the strip sizes. The material will be placed in between two clamps and the clamps will then be pulled in the opposite direction. This is done by a pulling machine that is testing the pound force exerted on the material. Once the material breaks, the grab tensile strength will have been found. This is the maximum force that can be exerted on a material before it bursts.
  
  

Burst Strength Test

• This test will determine the force that must be exerted to cause a coated fabric to burst from the inside, such as when you bend your elbow and the cloth is pulled tight around your elbow. If the cloth bursts while your elbow is bent, it has met its burst strength. There are two tests done separately. The first is the Mullen burst. This test takes a small tube of the material and clamps it over a machine that slowly fills the material with oil. The machine will test the pressure exerted by the oil. More oil will be added until the cloth bursts. The ball burst test takes a steel ball and uses a machine to force the ball through a piece of cloth clamped tightly. It will test the pressure and record the burst strength maximum when the cloth bursts.
  
  

Trapezoidal Tear

• A trapezoidal tear test tests the ability of a material to resist tears and bursts. For example, if a nut or bolt tears across the material, a material with stronger tear resistance will cease tearing sooner than material with a lower resistance. This information is obtained by clamping a piece of material tightly in place. This material will be trapezoid in shape. A small slit will be cut at the front of the cloth. Pressure will be applied to the sides, pulling out on the cloth. The pressure of the pulling will be measured until it tears. This test is used on textile materials.
  
  

Propagation Tear

• This test is used on plastic film and thin sheeting. It tests the force needed to burst through a material. The material is stretched taut between two clamps. A small piece of metal is dropped onto the sample. This is a specific weight, so that the puncture and tear maximum can be measured. The testers will continue to drop weights on the material until it eventually punctures through and tears the material. The weight is the maximum puncture and tear resistance of the material.