Difference between Bursting Factor and Bursting Strength of Packaging Materials

The quality of any product is very important aspect in today’s time. People nowadays are very aware about the quality of products and are willing to go any length to get the best quality products for them. This also forces the manufacturers of products to take all the measures to ensure that they are delivering the best quality of products to the customers. There are many aspects that are responsible for better quality of products. One of the main aspects of quality of products is the packaging of the products. The packaging of a product is meant to provide it aesthetic looks as well as protection from the external factors such as forces, impacts, dust, moisture and so forth. The packaging of a product must be chosen according to the conditions that the products will have to face when they are stored or transported. It is not only the responsibility of products manufacturers but also the manufacturers of packaging containers and materials need to ensure that they are keeping a good check on the quality and strength of the packaging materials so that the best protection of the products could be endured.

Packaging Materials

In the packaging industry, there are many different types of materials and products manufactured that are used in different industries to package their products. The packaging of any product is responsible for keeping it safe from external factors. Some of the most vastly used materials for manufacturing packaging containers and boxes are the corrugated sheets, paper, and cardboards. These materials are strong, reliable and can be used for making boxes of any size to fit the products in them. The manufacturers of these materials also need to ensure that the quality of the products as well as the strength so that they are able to survive the harsh conditions of storage, handling and transit and remain intact without any damage or failure. Corrugated boxes are majorly used for packaging of different products as they are stringer and have better properties such as bursting strength, compression strength, better hardness, tear resistance and so forth. There are many different tests that are performed in the packaging materials to ensure the best quality and strength. One such test is the bursting strength test that is very helpful in determining the strength and agility of the containers to ensure the best quality of products.

Bursting Strength

The bursting strength of a material is termed as the strength of the material to resist any type of rupture force that is applied on the material from a uniform direction and can cause the rupture of the material. The most of the products are packaged in corrugated boxes or cardboard boxes and need to stay safe right from manufacturing till they are reached to the customers. The corrugated boxes are the best option for the packaging of these products. The bursting of the corrugated boxes defines the ability of the boxes to resist any type of rupture due to the forces applied on them during the transit. The bursting strength can be considered the most important and best factors that can be used to determine the quality of the products delivered to the customers. This is used in paper testing instruments also.

Bursting Strength Test

The bursting strength test is the test that is performed on the packaging material used for ensuring the best quality of the products given to the clients. The bursting strength gives the value of the maximum amount of the force that can be applied on a material before it is ruptured. This helps in determining whether the material is appropriate for a specific products and whether it will be able to withstand the forces in a certain condition. The bursting strength test is also termed as Mullen test and can be performed easily with the help of a machine called bursting strength tester. The manufacturers of packaging materials such as cardboard or corrugated sheets can easily determine the strength and quality of the products with the help of high quality bursting strength tester. The bursting strength is not only important for packaging materials but it can also be a great indicator of the strength of fabrics that are used in high pressure applications such as Bursting strength has a mechanism which uses hydraulic pressure and a flexible rubber diaphragm that is capable of applying the force on the specimen with high accuracy. The instrument needs to be of high precision so that it can yield accurate testing data.

Performing the Bursting Strength Test

As we know that the bursting strength test or Mullen test is performed with the help of highly accurate bursting strength tester, let’s see how the testing procedure is commenced. In order to perform the test, there is around circle is of specimen cut from the sample. Keep in mind that the size of the specimen has to be bigger than the size of the clamps given in the bursting strength tester. This is important because if the size of the specimen is smaller than the clamps, then it can cause slippage of the specimen and can compromise the accuracy of the results. Once the specimen is ready, it is clamped in the instrument and clamps are tightened to their full capacity. The testing instrument is plugged to the power supply and switched on. TO start the application of the hydraulic pressure, the ‘Press To Start’ button is pushed. Once the button is pushed, it causes the hydraulic pressure to increase which eventually causes expansion of the rubber diaphragm. With the increment in the size of the diaphragm, the force is transferred to the specimen that is just above the diaphragm. The force is continuously applied to the specimen until it experiences the rupture. Once the rupture is experience by the specimen, the sensor in the instrument senses it and the application of the force is immediately stopped. The digital or analogue display of the testing device records the maximum value of the force that is applied on the instrument. This value displayed on the instrument gives the value of the maximum amount of force that the material can bear without having a failure. This value is also called the Bursting Strength of the materials. This test can be performed on the corrugated sheets, cardboard sheets, paper and fabrics.

What is Bursting Factor and How it is Related to Bursting Strength?

Once the bursting strength of a material is determined, then it is very easy to determine the bursting factor of that material, the bursting factor also plays an important role in quality assessment of the material with great accuracy. The manufacturers of corrugated sheets need to determine the bursting formula as it also has a great impact on the quality of the sheets as well. The manufacturers can easily determine it with the help of a simple formula which expresses the bursting factor as the a function of bursting strength and the GSM of the sheet and can be termed as the strength per unit GSM of the material.

Bursting Factor Formula

After performing the Mullen test and determining the bursting strength of a sample, the bursting factor can easily be calculated with the help of a simple formula that is as follows:

Burst factor = Burst strength (gf/cm2) / Grammage (grams/m2)

In this bursting factor formula, the burst strength is the value determined from the Mullen test and the grammage is the weight of the material per sq. meter area. The grammage can easily be calculated with the help of a GSM round cutter and a GSM scale. Along with the bursting factor, the bursting index can also be determined with the help of the value obtained from the Mullen test. It is a value that is expressed in the terms of pressure. The bursting index formula can be expressed with the help of this formula:

Burst Index = Burst strength (kPa) / Grammage (Kg/m2)

These values can be very helpful in getting very critical insights about the materials which can help the manufacturers of the products in ensuring the best level of quality of the packaging materials manufactured by them.

Relevance of Bursting Factor

For any packaging material manufacturer, it is very important to remember that the products they are delivering to the customers are of great importance as they are mainly responsible for providing the best level of safety to the products that will be packaged in them. For this, they need to assess the quality and strength of the packaging materials with great accuracy. The burst factor is the most important aspect of the quality of the packaging materials and can be a determining factor for the behavior of the materials when subjected to the forces that can easily rupture them. With the help of the bursting factor, it becomes very easy to determine the amount of force that will be required to burst or rupture something like a corrugated sheet, cardboard sheet or a fabric.

A material with a high number of bursting factor will have a higher strength and will be able to withstand a higher value of force that may rupture or damage the packaging. This quality is not only used in determining the strength and quality of the paper or packaging materials but it is also used in textile industries to determine the strength and abilities of the fabrics that are meant to be used in industries under great pressure and harsh working conditions.

Difference Between The Bursting Strength and Bursting Factor of A material

There is a vast different between the bursting strength of a material and the bursting factor. Although they might sound almost same but the burst factor is different form the bursting strength. The bursting strength of a material is calculated with the help of a machine called bursting strength tester by applying the maximum amount of hydraulic force that the material can bear. On the other hand, the calculation of the bursting factor is done with the help of a formula which requires the division of the bursting strength by the GSM of the material. The Bursting strength is not dependent on the GSM of the material but there is a change in the value of the Bursting factor when there is a change in the GSM of the material.

Strength of a Corrugated Box

If the bursting factor and the bursting strength of a corrugated sheet is known, then the manufacturers can easily change the strength of a corrugated box with the help of changes in the composition of the sheet and the manufacturing processes. As we know that the corrugated sheets have different layers that are considered as ‘Ply’. The number of plies determines the strength of a sheet. Higher the number of the plies, better the strength of the sheet. Hence the manufacturers can increase the strength of a corrugated sheet and hence a corrugated box by increasing the number of plies in the sheet. For example, a box made from a corrugated sheet of five plies will have a higher bursting strength and bursting factor as compared to the bursting strength of a box made form a corrugated sheet with three plies. Although, bursting strength can be very helpful in assessment of the strength of a corrugated sheet, but still there are many other tests that must be run to determine the accurate strength of the materials like cardboard, corrugated sheets and paper.

Quality Control and Process Optimization

The most important application of the bursting strength is the quality control. With the help of the bursting strength test, the manufacturers can easily understand the possible behavior when subjected to high stress and forces, Hence can make the changes in the materials to increase or decrease the strength. This helps in ensuring the customers are provided only with the best quality packaging materials that are strong enough to provide best protection to the products inside. In addition to that, the bursting strength also help in ensuring that the quality of the packaging materials is optimized along with the manufacturing process so that exact amount of material is used for manufacturing without causing any wastage of materials. This helps in increasing the profits of the manufacturers of the packaging materials as well.

Pacorr’s Bursting Strength Tester

Pacorr is one of the most reliable name in Bursting Strength tester manufacturers and suppliers. We have been offering the most precise and accurate testing instruments to our clients in paper and packaging industries so that they are able to give the best quality to their clients. The instrument has a very sturdy design that is meant for a long lasting service life with best accuracy. The instrument is available in three models that are Analogue, Digital and Digital-Computerized for better ease of operation. The diaphragm used in the device is made from high grade industrial rubber. Lab grade glycerin is used for exerting hydraulic pressure to the specimen. The serrated clamps that are incorporated in the device ensure zero slippage of the specimen during the testing procedure. With the help of this instrument, the manufacturers can easily ensure the best quality of the products. This helps them in increasing the confidence of their clients and enhances their brand value.

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